Xll PREFACE. 



ern fishes, and it was found a much more difficult matter than 

 was at first imagined ; yet the necessity of the case seeme< 1 

 to invite a continuation of the task. With the object in 

 view of a small pocket edition, of 150 pages, the work was 

 commenced and prosecuted under many difficulties ; but it 

 was found that the field was vast and almost unlimited ; that 

 compared with England, a work to embrace all the varieties 

 of the subject in the United States, would require the labor 

 of many years, and almost countless pages. The work there- 

 fore has been restricted to the description of fishes most gen- 

 erally angled for in the United States. The writer has endea- 

 vored to give in plain language, and as far as could be ascer- 

 tained, the modes adopted by the anglers and experienced 

 authors of both hemispheres, leaving the amateur, in many 

 cases, a selection of all, according to his own views, as occa- 

 sion may require. 



To the friends who have assisted him, and to the authors 

 consulted, he considers himself under many obligations for 

 the favors bestowed and the benefits derived. To those into 

 whose hands the work may fall, he submits it as an humble 

 attempt to impart practical information on an interesting 

 subject. 



