BAITS. 



into baits Slice off about ' a third of the thickness from the 

 inside. 



To bait with Snipe-Eel or Long-Nose use the same method 

 as for Pilchard. 



Mussels also are very good bait, but do not hold on the 

 hook as well as the preceding ; they are very plentiful on the 

 gravel and mud-banks in most of the large tidal rivers of the 

 kingdom, and are very generally used as food ; but are often 



FlG. 14. First insertion of hook. FIG. 15. Hook completely baited. 



the cause of serious illness. I should therefore advise my 

 readers never to venture on this perilous shell-fish. They 

 are occasionally met with on the recks of the open shore, but 

 of a smaller size than those in rivers ; it being apparently 

 necessary that they should have a mixture of fresh with salt 

 water, for in such situations they are of greater magnitude and 

 much more abundant. To this rule there are, however, some 

 exceptions. 



For Whiting catching they certainly should not be less than 



