Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-03-05
sPrats and spratfing.

Few of the thousands, who welcome
the arrival of these ''small deer'' in
England at the beginning of winter
either think or care much where they
come from or what their history may
be. That they come up from the coast
by rail is enough knowledge for the
poor who eat them; and the sprat is
far too cheap and common to excite
much interest among the middle and
upper classes, especially since it has
been pretty well settled for them by
those learned in such things that he is
neither overgrown whitehall nor young
herring. But from the 1st OF NOyem-
Der to All Fools Day sprats are a con-
tinual feast to many, and source Of
speculation and income to fish-dealers
and to hundreds of costermongers, who
watch and wait for them early and late
in LoBdon or at the quays of certain
coast towns. Spratting again, in one
form or other, affords welcome
means of tidin2 over two or three of
the deadest winter months to many
coast boatmen, owners of quite small
open boats, using fine drift-nets as for
herrings. From such beaches as Deal
and Walmer little fleet of these boats
will start before sunset in the after
noon, make one haul, and return early
in the evening with their net stuck full
of the best and most regular-siz
sprats. A seine is also used for sprat-
ting i'll bays where the shore is clean;
but, from the small mesh required, a
sprat-seine of any size is costly, and
nay lie too long idle to be very profita-
bic. And though now and then hum
dreds of bushels of sprats have been
actually dipped from the sea in buckets
and baskets, yet it is to the stow-boats
of the mouth of the Thames and Solent
that the London poor owe their chief
supply of these valuable little fish.
Late III October an old cutter, which,
just floating on the top of the tide, has
lam for months pillowed upon some
high mud-tank, becomes all at once
centre of interest and busy work to
party of four or five men, who, under
the direction and example of an ex-
perienced skipper, soon change the for
saken-looking old craft into a floating
home for the winter. She may have
been pleaSure-yacht in her day, but
can never be 50 again; for once
spratter, always spratter: the oily
liquor which has drained from tons of
tish down among her timbers leaving
IAN ancient and fiSh-like smell" about
her that no amount of tar or paint can
rid her of. One has but to 90 down
the three low steps into her cabin to
understand how large and airy the
finest yachts forecastle must appear
to men who spend their winter on
board stowboat. The middle part
of the vessel is given up to the stowage
of the fish. Abaft this space, with a
small sliding door opening into it, is
| the slttlng-ro0m, some feet by feet
and feet 6 inches high. AT the fore
end of it fire is burning in large old
rusty CRATE; the first idea of men en-
gagged in such cold damp work being
warmth. Giving upon it, and round
this cabin, are ranged three berths-
hard to find at first, each having but
one opening of sixteen by twenty inches
square, closed by sliding panel.
These berths, though not always so
occupied, are supposed to hold two
persons; aud berth which lies at1-
wartShips, just over the steps gong
back into the smack's tail or counter,
and having the Iudder-case passing
through it, is allotted TO one man and
''the cook" This is a small boy, who
even now is busy doing his feeble best
to remove the smoke and dirt of last
winters cruise from the cabin-a task
in which he can never quite succeed.
By-and-by, when their net is down,
one hand being left on deck to watch
it, the rest of the crew, kicking off
their heavy sea-boots, will creep into
ard coil themselves up in these closely
boarded little cupboards, warm and
dry at any rate; and despite the rattle
and clatter of the outer arrangements
of small craft riding in short sea,
they will get i've or six hours sounder
sleep than falls to the lot of many
ashore in the best ordered bedrooms.
If the look of the spratter below is
not very yacht-llke, that of her deck is
still less so; for, after it has been care
fully csulked, it is made as black as
two good coats OF coal-tar can make it.
But when the old Enterprise is moved
from her self-made dock in the mud,
and lies ashore upon some clean hard"
shining in all the glory of a fresh coat
of tar after the dirt and weeds have
been dreamed" or burnt off, she is the
pride and admiration of the skipper
and his crew; who walk around her
again and again before the tide comes,
looking out for ''holidays" or giving
touch here and there to some dull
spot. AS the tide flows and the vessel
ioats again, the long brown funnel
shaped net is carefully taken over her
side and triced up in the rigging to
air, The small mesh Of the stOw-net
only half an inch from knot to knot in
parts, gives it very solid look when so
banging, quite distinguishing it from
the trawlers nets. Then the upper and
lower beams, spars of some 30 feet
long, together with a strange-looking
long-limDed anchor and many fathoms
of stout rope-cable, are taken on
board. This anchor Will often have
to hold both net and vessel against
strong tides, wind, and sea; the net
riding to it, mouth to tide, nearly under
the vessels bottom, by cable made
fast to the lower beam. This beam is
loaded with iron to steady the mouth |
of the net; while the upper beam is
held horizontally in position 30 feet |
above it by the 'hip ropes,' which,
made fast to the ends OF it,
pass up to either side of the
smack's forward rail. When open, the
mouth of the net has gape of some
800 square feet. IL is closed by a rope
starting from the middle of the lower
lip or beam, passing through a ring on
the upper one up to a block upon the
vessels bowsprit; this rope, when
hauled in, bringing the two beams
together to the surface. Strange to
say, spratters, especially in rough
weather, rather dread getting the net
full of fish. This at times occurs very
suddenly; when the net floats as long
as there is life in the fish; but must be
at once swept and slung by many ropes
for should 1t sink it may be
to raise it again. AT such
times full net has often to be cut
across in several places to start the fish
out of it; so enabling the men, by
throwing away some tons of fish, to
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