' EELS AND LAMrERNES. 253 



There are four different traps wliicli may Le 

 set for eels, — the wicker snig-pot, the wicker 

 " hiillie/' the thief, or hoop net, and the wire 

 eel-trap. All of these are effective if properly 

 set and baited. All fishermen, however, would do 

 Avell to remember this fact, that no fresh-water 

 fish, not even the abused eels, supposed to fill 

 the ^^joockets" of '^drowned sweeps" in Hyde 

 Park, will enter a trap netted with twine, if the 

 string is allowed, by continuance in the water, 

 to get sour, nor will they touch a stale bait. This 

 objection of the eel to the sour twine does not 

 apply so much to the iron wire ; it exists in the 

 greatest degree as regards string. Traps made of 

 twine, therefore, should be taken out of the water 

 every morning, and washed, and then left to dry 

 upon the bank before they are again submerged ; 

 but the wire need only be rinsed out, and at once 

 returned to the water. 



And now, as to the appetite and nature of the 

 erroneously blamed eel* We liave heard of de^ 

 mented Avidows, whose piscatory tastes have been 

 somewhat epicurean, on the dauiji remains of the 

 dear departed being recovered from its humid 

 resting-place, witli pockets, as reported^ replete 



