THE ROACH. 3I 



No crack or hole in the vessel containing them is too small 

 for them to work through, and the sides must be attended 

 to, for no matter how steep or smooth they are, the fully- 

 grown maggots will crawl up and escape. While they are 

 feeding they \vill not attempt to leave their food, but as soon- 

 as ever they are fully fed up no open vessel will long con- 

 tain them. The best plan to adopt after arriving at this stage 

 is to turn the whole lot out into a riddle or seive, having pre- 

 viously put under that riddle a pancheon or other wide- 

 topped earthem vessel. The maggots will speedily crawl 

 through the wires of the seive and drop into the vessel be- 

 low, leaving the refuse and bones of the fish behind them. 

 The gentles should now be mixed with a quantity of damp 

 sand. On no account should dry bran or sawdust be put 

 with them, and this is particularly to be observed when the 

 maggots are intended for keep during the winter. The very 

 best vessel I ever had as a store for them was an old earthen- 

 ware pickle or jam jar, about sixteen inches deep and seven 

 wide, with a neck big enough to easily admit the hand. If 

 the angler is lucky enough to get a full pint of good well-fed 

 gentles fit for the hook, I should consider that quantity will 

 tide him over the winter comfortably. About a quart or 

 three pints of damp sand will be ample to keep them in, and 

 it does not particularly matter what sort of sand it is, so long 

 as it is clean, small, and sharp. It is the best to keep this 

 jar of gentles in a very cool damp place, say in the coldest 

 corner of the cellar, if you have one, if not, any other cool 

 position will do. Gentles, as a rule, that are bred and fed 

 during the latter part of October do not change into the 

 chrysalis state to any extent; a few perhaps may, but the 

 bulk of them will lie among the sand in a semi-torpid con- 

 dition. I have kept them from November right round to 

 March, and never been short of a hook bait for the roach 

 when the water and weather permitted them to be used. 

 A good plan is to put the jar containing the sand and 

 gentles into another vessel containing cold water, the water 

 reaching up the outside of the jar about as far or a little 

 farther than the gentles are inside it ; but care must be taken 

 that no water goes inside among them. This contact with 

 "old water helps to keep the gentles chilled and cool, as^ 



