318 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
“ Each fisherman has his own fancy as to the fixing of the trawl in 
his own particular way in order to make more or less bosom to the trawl. 
“The narrow, straight sides of the net between the back and the 
ground rope, and extending from the trawl-heads to nearly on a level 
with the bosom, are called the ‘ wings 7 or ‘gori-ngs 7 ; they are generally 
made of separate pieces of net, and are inserted when the several parts 
composing the net are put together.” 
The lower portion of the net immediately beneath the baitings, and 
of similar size and shape, is called the belly or ground. 
“ From the bosom the whole net, now forming a complete bag, tapers 
to the cod or purse a length equal to about two- thirds of that of the 
beam. The cod is a narrow bag, about one-seventh of the entire length 
of the trawl $ it is that part of the net into which all the fish which pass 
over the ground rope sooner or later find their way, and in which most 
of them are collected when the net is hauled in. The extremity or ‘ cod- 
end 7 is closed by the draw rope or ‘cod-line, 71 which gathers the end of 
the net together and prevents the escape of the fish until it is got on 
board, when the rope is cast off, the cod-end opened, and the fish fall 
out. The under part of the cod having a good deal of the weight of the 
fish on it, is of course exposed to a great deal of wear and tear as it is 
dragged over the ground ; so, to protect it from chafing and being 
destroyed, old pieces of net, termed ‘rubbing pieces 7 or ‘false bellies, 7 
are fastened across it in such a manner as to overlap one another suc- 
cessively from one end of the cod to the other, and thus to relieve the 
strain on the net itself. # * * 
“Just above the entrance to the cod the ‘pockets 7 are placed, one on 
each side of the interior of the main portion of the net. They are not 
separate parts of the net, but are made by simply lacing together the 
back and belly for a length of about 16 feet, in a line from the outer 
edge of the bag downwards and inwards to its small end and the com- 
mencement of the cod. This part of the bag is therefore divided into 
three spaces, and of nearly equal breadth at the lower end, those at the 
sides being the pockets, and the central space that through which the 
fish must pass on their way from the entrance of the net to the cod or 
general receptacle. This passage between the pockets is guarded by 
a veil of netting, called the ‘flapper, 7 fastened to the upper part or back, 
and with its free edge directed towards the cod, so that the fish can 
easily make their way under it into that part of the net, but not so 
readily return. The mouths of the pockets face and open into the cod 
or end of the net where the fish are collected, and there being no means 
of escape for the fish at the cod-end, many of them, and especially the 
soles, work their way along the sides of the cod into the pockets, con- 
tinuing their progress in that direction till they are stopped by the 
1 This is called the “ poke-line” by Grimsby fishermen, the term cod-line being ap- 
plied to a piece of rope extending from the forward end of the beam to the cod-end. 
