ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 73 



detailed and practical instructions to the angler in 

 regard to selecting a swim, plumbing the depth, 

 preparing the bait, and the method of placing it on 

 the hook: it also contrasts the different styles of 

 tackle suitable for a large river like the Thames, with 

 those suitable for a smaller river such as the " New 

 River." In fact, it conveys the impression of having 

 been written by a practical angler, a qualification 

 which is not betrayed in any of the other works 

 attributed to Markham. 



I have entered thus fully into my reasons for 

 believing that Markham was not the author of this 

 book, because its authorship has hitherto been 

 attributed to him by all the angling bibliographers. 

 The fact that his initials are affixed to the book, and 

 that it has been included in some of the posthumous 

 editions of his works, has probably led to this error. 

 At the time when it was published there was 

 evidently a demand for Markham's books, which 

 appear then to have occupied a position comparable 

 with that held by Mrs Beeton's various works at the 

 present day : therefore a reason existed for fathering 

 upon him the works of later and unknown authors. 



During the period when Markham was writing, 

 William Lawson edited, with notes, an edition of 

 Dennys' Secrets of Angling, and also wrote a work 

 entitled A New Orchard and Garden, a book which 

 was bound up with Markham's Country Contentments, 

 and sold with it under the collective title of A Way to 

 get Wealth. 



