96 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



and shape, alter even as the ground out of which they are got 

 as the Marsh-worm, the Tag-tail, the Flag-worm, the Dock 

 worm, the Oak-worm, the Gilt-tail, the Twachel or Lob- 

 worm, * which of all others is the most excellent bait for a 

 Salmon, and too many to name, even as many sorts as some 

 think there be of several herbs or shrubs, or of several kinds of 

 birds in the air : of which I shall say no more, but tell you, 

 that what worms soever you fish with, are the better of being 

 well scoured, that is, long kept before they be used: and in 

 case you have not been so provident, then the way to cleanse 

 and scour them quickly is to put them all night in water, if 

 they be Lob-worms, and then put them into your bag with 

 fennel. But you must not put your Brandlings above an hour 

 in water, and then put them into fennel, for sudden use ; 

 but if you have time, and purpose to keep them long, then they 

 be best preserved in an earthen pot, with good store of moss, 

 which is to be fresh every three or four days in summer, and 

 every week or eight days in winter ; or, at least, the moss 

 taken from them, and clean washed, and wrung betwixt your 

 hands till it be dry, and then put it to them again. And when 

 your worms, especially the Brandling, begins to be sick and 

 lose of his bigness, then you may recover him, by putting a little 

 milk or cream (about a spoonful in a day) into them, by drops 

 on the moss ; and if there be added to the cream an egg beaten 

 and boiled in it, then it will both fatten and preserve them 

 long, f And note, that when the knot, which is near to the middle 



* To avoid confusion, it maybe necessary to remark, that the same kind 

 of worm is, in different places, known by diftert nt names : thus the Marsh 

 and the Meadow- worm are the same ; and the Lob-worm, or Twachel, is 

 also called the Dew- worm and the Garden- worm ; and the Dock-worm 

 is, in some places, called the Flag-worm. 



The Tag-tail is found in March and April, in marled lands or meadows, 

 after a shower of rain, or in a morning, when the weather is calm and not 

 cold. 



To find the Oak- worm, beat on an oak tree that grows over a highway 

 or bare place, and they will fall for you to gather. 



To find the Dock- worm, go to an old pond or pit, and pull up some of 

 the flags ; shake the roots in the water, and, amongst the fibres that grow 

 from the roots you will find little husks, or cases, of a reddish or yellowish 

 colour ; open these carefully with a pin, and take from thence a little 

 worm, pale and yellow, or white, like a Gentle, but longer and slenderer, 

 with rows of feet down his belly, and a red head : this is the Dock, or 

 Flag- worm, an excellent bait for Grayling, Tench, Bream, Carp, Roach, 



t The following is also an excellent way : namely, Take a piece of hop- 

 sack, or other very coarse cloth, and wash it clean, and let it dry, then 

 wet it in the liquor wherein beef has been boiled, (but be cafeful that the 

 beef is fresh, for salt will kill the worms,) and wring it, but not quite dry ; 

 put the worms into this cloth, and lay them in an earthen pot, and let 

 them stand from morning till night ; then take the worms from the cloth 

 and wa-hit, and wet it again in some of the liquor : do thus once a-day, 

 and you may keep worms in perfect health, and fit for use, for near a 

 month. 



Observe that the Lob, worm, Marsh-worm, and Red-worm, will bear 

 more scouring than any others, and are better for long keeping. 



