1 64 An Estimate of the "Angler" 



justify its title, but to have at once be- 

 come the standard text-book of angling. 

 That the anglers of Walton's day fully 

 appreciated it is proved by the five editions 

 published before he died ; and since then 

 the demand for it, especially during the last 

 century, has been such that more than one 

 hundred editions have been called for, 

 not, of course, that all these editions have 

 been produced to meet the wants of those 

 who wish to learn the art of angling : its 

 other, higher, and far more lasting merits 

 are becoming more and more responsible 

 for the continued demand for it. Since 

 angling books have been produced in such 

 numbers that the literature of the subject 

 is more voluminous than that of almost 

 any other, since the art has been so 

 elaborated that volumes are devoted to 

 one fish and the methods of its capture, 

 it can no longer be said that The Corn- 

 pleat Angler is complete. But it is mainly 

 responsible for this vast literature, this 

 widespread love of a most delightful sport, 

 which counts its votaries by hundreds of 

 thousands scattered all over the world, 

 and employs an enormous capital in sup- 

 plying their wants. 



But in spite of all our modern know- 

 ledge, I should still recommend those who 

 would learn what angling is to go to the 



