198 HOW TO USE GROUND-BAITS. 



clay ; and some believers in the peculiar predilection of 

 fish for perfumes, recommend the incorporation of a 

 little of the gum or oil of ivy berries with the mass, to 

 render it more grateful to their nasal organs, but this 

 part of the recipe may be dispensed with. The angler 

 being furnished with a bag full of the above mixture, 

 must cast a ball the size of a hen's egg into the water 

 every ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, or whenever 

 the fish cease to bite ; and proceed to angle with well- 

 scoured worms, backwards and forwards, all over the 

 reach of water below his ground-bait, but principally 

 for a few yards immediately below it, where he will 

 find the most fish congregated. If there are any trout 

 in the neighbourhood, they will shortly be drawn to- 

 wards the spot by the scent of the worms, and all the 

 eels within a considerable distance will be speedily put 

 on the alert, and follow the taint of the blood up the 

 water Eke a pack of jackals, when there will be no 

 lack of sport, especially if it be after three o'clock in the 

 afternoon. Where the current is gentle, and the water 

 above three feet in depth, the angler will find either a 

 quill or a small cork float upon his line an advantage ; 

 but should circumstances not admit of the float being 

 used, the line must either be without sinkers at, all, or 

 otherwise weighted according to the depth and strength 

 of the current. 



