XV111 PLAN OP THE WORK. 



fish which swimmeth a reward little enough for the 

 paines which he endureth. Then must he be prudent, 

 that apprehending the reasons why the fish will not 

 bite, and all other casuall impediments which hinder 

 his sport, and knowing the remedies for the same, hee 

 may direct his labours to be without troublesomenesse. 



' Then," concludeth Gervase, "if he is not temperate, 

 but has a gnawing stomach that will not endure much 

 fasting, but must observe hours, it troubleth the mind 

 and body, and loseth that delight which maketh the 

 pastime only pleasing." 



I have now left but little room to tell the reader, 

 that I have made this little book as much a brief na- 

 tural history of fish as a treatise on angling ; and that 

 I have, as far as practicable, founded what I have said 

 and borrowed from others, respecting the art, upon the 

 basis of science, a circumstance in which all the 

 books on angling that I have met with are lamentably 

 deficient. Although I was wont to reckon myself a 

 tolerable proficient in the art both of fly and ground- 

 fishing, I have, along with my own small experience, 

 borrowed freely from the experience of others, every 

 thing that I thought likely to be useful to a beginner. 



As I wish to add to this, should it be approved of 

 and reprinted, a list of the best Angling Stations in the 

 rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, estuaries, and coasts of the 

 British Empire, I shall feel obliged if accounts of any 

 of these, with the particular fish caught, be sent me, free 

 of expense, to the publisher's. 



Lee, Kent, 1st May, 1833. 



