ITS DEFECTS AND REMEDIES. 23 



a moorhen stuck in his throat, the feet pro- 

 truding from his mouth, and bidding fair 

 to have choked him in a few minutes, had 

 not destiny in the shape of a landing net 

 reserved him for a more aristocratic fate. 

 On another occasion a Jack I had killed, 

 on being opened, was found to have actually 

 swallowed and partially digested a smaller 

 member of its own species, weighing upwards 

 of a pound. But the fallacy of the opinion 

 or rather of the theory based upon it 

 lies in the assumption that because a hungry 

 Jack will take this or that, a Jack who is not 

 hungry will do the same. Nothing can be 

 a greater absurdity. A Jack is regularly on 

 the feed once, or at most twice, during the 

 twenty-four hours ; and when only partially 

 gorged, or not very hungry, his appetite is 

 dainty and requires to be tickled. At these 

 times a man who fishes fine will take plenty 

 of fish, whilst one who uses coarse tackle 

 will as certainly take none at all ; and this 



