Net

Neat, (net.) [From A. S. nett.] (Com.) That which is free of all deduction or diminution: thus, net weight signifies the weight that remains after all tare, ., has been taken off. NEAT denotes that which is unadulterated; as, for example, neat wines.- Nets, are fabrics in which the threads cro each other at right angles, leaving a comparatively large open space between them; the threads being also knotted at the intersections. In this respect, netting differs e entially from weaving, where the intersecting threads simply cro each other. A great variety of nets are in use among fishermen, but the principal are the seine, trawl, and drift nets. The seine is a very long but not very wide net, one side of which is loaded with pieces of lead, and consequently sinks; the other, or upper, is buoyed with pieces of cork, and consequently is kept up to the surface. Seines are sometimes as much as 190 fathoms in length. When stretched out, they constitute walls of net-work in the water, and are made to enclose vast shoals of fish. The trawl is dragged along the bottom by the fishing-boat; and the drift-net is like the seine, but is not loaded with lead; it is usually employed for Netherlands, mackerel fishing. (KINGDOM OF THE.) See HOLLAND. [s. 638]