Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/126

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Dredge, Tangle, and Trawl Fishing.
93

searched for minute objects. Some dredgers use a "nest of sieves," so arranged that the strainers, four in number, fit freely within one another. Fig. 68.The Trawl. The top sieve is of course smaller than the others, but the meshes are larger The second sieve is a little larger, with finer meshes. The third is still larger, with a much finer mesh, and the fourth, the largest sieve of the lot, has a mesh so close as only to allow the finest sand or mud to pass through. The contents of a dredge when filtered through a "nest of sieves" is divided up into a graduated series, the largest objects at the top and the smallest at the bottom. Mr. Emerton, in his "Life on the Seashore," describes a sieve for hanging over the side of a boat "in the shape of a half cylinder," the bottom being made of strong wire; but, as before remarked, sieves are not absolutely necessary, and may be dispensed with when the object is only a day's fun with the curiosities of the sea.

The Use of the Tangle.

Partially buried in the mud of the bottom are to be found many pretty corals, queer and curious sponges, and those funny animals called sea-cucumbers. The dredge may skip these, but the hempen tangles, when they sweep the bottom, catch all

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