FISHING RAFTS. 
105 
It is common along many other parts of the coasts 
of Northern China, and in the Korea, when salted 
and dried, it forms an important item in the diet of 
the people. It is most delicate eating, and when cut 
in lengths and fried, makes a very pretty dish. The 
bones are so few and easy to separate, that even a 
hungiy man may partake of it without fear of 
being choked. Everywhere it is taken on the 
surface, at a considerable distance from the land. 
* Off the Regent’s Sword, or Liauti-shan Promontory, 
. great numbers of strange-looking craft in the form 
of rude rafts put boldly out to sea, with long black 
nets coiled up snugly in the middle, four men 
working at huge sculls, while the others smoke and 
chat. The net is paid out in a circle, and when 
the end is reached, it is turned back and hauled 
in, securing frequently l^rge numbers of the silvery 
hair-tail. Many hundreds of these rafts surrounded 
the ship as she sailed through them in the glow of a 
glorious sunset. 
A few nights before the landing of the allied 
forces at the Pei-ho an interesting phenomenon 
