HOW TO CAPTURE THE RAZOR-FISH. 325 



sion. The fisher, on the alert, must quickly seize his 

 prey, or else it will dart back again into its retreat, 

 whence no amount of salting or coaxing will bring it 

 out again.' 



If after reading the above quotation any person 

 should fancy that in his mind's eye he perceives at 

 many sea-side places, scores of hardy, weather-beaten 

 fishermen walking about, each armed with nothing 

 but a box filled with salt, wherewith to bamboozle 

 the Spout-Fish, he will be most lamentably deceived. 

 True it is, this plan is sometimes adopted by chil- 

 dren and amateur naturalists, but by fishermen 

 never. Instead of a salt-box, these, when in search 

 of their favourite bait, always carry a kind of har- 

 poon, formed of a piece of iron rod, the end of which 

 is sharpened to a point. 



Having witnessed the Solen throw up his jet of 

 water, and retire beneath the soil, the fisherman 

 suddenly plunges his instrument into the orifice. 

 Should the action have been skilfully performed, the 

 rod will have pierced the animal between its valves, 

 which instantly retract upon the intruding object. 

 To draw the fish to the surface is then a compara- 

 tively easy task. If the first plunge of the rod be not 

 successful, the fisher knows full well it would 

 be futile for him to repeat the attempt, as the 

 object of his attack would quickly burrow itself 

 down to such a depth as to render pursuit hope- 

 less. 



