;>8 THE ART OF FISHING. 



might not only reduce the amusement of fishing to 

 comparative mercy, but greatly add to the enjoy- 

 ment of the sport, to find that your varied en- 

 deavours to free your victims from all unnecessary 

 pain and suffering had been successful. Indeed, 

 from want of this careful management, fishing has 

 acquired a bad name, and has been branded as 

 the most cruel of all diversions. Divest it of all 

 unnecessary suffering, it stands forth, as we have 

 said, by far the least cruel of all sports. 



We have confined ourselves, thus far, to those 

 departments of the art which relate to the casting 

 net ; the hoop, landing, and flew nets ; to snap- 

 ping and trolling with rod and line ; and to the 

 setting of the trimmer. We fear not to pursue 

 this recreation through more of its branches, 

 and to show how simply we may avoid giving 

 pain and suffering, comparatively considered, to 

 the fish we endeavour to capture, or to those 

 baits we use for that purpose. 



In common angling, with worms, I conceive 

 it to be most difficult, with all our care, to 

 avoid giving pain both to the bait and the fish. 

 Alleviation may be carried out to a very great 

 extent, sufficiently to make the pain short as 

 regards the worm as well as the hooked fish ; 



