FISHES AND FISHING. 143 



of copper wire, and place the pot with the mouth so 

 as to receive anything forcing its way up stream, 

 as soon as the weather becomes warm in spring and 

 in summer, for eels then run up against the stream ; 

 but when the weather becomes of a lower temperature 

 in autumn, they run down the stream, and the posi 

 tion of the mouth of the pot must be reversed, but in 

 places where it cannot be choked up with dead leaves 

 floating down. If some gudgeons or small dace are 

 put in the pot, a pike, or sometimes more, of one, 

 two, or even three pounds, will get in. Take care to 

 have the plug at the end well secured by a cord or 

 pin, or it may slip out, and all your fish escape, as 

 happened to me one morning when I had full thirty 

 pounds weight of fine eels in the pot ; after that, I had 

 a pin which went through the plug. In spring the 

 pots should be made of green osiers, and used till 

 winter, having fresh green osiers for the next spring, 

 if you wish to be successful. 



Eels of considerable size will escape through com 

 paratively small orifices : I made a trunk to keep 

 eels alive, which I bored full of moderate-sized holes 

 with a centre-bit, and attaching a chain, and locking 

 it with a copper-warded lock, previously placing 

 therein about fifty pounds weight of small eels, but 

 all too large, as I thought, to get through the holes I 

 had made. Next day I wanted to give some away, 



