•^ THE ANGLER-NATUEALIST. 



for the most part what has been written has appeared in a 

 detached or fragmentary form, — the information furnished 

 being either too scanty and incompletCj or too diffuse and 

 overlaid with technicahties to suit the requirements of the 

 uninitiated. Thus it results that the " science of fish " is 

 still far from being as widely understood and appreciated as 

 amongst a nation of sportsmen might have been naturally 

 expected ; and the young student would probably find him- 

 self not a little perplexed in attempting to arrive, unaided, 

 at any clear general conception of a subject which, if 

 stripped of needless difficulties and plainly set before him, 

 he could have mastered with perfect ease. 



To the angler the value of even a moderate acquaintance 

 with ichthyology cannot be exaggerated. Not only is 

 it of the greatest practical use, by the insight which it 

 gives him into the habits, food, spawning-seasons, &c., of 

 the several fish — and consequently into the best means of 

 taking them — but it also doubles the pleasures of success. 

 The most insignificant captures have to the naturalist an 

 interest of their own, apart from their mere weight in 

 ounces. He is able to identify the various species he meets 

 with (many of which would otherwise pass unrecognized), 

 to distinguish their sexes, ages, and conditions, and to read 

 with an intelligent eye the wonders of this marvellous and 

 beautiful page of Nature. In spite of the advance of Fish- 

 science of late years, there are still many moot points 

 and disputed theories connected with it which require 

 elucidation, and possibly new varieties of fish yet to be 



