THE RAG-WORM OR ROCK-WORM. 189 



greasy black mud at low water with his hands, and preserving 

 them carefully in tray-like boxes 2 feet long by i broad, pitched 

 at the seams to render them water-tight, in which boxes they 

 are carefully tended with clean salt-water once or twice a day, 

 and every particle of filth removed, together with such as may 

 have been wounded in gathering, as their blood would kill the 

 whole stock if allowed to remain. 



When clean, these Worms are of flat form, as shown in fig. 

 2 1 (p. 68), and have a number of very short legs along their 

 sides, giving them a serrated or saw-like appearance ; they are 

 almost always in motion, and are of a pale pink or salmon 

 colour, some inclining to brown ; all sea-fish, as well as Fresh- 

 water Eels, greedily devour them. They are sold at Plymouth 

 in small measures about the size of an egg-cup, at id. a mea- 

 sure, and three or four pennyworth are generally sufficient for a 

 day's fishing for Whiting-Pollack, and should be kept in a box of 

 wood 2\ inches deep, i foot in length, and 8 inches in breadth, 

 having a cover, for if kept in a small box, heaped on each other, 

 they soon die. Take care to place them in the shade, for if the 

 sun shines on the cover of the box, they become sickly ; also 

 when you return from fishing, put them into a large box or 

 tray, and never mix a fresh and stale lot together. These 

 Worms are worth taking care of, as they are a choice bait. 



The larger Rag- Worms are found by digging in stony 

 ground, overlaying clay, sand, or gravel, as before mentioned, 

 and are to be kept in sand nearly dry, or in the leaves of the 

 sea-lettuce, which is found plentifully in harbours and sheltered 

 coves in the summer and autumn. Put them in a box with this 

 weed, as between the leaves of a book, and they will live 

 several days. If you have any broken pieces, place them in a 

 box by themselves, and use them first, or, as before observed, 

 they will poison the others. In Yorkshire it is known as the 

 1 Thirsk.' 



THE WHITE SAND-WORM. 



{Nereis versicolor). 



This Worm is found in oozy sand in bays and harbours, in 

 soil to all appearance similar to that inhabited by the Lug, yet 



