226 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



be dignified by the title of the ' Wormery ; ' this, of course, 

 gives additional weight to his recommendations : 



I have, he says, six tubs in the garden about 2 feet each in 

 diameter and about 4 feet deep. These I sink into the ground 

 1 5 inches, and then fill them up with garden mould about 20 inches, 

 and as I collect the worms I place them on the top of the mould in 

 tub No. I until I have 2,500, and then the other tubs until full. 



The worms will live in tubs so arranged for months ; no trouble 

 need be taken. The worms will work down into the mould. A 

 cover must be placed on the top of each tub to keep the birds and 

 rain out, the cover to be slightly raised for ventilation. I look at 

 the tubs once a week, and if I find any dead ones at the top I im- 

 mediately remove them. 



The worms can only be taken on a warm, damp, moonless night, 

 and on these favourable evenings I catch my supply. During theclose 

 season I manage to get nearly 20,000 lobs, and have plenty during 

 the hot summer months when worming is out of the question. 



Now, for the blood-worms and brandlings. These I have to 

 breed. The blood-worm will be found in rotten, decayed leaves 

 in abundance. The brandling I breed in the following mixture : 

 stable dung, garden mould, vegetable matter of all kinds, the refuse 

 of the kitchen, watered continually with the cook's pot liquor. A 

 heap of this made up 12 feet square and 2 feet deep will supply 

 millions of worms. Now comes the most important part — the 

 preparation of the worm for the hook. I take two flower-pots 

 large enough to hold two quarts of water, well plug the hole at 

 bottom with a cork, fill them three-parts full with fresh moss 

 washed very clean ; the moss must be wet, but not very wet. Pick 

 out the brightest and pinkest-looking worms — say, one hundred — 

 place them carefully on the top of the moss, cover the pot over to 

 prevent the worms crawling out, place the pot in a shady corner, 

 leave it for twenty-four hours, then take your other pot and place 

 the worms very carefully one by one in that ; repeat this for six 

 days, taking care that the moss is fresh and well washed each 

 time. At the end of the sixth day you will have a worm clean, 

 transparent, and full of life. The worm will then be ready for 

 your bait-box, which should be nearly full of fresh moss, well 

 washed, and be wet, but not too wet. 



The worms for the ground-bait I clean in moss for two days 

 only ; you want the fish to select, and if you have the choice 

 morsel on your hook there is every probability that on the hook 



