94 THE COMPLETE ANGLER 



place near to it : but most usually in cow-dung, or hog's 

 dung, rather than horse-dung, which is somewhat too 

 hot and dry for that worm. But the best of them are to 

 be found in the bark of the tanners, which they cast up in 

 heaps after they have used it about their leather. 



There are also divers other kinds of worms, which for 

 colour and shape alter even as the ground out of which 

 they are got ; as the marsh-worm, the tag-tail, the flag- 

 worm, the dock-worm, the oak-worm, the gilt-tail, the 

 twachel, or lob-worm,* which of all others is the most 

 excellent bait for a salmon ; and too many to name, even 

 as many sorts as some think there be of several herbs or 

 shrubs, or of several kinds of birds in the air ; of which 

 I shall say no more, but tell you that what worms soever 

 you fish with are the better for being well scoured, that is, 

 long kept before they be used : and in case you have not 

 been so provident, then the way to cleanse and scour them 

 quickly is to put them all night in water, if they be lob- 

 worms, and then put them into your bag with fennel. But 

 you must not put your brandlings above an hour in water, 

 and then put them into fennel, for sudden use : but if you 

 have time, and purpose to keep them long, then they 

 be best preserved in an earthen pot, with good store of 



* To avoid confusion, it may be necessary to remark, that the 

 same kind of worm is, in different places, known by different names ; 

 thus the marsh and the meadow-worm are the same ; and the lob- 

 worm or twachel is also called the dew-worm, and the garden-worm ; 

 and the dock-worm is, in some places, called the flag-worm. 



The tag-tail is found in March and April, in marled lands or 

 meadows, after a shower of rain ; or in the morning, when the 

 weather is calm, and not cold. 



To find the oak-worm, beat on an oak-tree that grows over a high- 

 way or bare place, and they will fall for you to gather. 



To find the dock-worm, go to an old pond or pit, and pull up some 

 of the flags ; shake the roots in the water ; and amongst the fibres 

 that grow from the roots you will find little husks, or cases, of a 

 reddish or yellowish colour ; open these carefully with a pin, and 

 take from them a little worm, pale yellow, or white, like a gentle, but 

 longer and slenderer, with rows of feet down his belly, and a red 

 head : this is the dock or flag-worm. An excellent bait for grayling, 

 tench, bream, carp, roach, and dace. H. 



