114 ON FISHING WITH THE WORM FOR TROUT. 



pellucid nature of its skin, and the more than ordinary 

 power it has of elongating and contracting its body, 

 thereby, in the one case, occasioning a disclosure of the 

 hook underneath, and in the other, an aptness in the 

 worm to work itself partially off the wire, and thus 

 render inevitable the protrusion of the point or barb. 

 A smaller description of hook, say No. 9, would, I 

 think, suit better the size of the red-head than that 

 used for the button-worm. 



7th. THE GILT-TAIL. A small, sluggish worm, having 

 a green or yellowish appearance in the lower extremity. 

 This is found in places rank with the decay of vege- 

 table matter, where turnips have been fed off, among 

 rubbish heaps, &c. It is capable of being purged so 

 as to part with much of its natural colour, and assume 

 a tendency to redness. The gilt- tail also is easily 

 toughened, and during a scarcity of better, the angler 

 will find it a tolerable bait for trout. 



Having thus attempted to specify the different kinds 

 of earth-worms bred in our soils, and to describe their 

 qualities as angling baits, I proceed to say, in few 

 words, how they ought to be prepared or made ready 

 for use. In the preparation of worms three ends are 

 desirable, and these are to be attained only by an 

 equal number of processes, conducted either severally 

 or conjunctly. The requisites in question embody, 

 first, the purging or cleansing ; next, the toughening ; 

 and lastly, the reddening of the worm. 



On being dug or captured, all worms not intended 

 for immediate use, with the exception of those found 

 in the button state, should be placed for the space of 

 three or four minutes in a vessel containing water; 

 some recommend the addition of a little salt, in order 

 to divest them as thoroughly as possible of any earthy 



