UNI-, . RS/TY 



BAITS, AND SEA-FISHING 121 



former is declared by those who use it, not only 

 to be the more effective, but to have the further 

 advantage of sticking better to the hook. The 

 advantage, it is allowed, is less in summer than 

 winter, because of its inability to resist the warm 

 weather. The relative merits were put to the test 

 in a way which, if not conclusive, was at least 

 interesting. In certain experiments with the 

 various baits, made under similar conditions by the 

 Fishery Board's steam yacht, The Garland, pecten 

 was found to have a slight advantage in the 

 number of captures. 



And, if the aesthetic is admissible in such a 

 prosaic matter, the pecten is your prettier bait. 

 There is no daintier shell in the sea, nor one more 

 delicately tinted. And, over the enclosed inhabitant, 

 Jeffreys waxes justly enthusiastic, pronouncing it 

 a study for a painter, " with its large and bright 

 pink ovary, and its mantle, studded on each side 

 with a row of brilliant eyelets, like dew-drops 

 glittering in the sun of a May morning." 



Among the other Forth bivalves is the coarser 

 horse-mussel (Mytilus modiolus). This is a deep-sea 

 form, which grows to a much greater size; and, 

 although less generally used, is fairly effective 

 for cod. 



