i2 4 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



during the ebb. So great is the run upon these, 

 that they are in danger of becoming much less 

 numerous. They seem to have the advantage 

 over other lures of remaining alive on the hook 

 for an indefinite time, of maintaining their bright 

 appearance, and of having less attraction for 

 those vermin, the starfish. 



The question of bait is an anxious, and some- 

 times a vexed one; but its future is involved 

 in a still wider issue. Should the trawler ever 

 dispossess, and banish the boat, the mechanical 

 mode of capture will supersede the lure. Bait will 

 no longer be cultivated on any large scale. The 

 various shore forms will cease to be of interest, 

 unless to the naturalist or the lover of shells ; 

 except perhaps for the modest, very modest, 

 demands of sport. 



Perhaps one reason for our northern indifference 

 to sea-fishing is, that some of the best fighting 

 species are strangers to us. But, even were such 

 to conquer their evident objection to our chiller 

 water, the prejudice would remain. And, certainly, 

 a northern angler would blush to the roots 

 of his hair, if he were caught sitting on the 

 point of a rock, or surprised in the following 

 situation. 



