30*^2 THE angler's guide. 



them away 5 for, if they die, their bodies soon corrupt, 

 spoil the moss, and will occasion the death of others ; 

 therefore make it a rule, when you leave off angling, 

 or when you have returned from it, to look over 

 your worms, cast away the diseased, and give the 

 remainder some fresh damp moss, or a piece of damp 

 old net or coarse hempen cloth. 



Some writers and Anglers speak of worms being a 

 more enticing bait when put among fennel instead of 

 moss, or by putting camphor among the moss, or 

 dipping the worm in tar-water immediately before 

 you put it on the hook. I can truly affirm, I have 

 never found any of those methods increase my sport, 

 but have well-grounded reasons to suppose that Fish 

 refused my worm when so doctored, but would have 

 taken it freely if offered in a clean scoured state. — 

 Some recommend worms to be put in a box scented 

 with oil of ivy 5 this I never tried. Brandling will 

 also keep lively and fit for use a considerable time, in 

 a mixture of damp garden mould and rotten bark 

 taken from the dung, or bark heaps, found in and 

 about tan-yards. 



By practising this method, you may preserve your 

 worms for a few weeks, which is material when on 

 an excursion, as worms are difficult to get in dry 

 weather : if you find, when out angling all day, that 

 the worms, you have with you, seem sickly, gather a 

 little grass and damp it, and put it among them, which 

 will much refresh them ; some dip their bag of 

 worms in water, but it is a bad practice, for it fre- 

 quently kills them all. 



