44 FISHES. 



English amusement. " The inhabitants of the 

 British isles alone, with their colonial descendants, 

 cultivate all matters pertaining to rural sports, 

 of whatsoever kind they may be, but particularly 

 hunting, shooting, and angling, with that per- 

 severing ardour, comprising active practice, and 

 passionate study, which leads to perfection. In 

 their efforts to acquire the surest, most amusing, 

 most health-giving, and, I may say, most elegant 

 modes of pursuing and capturing their game, be 

 it the produce of field or flood, they call to their 

 aid several auxiliary studies, amongst which stands 

 prominent one of the pleasantest of all, viz., that 

 of the natural history of animals, and of other 

 things ranking not so high in the scale of crea- 

 tion."* 



Angling may be considered as divided into 

 three branches, which rise above each other in 

 the skill required for their successful conduct, 

 and therefore in the estimation of those who 

 practise them. All require for their performance 

 the use of a rod, a line, a hook, and a bait. The 

 first is bottom-fishing, which nearly resembles 

 that mode of sea-fishing with the handline, which 

 we have just described. It consists of angling 

 near the bottom of the water, with worms, 

 gentles, bread, paste, and other animate and in- 

 animate baits ; it is the simplest, most common, 

 and most primitive mode of angling, " first 

 learned, and last forgotten." 



Trolling is more difficult. It is performed in 

 mid-water, that is, neither at the surface, like 

 fly-fishing, nor at the bottom, as the preceding 

 kind. More than one hook is required, and 



* Ephemera on Angling, p. 6. 



