THE ART OF WORMING. 57 



further resistance. I tlien watch the line, and as soon as it 

 tightens I strike. 



It is very essential in fishing with worms that these useful 

 baits should be free from dirt, or scoured, as that condition 

 is usually termed. A few lines may therefore be usefully 

 devoted to 



Catching, Scouxring, and Keeping Lobworms. — Everyone 

 possessing or having the run of a garden can easily get 

 some thousand of lobs any mild evening after a shower. As 

 soon as it gets dark the worms come partly out of their holes, 

 and may be seen by the light of a lantern. One person 

 should hold the lantern, and the other a small bucket, and 

 the two should go on tiptoe (if wearing tennis shoes, so 

 much the better) along gravel paths and over close-cut lawns, 

 picking up all the worms they can see. Lobs are not to be 

 caught napping except during or just after rain. The drier it is, 

 the less they show themselves, and the more difficult they are to 

 catch. The worm-hunter should not grab at the worm's head 

 (or tail — I forget which it is that lies out), but place the point of 

 a finger on the worm-hole. The worm is then fixed; it can 

 neither go forward or backward, and on being taken hold 

 of can be drawn out, if pulled slowly and gently. On windy 

 nights the worms will be found lying out in sheltered situations 

 only, and during frosts keep within doors. 



In the daytime a few lobs may be got by digging, or by 

 watering the sides of gravel paths with a mixture of mustard 

 and water. There are various other mixtures which answer the 

 same purpose, but I need not mention them. It is not a 

 bad plan to push a spade into the soil as far as it will go, 

 and then move it backwards and forwards. This causes a 

 miniature earthquake, and the worms leave their houses. 



To scour lobworms, a good- sized earthenware pot should be 

 two-thirds filled with damp moss — sphagnum is the best — and 

 the worms put on the top of the moss. They quickly work 

 through to the bottom. The moss should be kept damp, and 

 changed every two or three days, and dead worms removed. 

 In changing the moss it is not necessary to pick out all the 

 worms. The plan is to turn out the old moss and worms on 



