HO ON FISHING WITH THE WORM FOR TROUT. 



flounders,, haddocks, and other salt-water fish. It is easily 

 discovered, at ebb of tide, on almost all sand-stretches, by 

 the small hill or coil of refuse bearing its own resem- 

 blance, and backed, at the distance of ten or twelve 

 inches, by a corresponding hole or sink, of diameter 

 sufficient in some instances to admit the entrance of 

 one's little finger. Betwixt these indices, at a foot's 

 depth from the surface, the worm lies and is readily 

 dislodged by means of a common sand-fork. I have 

 heard it asserted that sea-trout at the entrance of rivers 

 will take this bait greedily, and that salmon also have 

 been known to seize it. It is not, however, a worm to 

 be held in much esteem by the angler, being thick, 

 flabby, ill-coloured, and not readily purged or toughened. 

 2nd. THE EARTH-LOB, or DEW-WORM; sometimes, 

 but improperly, divided into two separate species. This 

 is found in almost all cultivated soils, where the earth, 

 naturally light, has been enriched by the application of 

 manures. It frequents especially gardens and grounds 

 wrought with the spade, concealing itself in the day- 

 time at a considerable depth, and when the weather is 

 mild rising about sunset to the surface, where, after a 

 shower, it may be discovered at listless length stretched 

 in proximity with others of its kind, and lapping, as it 

 were, the new-fallen moisture. On such occasions, large 

 quantities of this innocuous reptile may be captured 

 with little address, requiring only the use of a ready eye 

 and hand. As a trout-bait, it is not greatly valued by 

 the angler, on account of its size and the difficulty 

 experienced in toughening it. It forms however when 

 properly strung, a favourite morsel with eels, chubs, and 

 other ravenous fish, and on night lines may be used to 

 some purpose as an enticement even to trout themselves, 

 and these the largest and most wary. The virtues of 



