50 THE SCOTTISH ANGLER. 



this is, that some mole is imagined to be near at hand 

 by these reptiles, who, accordingly, attempt their es- 

 cape by shooting upwards, and then travelling over the 

 top instead of working their way out of reach, through 

 a stubborn mass of earth, which their natural enemy 

 might penetrate much faster. This method of captur- 

 ing worms has the advantage of bringing them into 

 your hands in a purified condition, free from filth and 

 injury, both of which your delving instrument is apt to 

 occasion. 



In taking your worms, have a flannel bag near you, 

 filled with fresh clean moss, into which drop them 

 when seized. They should be kept two or three days 

 in a cool place, before used, in order to be thoroughly 

 purged and toughened. Take care that the moss be- 

 come neither too dry nor too wet; a spoonful of cream 

 or sweet milk is a good remedy for the former defect 

 a better, is to change it every other day, for some newly 

 plucked. In preparing worms, a common flowerpot 

 is a good recipient. Some anglers redden theirs with 

 a mixture of pounded brick, oatmeal, and water : the 

 effect of this composition is nevertheless entirely fan- 

 ciful. 



In a former chapter, we treated of the size of the 

 hook used in bait fishing, and noticed that the best 

 craftsmen prefer a large one. As sold in Scotland, our 

 bait hooks are all too long in the shank, a defect which 

 the file or fingers will easily remedy. The manner of 

 attaching the bait is of some importance. Many 

 anglers have a notion, that, by merely concealing the 

 hook, they achieve all that is requisite. Nothing can 

 be more erroneous. A stiff unbending curve is any 

 thing but the natural shape of a worm, which, espe- 

 cially in water, is given to twist itself and perform nu- 

 merous evolutions all of them attractive to the eye of 



