MINNOW AND PARR-TAIL FISHING 163 



A very ingenious method of capturing minnows is 

 practised by anglers in Aberdeenshire, but whether 

 or not our northern friends can claim the merit of 

 the invention we cannot say. It consists of a clear 

 glass bottle of the structure indicated in the accom- 

 panying illustration. 



It is used in this way : A piece of open canvas, or 

 what is preferable, small-rneshed net, is tied over the 

 mouth, and a few crumbs of bread put into the 

 interior. The bottle is then placed in some stream 

 which the minnows frequent, with the mouth to the 

 stream. The water rushing in agitates the crumbs 

 and so attracts the minnows, which collect about the 

 bottom of the bottle, and being naturally of an 

 inquiring turn of mind, gradually find their way up 

 to the opening at a, where they enter, and, fascinated 

 by the all-powerful attractions of the bottle, re- 

 main, and in a few minutes there will be two or 

 three dozen in the interior. The objections to the 

 use of the bottle are of course that it is very incon- 

 venient to carry, and very liable to be broken ; but 

 anglers cannot have everything just to their mind, 

 and anything is better than running short of min- 

 nows ; and when any difficulty occurs in this respect 

 we would counsel an immediate application to the 

 bottle. We have started to fish with minnow in 

 the early morning without a minnow in our box. 

 Arrived at the water-side, we set our bottle, and 



