PREFACE. Vll 



these we have thoroughly tested before admit- 

 ting it into the following pages ; and we may 

 safely say that we have gained more from half 

 an hour's conversation with such, than from all 

 the books we ever read upon the subject, and 

 their number is not small ; most works upon 

 angling being rather amusing than instructive. 

 The angler will not find this the case in the 

 following volume ; if he finds nothing instructive, 

 he will certainly find nothing amusing ; and we 

 found our claims to the attention of the angling 

 community solely upon the ground of the infor- 

 mation we have to convey, which we have 

 endeavoured to make as distinct as possible ; 

 and as this treatise is only intended for anglers, 

 we expect that the style and composition will 

 not be very severely criticised. 



EDINBURGH, January 1857. 



