n6 mins of tbe 1Rot>, IRifle, an& un 



the fresh matter is considerable, and that the whole is 

 arranged on a novel and distinct system." 



Of fishing in its higher branches I do not think that 

 Daniel had much personal experience. He evidently 

 had a partiality for net-fishing, a thing abborrent to 

 your true angler, for he states with pride that few 

 men have seen more of practical net-fishing than 

 himself, and discourses most learnedly on the various 

 kinds of nets to be used. Amongst the coarser fish he 

 seems to be at home, for he tells us of his bream-fishing 

 at New Hall Pond, Essex, where, on a cloudy day with 

 the wind brisk, he and four friends took " some hundred 

 weight, averaging 2 Ibs., the bait used being large red 

 worm." He also records the wonderful success he had 

 with tench by adopting the plan of dipping the worm 

 in tar. Has any modern angler, I wonder, tried that 

 singular bait which Daniel says he found the tench 

 take eagerly? 



One comes across some curious bits of angling lore 

 in his pages. Thus we are told that in Malham Water, 

 near Settle, in Yorkshire, the perch reach the weight of 

 5 Ibs. and upwards, " all blind of one or both eyes'.' The 

 trout in Driffield Beck, in the East Riding, are not 

 only numerous, but " the fish seldom weigh less than 

 2 Ibs., and frequently five or six'' Of the Thames 

 we read that it "produces salmon (though not in 

 abundance), which are generally taken about Isleworth : 

 these bear a most extravagant price in the London 

 markets, having been sold at twelve shillings per pound : 

 eight shillings and half a guinea are frequently given ; 

 five shillings is the average, because being caught so 



