52 ANGLING. 



head of the hook, reserving a fine one for the point. When 

 soft and broken it may be mixed with a little bread paste, 

 as salmon roe paste. 



12. The cockroach. Trout and other fish bite at cock- 

 roaches at a mUl-tail, from whence they might be supposed 

 to have come. 



13. Greaves, familiarly known as " scratchings," are the 

 refuse of a tallow chandler's melting-copper, pressed into 

 large cakes. The best are, however, those made by the lard 

 " renderers " and refiners. To prepare it for use, it is 

 broken up and scalded. The whitest portions are chosen 

 for the hook, and the others are used for ground-bait for 

 barbel, chub, &c. 



14. Boiled malt, barley, or wheat, is a famous bait for 

 roach in the autumn, and is far better than brewer's 

 grains, which should only be used for ground-bait. If the 

 angler has time to prepare the grain himself, wheat should 

 be steeped all night in plenty of lukewarm water, and then 

 placed in a warm (not hot) oven for several hours, until the 

 skin cracks and shows the white fecula. Malt, which appears 

 to be a more attractive bait than either barley or wheat, 

 is prepared in a similar way ; but for success it should not 

 be allowed to get too soft, and should only just show the 

 inside. The plumpest grains should be chosen for the 

 hook, and the rest used as ground-bait. In September 

 and October I have found this a more attractive bait than 

 any paste. Sometimes the husks are removed, and the 

 flour kneaded to a fine paste. London anglers all speak 

 well of boiled pearl barley as a bait for roach, and during 

 the past season I have tried it with success in the Avon. 



I never met with a bottom-fisher who was not " great " 

 in the matter of pastes, and able to sing loudly in praise cf 



