310 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
into trawlers ; and, as the lug-rig is not very suitable for that mode of 
fishing, a temporary change is made, and they are fitted out with a dif- 
ferent set ot masts and sails ; the dandy, or perhaps speaking more cor- 
rectly, the ketch-rig with gaff-sails being the one adopted, the same as 
just described in the large modern-built trawlers at Grimsby and Hull. 
■Some of the Bamsgate and Brixham vessels are now rigged in the same 
manner, and we have no doubt that it will be very generally adopted 
for the new vessels on various parts of the coast where deep-sea trawl- 
ing is carried on, although as a rule fishermen are not fond of giving 
up what they have been long accustomed to. * * * 
u In 1862 a new trawler ready for sea, and what was then considered 
one of the larger class, could be built and fitted out for £700 or £800; 
but the vessels before mentioned as having recently come into use at 
Hull and Grimsby can not be turned out ready for work for much less 
than £1,200 each. This includes a fit out of all that is required for fish- 
ing, and costs about £70 or £80. A fit out consists of a double set of al- 
most every part of the gear, to provide against accidents, and generally 
to save the time which would be lost if the smack were obliged to re- 
turn to port before she had done a fair quantity of work. A trawl-net 
will perhaps last from two to four months, according to the nature of 
the ground worked on; but during that time parts of it will have to be 
renewed. The back of the net, being exposed to the least wear, lasts 
the longest; the under part will generally require renewing twice, and 
the cod five or six times, before the net is finally condemned. The cost 
of a new net is about £9 when made of ordinary hemp ; but manilla is 
coming into use for this purpose, as it is very much stronger, although 
more costly. It is dressed with coal-tar, which preserves the material 
better than either Stockholm tar or tan. One of the large nets now 
used, and measuring about 50 feet across the square, can not be made 
for much less than £16. 
Barking 7 the sails of fishing crafts is almost universal in this coun- 
try. It consists in mopping them over with a solution of oak-bark, tar, 
grease, and ocher, which acts as a good preservative to the canvas; 
this is done every six or eight weeks, and a yard is prepared and kept 
for the purpose at all the important fishing stations.” 1 
F. Fishing Apparatus. 
1. The Beam-Trawl. 
The beam trawl has been described as u a triangular, fiat, purse- 
shaped net, with the mouth extended by a horizontal wooden beam, 
which is raised a short distance from the ground by means of two iron 
supports or heads, the upper part of the mouth being fastened to the 
beam, and the under portion dragging on the ground as the net is towed 
over the bottom.” The detailed description which follows refers more 
1 Deep-Sea Fishing and Fishing Boats, pp. 66-70. 
