St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-09
HAULING THE SEINE.

the 0lt1tuOee OF tne Oiue riOSe. out
when the winter came they travelled
along their ancient trails to the river
and to Chesapeake bay. From these
waters they took their food, and from
those same waters they also breathed
the warmer air Of the gulf stream. al
though they of course knew nothing of
that scientific fact.
Hundreds Of thousands of civilized
men and women to-day receive large
portion CT their food supply from the
same river, and its stores seem to be
| inexhaustible. It is said that $4,000
herring have been taken from the Po-
| tomac at one haul of seine.
That is pretty big fish story. but it
Is true one. And it is also true that
5000 shad have been taken in one haul
| of the seine. What do you think of that ?
Twenty miles from Washington, and
about eight miles below Mount Vernon,
there is the largest seine in the world;
and it is operated skillfully about ten
weeks every year. beginning about the
middle Of March. The length of the
seine il 1000 fathoms, or 5000 feet, 900
feet less than two miles long. Attached
to each end are large heavy ropes lead
ing to the shore, one rope being s,1OO
feet long and the other $500 feet long.
combined length of seine and rope of
27,6O0 feet, or considerably over five
miles.
The living quarters of the men con-
sist of two long. narrow buildings. one
occupied by the officers and the other
by the crew, the total number usually
employed being 70 or IS men. The only
other building on the ground is the en-
gine shed. situated on the shore, nearly
three-fourths Of a mile south Of the
main buildings. The shed contains two
engines, one known as the "land" and
the other as the boat" engine, which
pull in the ''land" and "boat" ends of
the seine. respectively. They develop
II horse power. and were constructed
expressly for this purpose.
Two hauls of the seine are made every
- hours--on each ebb tide-regardless
Of the weather. The seine boat is 70
feet long and about 12 feet beam; it il
propelled with oars, having seats for
"a oarsmen. IL on each side. The cap
tain stands with his back to the seine,
facing the men and directing their
movements, as well as steering the boat.
The seine is piled in the stern and
occupies perhaps one-third of the boat.
Its width and depth are accommodated
to the depth of the water, ranging from
IL to 80 feet deep. the load line being
supposed to always rest on the bottom.
The cork floats, Of course, hold the top
line on the surface of the water. On
nearing the upper edge Of the berth
the seine is first let overheard. running
over an iron roller at the stern. This
is called the ''land'' end Of the seine,
and to it is attached the rope brought
out in the boat before mentioned, which
reaches to the engine, now over one and
q half miles away. This rope is s.1O0
feet in length. The land engine imme-
diateiy begins to haul in on this line
as soon as the seine is thrown out, but
its movement is very slow compared
with the speed Of the boat. The toat is
now turned to the east, making for the
channel. The center Of the seine il in
dicated by a large can buoy.
The channel being reached the boa.
Is directed down the river until all the
1000 fa:homs have run out, the seine
being laid out in the form of semi
circle and the ends being at least mile
apart. This end of the seine il called
the boat" end.
An enormous coil Of rope which has
been lying under the seine is now dis
closed on the bottom Of the boat, one
end of which is fastened to the seine
and follows it out over the roller. This
rope is to connect the boat end of the
seine with the engine. and is $500 feet
long. or nearly two miles.
When only about 100 feet of the
seine stil remains in the water. both
engines are stopped, the rest Of the
hauling being done by the men them
selves. 4 few hundred herring are
found gilied in the meshes. This is the
only indication thus far that any fish
have beer enclosed in the net. which has
swept such tremendous expanse Of
water. The two gangs Of men. which
are about 100 yards apart, now begin
to move slowly toward each other. pull
ing Is they go. BY this time the water
within the constantly narrowing limits
enclosed by the seine fairly glistens
with the silvery fins and tails Of the cap
tured fish. A man follows the back OF
the seine, beating the water with IN
oar, to frighten the fish toward the
center and to relieve the pressure
against the net. Fifty men are now
working with the seine. The water in
which those nearest the shore are stand |
Ing is about knee deep. while those |
farthest out are up above their waists |
The lead line il moved slowly along un-
ill It touches the bottom. II is then
carefully secured By the men. and 1t
sigual from the eaptsin raised out oil