CASTING-NET, a species of net very widely distributed, having been found in use amongst various savage tribes in different parts of the world, some of whom, from long and constant practice, use it with a dexterity and address unknown in England. The nets used in England are usually from 13 to 20 ft. in circumference when spread out. They are netted in the shape of a kind of long loose bag or cone; and so much is the number of meshes increased as the net progresses, that it is capable of being spread out in a perfectly flat and circular form, the apex of the cone forming the center of the circle. To this apex is attached a rope of some yards in length; when casting, this rope is fastened round the left wrist of the easter. The bottom of the net, which forms, when it is held up by the apex, the base of the cone, or, when spread, the circumference of the circle, is hung around with perforated leads or bullets. These have not only the effect of carrying the net to the bottom of the water, but also. when it is east, of causing the net to spread open. The bottom of the net is turned up some 6 in. or more in depth, and hung up on the inside about every 10 in. or so, to an upper portion of the net, by stout strings, so as to form a kind of purse; this is called the "tuck." When the net is
required to be cast, the caster, having fastened the rope to his wrist, and coiled it loosely in his left hand, hangs a portion of the net over his left shoulder; and then gathering as much of the outer edge of the net as he can collect in his right hand, and holding it up so as to open the net as much as possible, makes a semicircular sweep of the body and the right hand—rather difficult to accomplish without practice—and whirls the net away off the shoulder. The centrifugal motion thus communicated to the leads, etc. on the bottom of the net, causes it to open like a circle on the surface of the water, the leads carry it to the bottom, and tho uct thus covers all that comes within its circle. The rope is then pulled gradually, and worked from side to side, in order to narrow the circle, to bring it once more into a cone; and, in their efforts to escape, the fish that may have been covered are gradually driven into the tuck or purse of the net. When the leads are all close together, the net is lifted from the water, and the fish in the tuck are taken out. The cost of a cast-net is regulated by the circumference and the size of the mesh. They may be had from 12s. to 30s. or more.