68 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



have placed your worms on the top of the moss (a small bar- 

 rel or a large earthenware vessel is the best to scour them in), 

 you should take a nutmeg grater and grate the piece of brick, 

 so that the dust goes among the worms. Examine them 

 every day, and pick out all bruised and diseased ones, and 

 repeat the operation with the brick and nutmeg grater. This 

 operation will make the worms a splendid red colour, very 

 tough, and a perfect bonnebouche for the barbel. They will 

 be ready for use in about a week, and if you are careful with 

 them and adopt this plan, you will have a well-scoured 

 attractive lob-worm. The worms that you use for ground 

 bait should be well-scoured, for as Walton says, "he is a 

 curious feeder," that is, he likes to have his food clean. As 

 an illustration I might just mention a little incident that 

 came under my own observation. Two anglers were fishing 

 the barbel swim at the Corporation fishery, "Winthorp ; they 

 had both scoured their hook baits separately, only with this 

 slight difference, one had had his worms scouring for over a 

 week, the other for only a day or two ; one lot was bright 

 tough, and of a splendid colour, the other was dark, dirty, 

 and tender ; each used their own baits ; the one with the 

 bright baits kept getting fish, the other with the dirty ones 

 got none ; they changed places, but with the same result ; 

 they both then used the bright and well-scoured worms, and 

 then both of them took fish. This is one instance out of 

 many, and goes to prove that the barbel likes a clean, well- 

 scoured worm. And now we will suppose the angler has his 

 tackle all right, his barbel swim baited, and two or three 

 hundred well-scoured maiden lob-worms in a bag among 

 some moss for his hook baits, and also about two hundred 

 coarse worms in another bag to cut up and throw in during 

 the time he is fishing. He will now be ready for any 

 amount of barbel, but he must remember to make no more 

 noise than he can help. Whether he fishes from a boat or 



