ON EAPID STREAMS. 175 



rod of hollow bamboo, with a split eane top, 

 sixteen feet long, is required. If the water be 

 high and very rapid, use from two to four small 

 shot, one inch apart, the lowest eight inches from 

 the hook in bright weather, or when the waters 

 are low, I use no shot. I consider at such times 

 the shot a useless encumbrance, but when the 

 water is very high and rapid it is useful to prevent 

 the worm being too rapidly carried away by the 

 stream, and to Desist the action of the water upon 

 the hair or gut between the hook and the rod. 



Since the worm forms an article of diet in ex- 

 tensive use by the trout, and for which he seems 

 to have an universal liking, it follows that as a 

 bait for his destruction, its employment by the 

 fisherman is of a very general character indeed 

 the worm may be used wherever there are trout ; 

 at the same time, since there are difficulties to be 

 overcome in its employment, we may expect to 

 find some streams more favourable to our practi- 

 cal efforts than others would be ; so also the par- 

 ticular conditions of a stream may favour or op- 

 pose our attempts. So that whilst we admit the 

 worm to be an universal bait for trout, we yet 

 are conscious of certain circumstances which will 

 very materially affect our success in its usage, 

 and modify our manner of working with it. The 

 most convenient way of carrying the worms when 

 fishing is to have a bag six or eight inches long, 

 made of brown holland, with a tape to close it ; 

 in this bag some moss should be put for them, 

 and it may be carried in the basket. A small 



