THE GENERAL HISTORY OP ANGLING. 17 



do with the selection of food also, but I am inclined to think that 

 the sense of taste is not very sensitive, and chiefly resides in the 

 lower part of the palate of the fish. It is not at all nnfrequent for 

 a fish to disgorge the food which has partly entered the stomach, but I 

 think it is quite impossible for it to disgorge anything which has 

 once actually been enveloped by the maw. 1 have caught trout with 

 stones in them, and, like the omnivorous ostrich, they seemed to have 

 flourished with this stomachic foundation, but would they not have 

 ejected them had they the power ? 



But enough of this aspect of the question. Bait, as used in 

 these days, partakes very little of the fanciful nature of old prepara- 

 tions, and goes to no greater extremes than a green pea or ripe 

 cherry for a carp, or cheese for chub. Even the deadly salmon roe 

 is interdicted on the novel ground (to the ancient angler) that it 

 is too killing. Cocculus indicus which Best, in his "Arcana in the 

 Art of Angling," naively says is called also Baccce piscatorice (fishers' 

 berries) is forbidden, and the "white net," or bottle of lime, is a 

 rank "black art" of the poacher. The angler at present fishes 

 au naturel, with Nature's baits for the most part, and when he 

 condescends to vary these he intersperses mechanical niceties in the 

 shape of imitations rather than chemical abominations abhorrent of 

 modern fish. 



Baits are of two great classes, alive and dead. The live baits are, 

 briefly, small fish, frogs, worms, gentles, and, in some rare instances, it 

 may be worth while using a live fly, such as a cockchafer. On the score 

 of humanity, live bait fishing, perhaps, does not produce pleasure so 

 unalloyed as that demanding the use of dead baits only, but it may 

 be safely said that live bait fishing is incomparably more effectual 

 in the majority of cases. The dead baits include pastes and vegetables 

 and artificial baits. At the present time the humane angler, who 

 shrinks from impaling a worm, gentle, or fish, can make or use an 

 imitation, which is easily made, as shown in the chapters on Tackle 

 Making. 



A few remarks anent the subject of baits arid ground-baiting may 

 appropriately terminate the general history of the art and its 

 adjuncts. In selecting live bait, let the angler chiefly choose 

 those of the hardier sort, such as gudgeon, minnows, dace, rudd. 

 In transporting them from place to place, six to a gallon of water 

 in summer, and ten in winter, of medium sized fish, are quite enough 

 for a moderate journey ; if a little water can be added occasionally 

 the chance of their arriving healthy is increased. Bait killed and a 

 little salt strewn over them, and then packed in bran, will keep for days 



C 



