ANGLING, 



(called minny), white and yellow-bellied 

 catfish, eel, sunfish, or old wife, pike, &c. 

 &c. The common and silver minnow, on 

 account of their diminutive size, are used 

 only as bait. 



To this list a very large addition might 

 be made, but it would consist of names, 

 like several of the above, often local, and 

 confined exclusively to a particular state 

 or district, or applied, indifferent parts of 

 the country, to fish in every respect unlike 

 each other. This vague nomenclature is a 

 source of constant error, and obviously in- 

 dicates the convenience, and even neces- 

 sity, of an universal language, such as sci- 

 entific natural history presents us with. 



Baits for fish are principally natural ; a 

 few artificial ones are used, chiefly in 

 fishing for pike and perch, made to imi- 

 tate small fish, frogs, &c. The natural 

 baits are whatever is commonly eaten by- 

 fish, as worms, maggots, grubs, caterpil- 

 lars, snails, small fish, frogs, roe of fish, 

 beetles, butterflies, moths, wasps, grass- 

 hoppers. Vegetable baits are sometimes 

 used, as beans, wheat, barley, and peas, 

 which last are best when green, and 

 slightly boiled; paste made of dough, 

 bread, or flour, mixed with oil, and a little 

 cotton to unite it together, also forms bait. 

 It is generally best to colour it red, parti- 

 cularly for smelts. 



Maggots are best procured by hanging 

 up a bullock's liver, scarified pretty deep- 

 ly all over, covered loosely, so as to ad- 

 mit flies. In two or three days, living 

 maggots will appear on it, when it should 

 be taken down and put into a pan, till 

 the gentles attain their full size ; a suffi- 

 cient quantity of fine sand and bran is 

 then to be put over the liver in the pan ; 

 and the maggots will in a few days come 

 into it and scour themselves, which ren- 

 ders them tough, clean, and fit to be han- 

 dled. Those produced in autumn will 

 continue in that state all the winter, if 

 they can get just under the surface of the 

 earth. In the spring, as the weather be- 

 comes warm, they change into flies. 



The cadbate is a very excellent bait. 

 This is an imperfect insect, resembling a 

 worm, inclosed in a tube formed of ag- 

 glutinated pebbles, out of which the head 

 and six feet are protruded when in mo- 

 tion ; it is the larva of the genus Phryga 

 r.ea, and is to be found in great plenty in 

 gravelly and stony rivulets; and by the side 

 of streams in large rivers among stones ; 

 when you want them, turn up the stones, 

 and you will find the best sticking to 

 tin-ill. When a sufficient quantity of 

 them ore procured, hang them up in a 



linen bag, and dip them, in the bag, once 

 a day into water, for four or five days. 

 They will then turn yellow, and become 

 tough and fit for use, being much better 

 than when they first came out of the 

 water. 



The lob, or dew worm, is found in gar- 

 dens and pastures, late in summer even- 

 ings, by using a lanthorn and candle. 

 Tbey are also dug up in fields, and by the 

 sides of drains and ditches. To scour and 

 preserve them for use, take some moss, 

 dip it into clean water, wring it dry, put 

 half of it into an earthen pot, then put in 

 the worms, and the rest of the moss at top ; 

 cover it close, that they may not get out, 

 and keep it in a cool place in summer, and 

 in a warmer in winter; the moss should 

 be changed every fifth or sixth day. In 

 a week the worms will be fit for use. 

 These directions will also answer for other 

 species of worms. 



Brandlings, red-worms, and gilt-heads, 

 are found in the same dunghills together, 

 which consists of hogs' dung, horses' dung, 

 and rotten earth. But the worms which 

 are found in tanner's bark, after it has 

 been used and become quite rotten, are 

 the best of all ; but they are generally 

 better for angling without any scouring. 



Long white worms, found chiefly in tur- 

 nip fields, are good bait, especially in 

 muddy water. They are preserved best 

 in some of their own earth, kept damp, 

 with some moss over it. 



Marsh worms, found in marshy grounds 

 and rich banks of rivers. 



The red worms, found in cow dung, and 

 dock worms, found about the roots of 

 docks, flags, and sedges, are all good bait. 

 As are likewise the grubs found in cow 

 dung, called cow-dung bobs, which are of 

 a yellowish white, with red heads, and the 

 short bobs, or grubs, found in mellow 

 sandy land, which have pale red heads, 

 yellowish tails, and bodies of the colour 

 of the earth wherein they are found, but 

 which when scoured are of a pale white. 

 These last are an excellent winter bait ; 

 the best way to render them tough is, to 

 put them into boiling milk, for about two 

 minutes, on the morning which they are 

 to be used. 



Caterpillars, found by beating the 

 branches of oaks, and other trees, that 

 grow over highways, paths, and open pla- 

 ces, and the cabbage grubs found on and 

 in the hearts of cabbages, are also excel- 

 lent bait ; these last are to be fed, and 

 preserved, with the same kind of leaves on 

 which they are found. Shad-roe is like- 

 wise a good bait; but the numerous pastes 



