26 THE ANGLER, 



by a group of half-a-dozen admiring boys, 

 whose cries of ' Oh, look here ! he's got an- 

 other!' may effectually spoil his sport for an 

 hour or two. It is therefore natural that any 

 one who pursues angling on a well-known 

 stream should give a< decided preference to the 

 punt. 



" A punt is a flat-bottomed boat, in form an 

 oblong square, varying in length from nine to 

 fourteen feet, and in width from three to four 

 feet. The style of the boat may differ according 

 to the taste or fancy o^ the builder, but the 

 description generally found in our streams is 

 remarkable rather for its utility than its beauty. 

 The punt is provided with two poles, and a 

 piece of iron chain, for the purpose of fixing it 

 in the desired position on the river. The head- 

 pole, so called from its being fixed in the river 

 at or near the head of the punt, varies in length 

 from ten to fourteen feet, according to the size 

 of the punt. The bottom part is fixed in an 

 iron socket, terminating in a point, which en- 

 ables the puntsman, by driving the pole into 

 the bed of the river, and working it about, to 

 make it penetrate into the mud or sand, and 

 afford a purchase for fastening the head of the 

 punt by means of the iron chain. When this 

 is done, the other, or stern-pole, which is some- 

 what more slender, and about eight feet in 

 height, is fastened at the stern of the punt, by 

 forcing it in a slanting direction into the soil, 

 and tying it with a stout rope or chain. When 

 this is done, the pressure from the side of the 

 punt is sufficient to keep the pole in the re- 



