ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 119 



An ingenious method of ground-baiting with 

 worms is described : 



If you will bait a stream, get some tin boxes made 

 full of holes, no bigger than just fit for a worm to 

 creep through ; then fill these boxes with them, and 

 having fastened a plummet to sink them, cast them 

 into the stream with a string tied there to, that you 

 may draw them forth when you list. By the 

 smallness of the holes aforesaid, the worms can 

 crawl out but very leisurely, and as they crawl the 

 fish will resort about them. 



This is the first angling work to mention the use 

 of a catgut line : " Also a line made of the smallest 

 Lute string is very good, but that it will soon rot 

 by the water." Pepys, however, in his Diary 

 anticipated this; for on i8th March 1667, he made 

 the following entry : " This day Mr Caesar told me 

 a pretty experiment of his, angling with a minikin, 

 a gut-string varnished over, which keeps it from 

 swelling, and is beyond any hair for strength and 

 smallness. The secret I like mightily." 



Cox is, I believe, the first angling writer to mention 

 the Torgoch or Welsh charr (Salmo perisii) : 



Of the Torcoth. The Torcoth is a fish having a 

 red belly but of what continuation I know not ; for 

 that let the Welshmen speak, who best know him : 

 for I have heard he is only to be found in the pool 

 Lin-peris in Carnarvonshire : I only name him that 

 you may know that there is such a fish. 



The author concludes his book as follows : 



I shall conclude this Treatise with the experi- 



