146 ON ANGLING WITH THE WORM. 



day or two ; but tlie other kinds require to be kept 

 at least a week. Immediately on being dug, they 

 should be washed in water, and put into an 

 earthenware jar with plenty of moss. The moss 

 should be well washed, and rung as hard as 

 possible, and all the small sticks and straws 

 picked carefully out, as they are apt to cut the 

 worms. The jar should be examined every second 

 or third day, and all the dead or sickly worms 

 picked out and the moss changed. The process 

 of toughening worms can only be accomplished 

 by keeping the moss dry, so that the worms may 

 lose some of the moisture of their bodies, and thus 

 become tougher and more durable. This is objec- 

 tionable, as it impairs the vitality of the worms, 

 giving them, if carried to any extent, a very 

 withered look. When thoroughly divested of 

 earthly matter, worms can be easily baited ; and 

 they will last quite long enough without going 

 through the additional process of toughening, or 

 rather drying. The worm-jar should always be 

 kept in a cool place. 



For containing worms when angling, a flannel 

 bag, large enough to admit the hand freely, will be 

 found the most convenient receptacle. It should 

 have a loop attached to it, by which it may be 

 fastened to the button of the angler's coat, and a 

 separate string to tie round the mouth. If the 

 angler intends fishing long at a time, he will find it 

 an improvement to divide his worms, keeping one- 



