4 THE ANGLER S SCIENCE. 



" three ribbed hose," and a genuine O'Shaughnessey 

 bend, with as much ease as the doctor would 

 have hoisted a minnow with Chinese twist as thick 

 as whipcord, and a No. 5 hook, from out the tiny 

 rivulet. I doubt not but that the science of the 

 fool would beat all the doctor's learning in this 

 respect ! 



Again as to the folly of fishing -if science be 

 the standard which should direct our choice, look 

 at the names of those who have from age to age 

 enrolled themselves as its supporters, and the dis- 

 ciples of Walton will then appear as the sands of 

 the sea, compared with the admirers of Nimrod. 

 Field sports are but " an employment for idle 

 time which is then not idly spent," and I know no 

 reason why the question of superiority among 

 them should ever have been mooted. But without 

 seeking to give offence to any, I might fairly 

 venture to assert that there are, and have been, 

 more thinking men among anglers than any other 

 class of sportsmen, and in my humble judgment 

 there is likewise more to think about. Let no one 

 in his ignorance say that there is folly in fishing ; 

 but rather take my word for it, that there is a 

 science in its practice and in the economy of fish, 

 the depths of which would not be sounded by a 

 lead-line as long as the days of Methuselah. 



