104 
HERRING. 
from knot to knot, while those of the Pilchard-net are an inch. 
Great exactness in this respect, however, should not be de- 
manded, since by the operation of barking the twine will contract 
to the extent of three meshes in a yard ; and that ' of cotton 
more than in ordinary hemp ; on which account when quite new 
a larger dimension must be required, which will permit many 
fishes to pass through, or less than the extent exacted by law 
as allowing for the contraction produced by use. According to 
the circumstances of weather, or the light of the night, these 
nets are sunk more or less deep; and for this purpose there 
are buoys placed along the head-line at regular intervalsj and 
in Scotland especially these buoys are often made of inflated 
skins; and even strong globular glass bottles have been used, 
at least in the north of Europe; and occasionally small weights 
are placed on the lower border to keep them properly down. 
These nets are shot across the course of the tide, and consequently 
athwart the course which the flsh are proceeding; and they are 
lifted on board by the aid of a capstan two or three times in 
the course of the night; for it is only in moderate darkness 
that these fish will enter a net, since at other time their sight 
is sufficiently good to discern the snare, and they are afraid to 
approach it. 
The size of the boats employed in this fishery varies much 
in difierent places, and, consequently, the number of men in 
each; but it would be tedious to take notice of the practice 
of every station, and therefore we confine ourselves to that of 
Yarmouth, which is, and ever has been, the most important 
seat of this fishery in the United Kingdom. These boats are 
luggers, with three masts, and of a burden from twenty to 
fifty tons, with a crew of twelve men and a boy, whose wages 
are in proportion to the success they meet with; this being 
the only plan on which success in any fishery can be secured. 
The nets are about a hundred in number, and each of them 
eight fathoms in length, with a depth of five fathoms; and as 
when well loaded with fish no human efforts would be sufficient 
to lift the mass over the gunwale of the boat, a portion of 
the crew are employed at the capstan, while the rest are 
engaged in shaking out the fish into the proper compartment, 
and arranging the nets in order. As, from the general shal- 
lowness of the water near the land in the north of England, 
