i6o 



The American Ampler 



-ed each, pike after pike, and bass after 

 •bass, with many misses, many losses, 

 vind roars of laughter, until the boat 

 ■was nearly full, the night nearly spent, 

 and the excitement flagging through 

 sheer fatigue. 



A few nights later the same experi- 

 ment was repeated by the same parties 

 in the same way, with the addition of 

 F. W. Bingham armed with another 

 gaff, which resulted in great sport, 

 from the novelty of it and the many 

 ludicrousincidents that followed. From 

 that day to this it is believed that no 

 such experiment has been repeated. 



Minnows may readily be caught in 

 small nets, made of foundation muslin, 

 such as is used for making mosquito 

 bars, fastened to two rods about five 

 feet long, so as to make quite a bag in 

 the center, using a strong cord above 

 and below, and leading the lower end 

 of the net, by stringing on to the cord 

 bullets with holes bored through them, 

 or sheet lead wound on, about two 

 inches apart. With this net, in a small 

 stream, properly manipulated by the 

 upper ends of the two poles, it will be 

 nothing but fun to fill your minnow 

 pail. 



Great trouble has been experienced 

 by anglers in conveying minnows alive 

 for any considerable length of time, or 

 any great distance, without slopping 

 the water all over the vehicle and losing 

 half of them. The subjoined device 

 has been used for years by the writer, 

 and has proved a complete remedy for 

 these troubles. This improvement 

 over the common straight-sided, double 

 minnow pail consists of the following 

 points : The outside pail is much wider 

 at the bottom than the top, while the 

 inside one is straight up and down. The 

 latter is perforated with small holes in 

 the top, bottom and sides, and is one 

 and one-half inches shorter than the 



outside pail. It has a flat lid which, 

 when shut, is securely fastened* by a 

 nut turned under the projecting margin 

 around the cover, making the hole, 

 when open, just large enough to insert 

 your hand easily. The cover of the 

 outside pail is oval, and also punctured 

 full of holes to let in the air. The sides 

 being on a slant, and the inside pail one 

 and one-half inches shorter than the 

 outside one, when carried by hand or 

 jostled around in a carriage, the water 



MIXXOW PAIL. 



will strike the sides at such an angle as 

 to fall back into the bucket instead of 

 slopping over through the holes in the 

 upper cover. No matter how rough 

 the road, scarcely a drop will swash out. 

 The motion given to the water tends to 

 aerate it and prolong the life of the 

 minnows, without a change of water, as 

 long as such motion is kept up. From 

 the ordinary pail, if left open, the water 

 will slop out, and the minnows will 

 soon die unless more water is added. 

 If closed up, the minnows will die for 

 want of air, although the cover may be 

 full of holes. This pail may be made 



