28 ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 



prepared is placed on a rush or weed, and the bird 

 on flying away with the bait in its bill, becomes so 

 smeared on its wings with the bird-lime, that it cannot 

 fly, falls down, and is caught. The " Kyte," how- 

 ever, is too wily to be caught in this way as he flies 

 away with the bait in his feet. 



The following extract shows the author's sportsman- 

 like abhorrence of all poaching methods : 



It is a good thing to haue plentie of fresh water 

 fish, in riuers and pooles, and standing waters : and 

 a great pleasure for man sometimes to take with 

 his angle a dish of fish in those waters whereas fish 

 is plentie and well preserued, not to vse any other 

 engins, but with the hooke : and by such meanes as 

 the lawes of this realme doth permit and allow, not 

 to vse fire, handguns, crossebowes, oyles, ointments, 

 pouders, and pellets made to cast in the waters to 

 stonny and poyson the fish, nor yet to vse all sortes of 

 nets, and such as are deuourers of fish, as bow nets, 

 casting nets, small trammels, shoue nets, and draught 

 nets : which are destroyers of fish before they are 

 growen to any bignesse. These are not meete to be 

 vsed but of certaine Gentlemen in their seuerall 

 waters, I would wish no running waters should be 

 let to any fisher man, without order what mesh, 

 what nets, he or they shall vse to fish with, and in 

 what moneths of the yeare to refraine fishing, vpon 

 paine to forfaite his lease and all such engins. 



Mascall goes on to advise restocking with the 

 burbot or eel pout, a fish now nearly extinct in 

 England, and not to be confounded with the viviparous 

 eel pout of salt water : 



Also it shall be good for all Gentlemen and others, 



