TEENT FISHING. 29 



thing to put it in. It will take up very little room in his 

 tackle pocket. The small spools of silk could also be kept in 

 that pocket, and also his loose hooks and hanks of gut, for 

 such things are all the better for being kept out of the damp, 

 the sun, or the air ; and as for the wax I should not take 

 much of that out at once. A bit a little larger than a hazel 

 nut, in the small box just mentioned, would be amply suffi- 

 cient ; keep the larger lump at home in a dry cool place, 

 out of the air. I have just mentioned the tackle pocket, 

 and this is an important article in an angler's outfit. These 

 are made in various designs, and may be bought at any 

 tackle shop ; I, however, prefer a home-made one, about nine 

 inches long and six wide is a very useful size, the cover of 

 brown leather, and opening like a book. It should have in 

 it numerous pockets, for the purpose of keeping everything 

 separate and snug ; I don't like to see gut, loose hooks, wax, 

 silk, thread, needles, floats, &c., &c., all mixed up in con- 

 fusion in one pocket. " A place for everything, and every- 

 thing in its place," ought to be an angler's motto. This 

 book ought to contain a long leaf of thin leather, or water- 

 proof cloth, with a couple of strips of parchment stitched 

 lengthways down it, for the purpose of holding a dozen 

 floats, a pair of scissors, a disgorger, &c. (which latter useful 

 little article I might say can be made out of a little bit of 

 thin wood or bone, about four or five inches long, and about 

 a quarter of an inch thick, with a small forked slit cut in 

 the end ; it is used for extricating the hook from the throat 

 of a fish, the fork being put in the bend of the hook and 

 pushed down, and then both hook and disgorger drawn up 

 together). This latter article saves the disagreeable process 

 of opening the fish when the hook is rather further down 

 than it should be. The tackle pouch should also contain a spe- 

 cial pocket to hold a frame to wind your bottom tackles upon ; 

 this frame should be made of thin hard wood. There should 



