THE REAL MINNOW. 31 



I have applied the same principle to the real 

 Minnow, which is of course equally killing {vide 

 fig. 5., Plate I.). A short piece of brass wire 

 will be seen extending beyond the fine end of 

 the lead. Insert this in the Minnow's mouth, 

 drawing the head of the fish close up to the brass, 

 where secure it by forcing the single hook, 

 marked («) in fig. 5., into the flesh of the 

 Minnow, near the setting on of the head. The 

 whole will then be precisely the same as in the 

 artificial representation (fig. 1.). The single 

 hook is tied to a short piece of gut, and knotted 

 on to a length to which the traces are attached. 



The act of baiting, by this contrivance, is 

 very much shorter than by any other now 

 practised ; and whatever tends to the economy 

 of time is so far valuable, that we enjoy or 

 profit, as the case may be, by the amount of 

 time economised, just so much more than the 

 idle watcher of those fearful demolitions accom- 

 plished by old Edax Rerum, 



Fig. 2. of Plate I. is the Miller's Thumb, 

 treated in the same manner as the Minnow. I 

 mean an artificial bait, bearing some resemblance 



