Rearing. 65 



for his commissariat, and reserve the gnats, &c., 

 for a relish, as whatever else may form the 

 staple of the diet, they are always a very wel- 

 come addition. In catching gnats a common 

 gauze entomologist's net is used, and when 

 caught they may be killed by confining them 

 in the end of the net with one hand and striking 

 it with the other. 



Failing gnats, blood-worms are the best and 

 most nourishing food. They are obtained from 

 the mud of the Thames, and doubtless might be 

 found elsewhere. They may be procured from 

 the curator, Museum of Fish Culture, South 

 Kensington, and elsewhere ; but the writer can 

 only say that those he has obtained at the 

 museum are the best. They must be kept in a 

 good sized vessel, so that they can spread out, 

 and must have running water, or they soon die, 

 and yield by their decomposition a most painful 

 odour, sickening in the extreme. As long as 

 they are healthy they will clump up together, 



