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draft1 n also draught. Cp OED draught sb 2 b 'a
quantity drawn: used as a specific measure of something'; NID ~ n 10 c 'measures
of weight of fish' Brit for sense 1.
1 Amount of dried and
salted cod-fish carried on a 'barrow' by two men; two quintals or 224 lbs (101.6 kg);
various other weights of dry fish.
1896 J A Folklore ix, 28
Draft or draught ... a load for two men to carry, hence two quintals of
codfish. 1902 Christmas Bells 15 We packed our baskets and 'gadded' the balance of
our catch—seventeen dozen all told, and equal in weight to a good 'draft' of fish
(two quintals). 1954 INNIS 426 After catching, splitting, and washing, the fish were put
into three-quintal tubs along with two gallons of salt per draft. (A 'draft' and a half
of fresh fish, or 238 pounds, made about one quintal of fish, or 108 pounds of dried). T
192/3-65 The men down in the hold'd be yafflin' up the fish, an' they'd yaffle so much to
get enough for the weight to make the draft on the bar, and then there'd be, 'Yaffle at
hand. Yaffle at hand.' T 194-65 They come in the punt, sir, an' we take out ten quintals,
ten drafts a man a day—that's our take-out always since I've been on a schooner. T
393/4-67 We used to ship our fish a draft a time—that's two quintals, that's 224
lbs. 1979 NEMEC 276 Fish are arranged in even rows and laid down in such a way as to form
a 'bulk' or pile (usually no more than waist high) consisting of an estimated number of
'draughts' (224 pounds each).
2 Comb draft bar(row):
flat, rectangular wooden frame with handles at each end for two men to carry dried
cod-fish; such a frame used in weighing fish; BARROW1, FISH BARROW (P 8-55).
T 433-65 An' I'd be carryin' draft bar from six o'clock to six in
th' evenin' for twenty-five cents a hour. M 68-26 The draft bar was heavier [than the
Johnnie bar], weighing about twenty pounds, it could carry a draft of fish (two quintals)
which weighed 224 pounds. 1977 BUTLER 68 When a ship came to Buffett to load bulk fish
every man on the room would be engaged in loading. John Manning and I usually worked
together carrying the draft barrow.
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