MACKERELS. 
137 
and copper-fastened. Great strength is requisite^ 
especially in those employed on the Kentish 
coasts where the shore is rocky, and heavy shocks 
i are continually sustained, as the boats take the 
ij beach. 
j It is impossible to see the rich and varied 
shades of colour of the Mackerel in full perfec- 
tion, except while it is actually in the water, or 
immediately after it has been taken. Nothing 
can be more exquisite than its formation, nothing 
better calculated to secure ease and rapidity of 
|i motion. No bulky mass to impede its natural 
activity, not an angle to present the slightest 
I obstacle to its motion. Accordingly, the swift- 
I ness of the Mackerel is proverbial, outstripping 
I the fastest sailing ship, and even seizing the bait 
. while she is under her greatest way,’’ ■ 
A successful mode of capturing Mackerel is 
called fishing with the fleet-line,” practised in 
a sailing-boat under a smart breeze, A strong 
I thick line of twenty fathoms or more is provided, 
and coiled on a reel. In preparing for use, care 
is necessary to take out “ the play,” or twist, to 
avoid tangling afterwards. This is effected by 
stretching it to its utmost length, and passing 
a rounded stick along it, one end being left free 
to untwist. In fishing, the boat must be kept 
in motion, more or less rapid. In order, there- 
fore, to prevent the line from trailing along the 
surface, a plummet is attached to its extremity, 
through the neck of which is passed a piece of 
whalebone about eight inches long. The object 
of this is twofold ; first, to prevent the whistling 
noise of the plummet, and secondly, to determine 
the direction of a finer line, called the snood, 
