CHAP. XVII. THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 295 



a red, and then a black beetle. Gather a thousand, or 

 two, of those ; and put them, with a peck or two of 

 their own earth, into some tub or firkin, and cover and 

 keep them so warm, that the frost or cold air, or winds 

 kill them not : these you may keep all winter : and 

 kill fish with them at any time; and if you put 

 some of them into a little earth and honey, a day be- 

 fore you use them, you will find them an excel- 

 lent bait for Bream, Carp, or indeed for almost any 

 fish. 



And after this manner you may also keep gentles, all 

 winter; which are a good bait then, and much the bet- 

 ter for being lively and tough. Or, you may breed 

 and keep gentles thus: take a piece of beast's liver; 

 and, with a cross stick, hang it, in some corner, over 

 a pot or barrel half-full of dry clay, and as the gentles 

 grow big, tlh-y will fall into the barrel and scour them- 

 selves, and be always ready for use whensoever you 

 incline to fish ; and these gentles may be, thus, created 

 till after Michaelmas. But if you desire to keep gen- 

 tles to fish with, all the year, then get a dead cat, or a 

 kite, and let it be fly -blown ; and when the gentles be- 

 gin to be alive and to stir, then bury it, and them, 

 in soft moist earth, but as free from frost as you can ; 

 and these you may dig up at any time when you in- 

 tend to use them ; these will last till March, and 

 about that time turn to be flies. 



But if you be nice to foul your fingers, which good 

 anglers seldom are, then take this bait : get a handful 

 of well-made malt, and put it into a dish of water ; 

 and then wash, and rub, it betwixt your hands till you 

 make it clean, and as free from husks as you can; 

 then put that water from it ; and put a small quantity 

 of fresh water to it, and set it, in something that is fit 

 for that purpose, over the fire, where it is not to boil 

 apace, but leisurely and very softly, until it become 

 somewhat soft, which you may try, by feeling it be- 

 twixt your finger and thumb; and when it is soft, 

 then put your water from it : And, then, take a sharp 

 knife, and, turning the sprout end of the corn upward, 

 with the point of your knife, take the back part of the 



