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his dogs in vain over the hill-side, where the birds, hours before, might have been expected, the older sportsman profits by his experience, and seldom fails in discovering the dell or hillock where, in fancied security, the indolent pack is reposing."

Our most practical authority on this exciting topic is the "Oakleigh Shooting Guide :"*" Grouse shooters should separate and range singly; they should have no noisy attendants. In wet weather one dog is sufficient; we advise rest from eleven till two. The flight of grouse is generally about half a mile. Their favourite haunts, when undisturbed, are those patches of ground where the young heather is most luxuriant. They avoid rocks, and bare places where the heather has been recently burut; at any rate, they are not to be approached in such places. It is in young heather that grouse most frequently feed. They are seldom found in the very long thick heather that clothes some part of the hills, until driven there for shelter by shooters or others. It is early in the morning and towards evening that grouse are to be found in young heather. During the middle of the day the shooter should range the sunny side of the hill, and avoid plains.

No species of shooting requires the aid of good dogs more than grouse shooting, and in no sport does so much annoyance result from the use of bad ones. The best dog, perhaps, for the moors, is a well-bred pointer, not more than five years old, which has been well tutored-young in years, but a veteran in experience. The setter is occasionally used with success, but we prefer the pointer. The latter has unquestionably the advantage when the moors are dry, as it not unfrequently happens that they are in August. If a setter cannot find water wherein to wet his feet every half hour, he will not be able to undergo much fatigue. Some sportsmen will hunt a couple of mute spaniels for grouse shooting in preference to any other team of dogs. Of course, when this method is pursued, the birds are never pointed, and the shooter must ever be on the look-out, for the game is generally sprung very near to the gun." Partridge Shooting.-Of partridges there are two kinds, the red and grey, the latter being that which is common in this country; the plumage is of a brown and ash colour, elegantly mixed with black; the tail is short, and the figure more plump thau handsome. Partridges pair about the third week of February, and sometimes, after being paired, if the weather be severe, they all gather together and form a covey, and are then said to pack. They begin to lay in six weeks after pairing. The female lays her eggs on the ground, scraping together a few bents and decayed leaves into any small hollow. The young birds begin to appear about the first ten days in June, and the earliest will take the wing towards the latter end of that month. In dry seasons they are most numerous. So many are the enemies of the partridge, that it is believed never more than a half of those produced come to perfection. The affection of both parents for their young is very remarkable; they lead them out in quest of food, shelter them with their wings, and resort to many tricks to lead supposed enemies away from their broods.

Partridge shooting commences, by law, on the 1st of September, when the birds are strong. In the course of this month, the short flights of the coveys, in tolerably well-preserved grounds, afford abundance of sport. In more open districts of country, where there is a wider range, partridge shooting requires more skill, and a steady pointer or setter. In shooting either at a flight of grouse or covey of partridges, select a bird on the outside, and fire at it alone; it is only over hasty or ill-taught sportsmen who let fly indiscriminately at the centre of a group of birds.

Pheasant Shooting.-Pheasants are a species of birds allied to domestic fowls, and partake of some of their habits; no birds of the game kind possess such elegant plumage, and few are so large. They breed on the This manual has been republished in an improved and handsome form in the volume entitled The Rod and the Gun." A. and C. Black, Edinburgh.

ground, and, like partridges, are fond of nestling in clover; but their chief resort is shrubberies or secluded spots in plantations. The pheasant and its brood, if uudisturbed, remain in the stubbles and hedgerows some time after corn harvest; if molested, they seek the woods, and only issue thence to feed in the stubbles at morning and evening. Besides corn, the birds will live on wild berries, or any seeds they can pick up. As the cold weather comes on, they begin to fly up at sunset into trees, where they roost during the night.

"For shooting pheasants, it often becomes necessary to start very early in the morning, as they are apt to lie during the day in high covert, where it is almost impossible to shoot them till the leaf has fallen from the trees. We can never be at a loss in knowing where to go for pheasants, as we have only to send some one the previous evening, for the last hour before sunset, to watch the different barley or oat stubbles of a woodland country, and on these will be regularly displayed the whole contents of the neighbouring coverts It then remains to be chosen which woods are the best calculated to shoot in; and when we begin beating them, it must be remembered to draw the springs, so as to intercept the birds from the old wood. If the coverts are wet, the hedgerows will be an excellent beginning, provided we here also attend well to getting between the birds and their places of security. If phea sants, when feeding, are approached by a man, they generally run into covert; but if they see a dog, they are apt to fly up.

There are very few old sportsmen but are aware that this is by far the most sure method of killing pheasants, or any other game, where they are toler ably plentiful in covert; and although, to explore and beat several hundred acres of coppice, it becomes necessary to have a party with spaniels, yet on such expe ditions we rarely hear of any one getting much game to his own share, except some sly old fellow, who has shirked from his companions to the end of the wood, where the pheasants, and particularly the cock birda, on hearing the approach of a rabble, are all running like a retreating army, and perhaps flying in his face faster than he can load and fire."

It is necessary, in pheasant-shooting, to use a short double-barrelled gun of wide bore, and large shot. Fire at not a greater distance than thirty yards, and only when the bird has risen clear of the bushes; aim is to be taken at the head; but if the pheasant is crossing your path, fire a little before the head, the rapid flight of the animal bringing it in contact with the shot. To wards November, this field-sport may be united with woodcock shooting.

GAME.

According to law, wild animals are no one's property but of these animals only certain kinds may be küled without a license. Those protected from indiscriminate slaughter are called game, and are deer of every species, foxes, hares, partridges, grouse, pheasants, woodcocks, snipes, &c. The wild animals not reckoned game are rabbits, rats, mice, crows, rooks, pigecent sparrows, all kinds of sea-birds, &c.; any one may and appropriate these, provided it be in a highway, the sea-shore, or any other public ground. Game cann be legally taken or killed in any form without a licen procured from the competent officer of the crown, and a permission from the proprietor of the ground o which the game happens to be. To shoot or hunt with out a license is called poaching; to shoot or hunt with a license, but without a permission, renders the perm liable to an action for trespass. These game laws are relics of ancient laws instituted by the Anglo-Saxon and Norman sovereigns for protection of the royal forests; and though some of these provisions are useful, they are, generally speaking, a disgrace to the statute book, and ought to be simplified and amended.

Printed and published by W. and R. Chamnans, Flir magh Sold also by W. 5. ORR and Co. Landbm.

CHAMBERS'S

[graphic]

INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE.

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF CHAMBERS'S
EDINBURGH JOURNAL, EDUCATIONAL COURSE, &c.

NEW AND IMPROVED SERIES.

ANGLING.

PRICE 14d.

ANGLING is the art of alluring and capturing fish by means of a rod and line, to which a hooked bait of some kind is attached-an angle, as it were, being formed by the apparatus as held over the surface of the water. Either for profit or amusement, the practice of taking fish in this excusably crafty manner is of great antiquity, as we may learn from the mention made of it by the prophet Isaiah: "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle in the brooks" (chap. xix., ver. 8). As well as fishing with nets, the practice has continued through all ages to the present time, and in almost all countries. In the British islands, it has long formed a favourite pastime among every class of society, lay and clerical, and to all presents many featores of attraction. "It is," to use the words of Mr Blaine, "far from dangerous or expensive, but on the contrary is productive of interest and amusement without an extraordinary sacrifice. Its apparent simplicity lures many into the practice; and as a trifling success elates the tyro and leads him on by its fascinations, so he pursues it, although he soon discovers that extreme nicety and precision, great patience, caution, and perseverance, are essential requisites to the attainment of proficiency in the art. Nevertheless, he still continues the pursuit; difficulty after difficulty is overcome; each succeeding year adds interest to the practice, which he continues with undiminished ardour to the latest period of his life. It is asserted, and we believe with truth, that there is not one among the field-sports that takes so permanent a hold on the passions as this. It is no less remarkable for the variety it offers, for it presents itself under many forms, some of which are suited to the taste of every age, of every rank, and every variety of character and habit. The sedentary, the thoughtful, and the advanced in life, may watch the float as it

slowly moves with the stream, without disturbance to the train of thought, or without any fatiguing exercise to their person. The active and volatile may throw afar the leaded bait for the pike, or may engage in the graceful evolutions of the fly-rod. Its seductions, therefore, prove universal, and it owns votaries of every age and station." As the sport is pursued on the banks of rivers or lakes, in the midst of purely natural scenery, and in weather which invites to outof-door recreation, all conspires to render it in a peculiar manner delightful and healthful, when indulged in with judicious moderation.

No kind of amusement has been the object of such frequent description as angling. Hundreds of treatises have been written descriptive of the sport in all its departments, and with reference to all varieties of fish and the waters to which they resort. The first writer of note on the subject, and who has been acknowledged the great father of the angle, was Isaac Walton (born at Stafford 1593, died 1683), who in the year 1653 gave to the world his "Complete Angler," a work afterwards enriched with additions by his friend Charles Cotton, and which till this day is esteemed not more for the correctness of its details than the singularly happy humour of its apologues, poetical pieces, and disquisitions. According to old Isaac, all recreations sink into insignificance in comparison with angling, which in almost every page he lauds for its moral qualities, and the happiness it is calculated to yield. "Will you hear," says he on one occasion," the wish of an angler, and the commendation of his happy life, which he sings in verse:

Let me live harmlessly, and near the brink
Of Trent or Avon have a dwelling-place,
Where I may see my quill or cork down sink
With eager bite of perch, or bleak, or dace;
And on the world and my Creator think,

Whilst some men strive ill-gotten goods to embrace,
And others spend their time in base excess
Of wine or worse, in war and wantonness.
Let them that list these pastimes still pursue,
And on such pleasing fancies feed their fill,
So I the fields and meadows green may view,
And daily by fresh rivers walk at will,
Among the daisies and the violets blue,
Red hyacinth and yellow daffodil,
Purple narcissus, like the morning rays,
Pale gander-grass, and azure culver-keys.
I count it higher pleasure to behold

The stately compass of the lofty sky,
And in the midst thereof, like burning gold,
The flaming chariot of the world's great eye;
The watery clouds that in the air up-roll'd,
With sundry kinds of painted colours fly;
And fair Aurora, lifting up her head,
Still blushing, rise from old Tithonus' bed.
The hills and mountains raised from the plains,
The plains extended level with the ground;
The grounds divided into sundry veins,
The veins enclosed with rivers running round;

These rivers, making way through nature's chains,

With headlong course into the sea profound;
The raging sea, beneath the valleys low,
Where lakes, and rills, and rivulets do flow.

The lofty woods, the forests wide and long,

Adorn'd with leaves and branches fresh and green,
In whose cool bowers the birds, with many a song,
Do welcome with their choir the summer's queen;
The meadows fair, where Flora's gifts among

Are intermix'd with verdant grass between;
The silver scaled fish, that softly swim
Within the sweet brook's crystal watery stream:
All these, and many more of His creation

That made the heavens, the angler oft doth see;
Taking therein no little delectation,

To think how strange, how wonderful they be,
Framing thereof an inward contemplation

To set his heart from other fancies free;
And whilst he looks on these with joyful eye,
His mind is rapt above the starry sky.'"

So much for the poetry of angling; we shall now speak of the practice of the art, beginning with a few observations on the

GENERAL CHARACTER OF FISH.

The fish which are the object of attention to the angler are all confined to fresh water, and are chiefly found in rivers or small brooks; some are found in lakes and ponds. All, except eels, have a pretty uniform character, though differing in appearance and size. Their form is suitable, in a remarkable way, to give celerity and ease of motion-a small head swelling into a thick body, and tapering off towards the tail. Those designed for slower motion are more thick and lumpy in figure. The power of moving quickly, and of buoying themselves in the water, is very nicely provided for by their specific gravity, which is nearly the same as the water in which they move; in other words, they are about the same heaviness as the water which they displace, and consequently they are almost destitute of any feeling of weight. On this account they are not in the slightest degree encumbered in their movements, and difficult to tire in their exertions.

The tail is the grand instrument of motion; it is a thin delicate membrane, whose smallest bending to and fro impels the body forward in any required course. The fins are principally required for balancing and regulating the movements of the fish; if any be cut off, the animal loses the power of keeping itself with the back fairly upwards; should it be deprived of the tail, the ability of moving forward is gone, and it lies a hulk at the mercy of its enemies. Not the least remarkable peculiarity in the economy of the fish is the existence of an air-bladder, by the dilatation or contraction of which it possesses the power of rising or sinking in the water, according as it feels inclined. It may be observed that fish, while in water, are constantly moving the gills, which is analogous to the art of breathing. The water sucked in by the mouth, and vented by the gills, contributes a minute portion of air, but enough to keep up the circulation of the blood and sustain life; if we were to tie up the gills, the fish would be immediately suffocated. The blood of fish is cold, being only about two degrees warmer than the water in which they live.

The senses of fish have engaged much attention from naturalists. Their quickest sense is that of sight; but they are destitute of the power of contracting the iris of the eye, so as to accommodate themselves to different degrees of light. In ordinary circumstances this is of no consequence, as the water diminishes the intensity of light, and the animal has the means of retiring to the bottom, or into holes, to escape the glare of the mid-day sun. It has been doubted if fish have any organs of hearing; but it is certain they do possess them, and hear to a limited extent. They are affected by any loud noise, though this may be partly ascribable to feeling the vibrations of the water. The taste of fish is allowed to be very blunt, if it exist at all; and so, likewise, is their smell. Whatever may be their deficiencies in these respects, they are provided with an appetite of boundless voracity.

"Every aquatic animal that has life," observes Da niel, "falls a victim to the indiscriminate voracity one or other of the fishes. Insects, worms, or the spawn of other tenants of the waters, sustain the smal tribes; which in their turn are pursued by mal larger and more rapacious. A few feed upon mi 1 aquatic plants, or grains of corn; but the far greate: numbers subsist upon animal food alone; and of th they are so ravenous as not to spare those of their own kind. That there are vegetables in both fre and salt waters admits no doubt, and these may furna food to particular fishes; but those sorts are few, perhaps no one kind can be pointed out that subsists entirely upon them; and although most fishes eat f and terrestrial worms when they come in their way, yet in the immeasurable waste of waters surround this globe, the swarms of fishes are so immense thai the subsistence to be derived from the above sources appears to be altogether disproportioned to their wants and those of a smaller size seem to constitute the pr cipal food of nearly all the fishes known to us. Char kept in a pond, if scantily supplied, frequently devot their own young; other fish, that are larger, go quest of more bulky prey, it matters not of what sort whether of their own or of another species. If we turn our attention, in this argument, to sea-fish, those wiz the most capacious mouths pursue almost every thi that exists, and often meet each other in fierce op; sition, when the fish which has the widest throat co off with victory, and devours his antagonist.

The voracious fishes differ widely from the predator kinds of terrestrial animals; they are neither lime in their number nor solitary in their habits. Ther rapacity is not confined to a few species, one regian - ' the sea, or individual efforts. Almost the whole ordis continually irritated by the cravings of an appetri which excites them to encounter every danger, as which, by its excess, often destroys that existence bar it was intended to prolong. Innumerable shoals of species pursue those of another through vast tracts the ocean, from the vicinity of the pole to the equator The cod pursues the whiting, which flies before it frem the banks of Newfoundland to the southern coasts Spain. The cachalot drives whole armies of herreg from the regions of the north, devouring at every stant thousands in the rear. Hence the life of every fish, from the smallest to the greatest, is but a en nued scene of rapine; and every quarter of the imme deep presents one uniform picture of hostility, violenes, and invasion.

In these conflicts, occasioned by the voracity oẻ the different kinds of fishes, the smaller classes mus have long since fallen victims to the avidity of the larger, had not nature skilfully proportioned the mears of their escape, their numbers, and their product powers, to the extent and variety of the dangers t which they are unceasingly exposed. To supply the constant waste occasioned by their destruction in the unequal combat, they are not only more numerous uusi prolific than the larger species, but, by a happy => stinct, are directed to seek for food and protection near the shore, where, from the shallowness of the water, their foes are unable to pursue them. These, however. yielding to the strong impulse of hunger, become pho derers in their turn, and revenge the injuries commate on their kind by destroying the spawn of the greater fishes, which they find floating upon the surface of water.

In what manner digestion, to such an amazing e tent and rapidity, is carried on in the stomach fishes, the inquiries of naturalists have at present bear unable to ascertain. It so far exceeds every thing that can be effected either by trituration, the operation heat, or of a dissolving fluid, that a celebrated phys cian (Dr Hunter), after various experiments, was opinion that none of these causes were equal to the effect, and that the digestive force in the cold maw e fishes is so great as to overturn the systems that hav attempted to account for it on those principles; ther

by some power in the stomach yet unknown, which from all kinds of artificial maceration acts differently, the meat taken into the maw is often seen, although nearly digested, still to retain its original form; and whilst ready for a total dissolution, appears to the eye as yet untouched by the force of the stomach." It may be added, that although generally voracious, fish have a remarkably accommodating appetite, and will endure hunger a much longer period than most terrestrial animals.

Fishes are for the greater part oviparous, that is, produced by eggs or spawn, in the deposition of which a male and female fish are concerned. It is usual to call the male a milt or milter, and the female a roe or rowaner. The process of spawning, which takes place in secluded parts in the beds of rivers, is involved in considerable obscurity. The salmon, of which most is known, seeks the higher parts of rivers for spawning, and there the deposit is made. Mr Halliday, in his communications to the House of Commons on this subject, describes the process as follows:-" When they proceed to the shallow waters, which is generally in the morning, or at twilight in the evening, they play round the ground, two of them together. When they begin to make the furrow, they work up the gravel rather against the stream, as a salmon cannot work with his head down the stream, for the water entering his gills in this manner would drown him. When they have made a furrow, they go to a little distance, the one to one side and the other to the other side of the furrow, and throw themselves on their sides when they come together, and, rubbing against each other, they shed their spawn both into the furrow at once. They do not lay it all at once; on the contrary, it requires from about eight to twelve days for them to lay their stock of spawn, which being deposited, the bed is made and covered as they go along, both assisting in the ope

ration."

Immediately after spawning, all fish are thin and poor, and not worth the trouble of catching. In about twenty days, if the circumstances be favourable, the eggs are hatched, and emit the young fry of fish. The number of young is in some cases enormous. Carp, perch, or roach, produce from 30,000 to 200,000 young; a herring from 20,000 to 36,000; a mackerel from 400,000 to 500,000; and a cod between three and four millions. Of the young of any fish, however, comparatively few reach maturity, the greater proportion being devoured by enemies shortly after hatching. As if for the sake of mutual protection, most fish of a kind, as may be observed in the case of minnows and pars, associate together and swim in flocks.

ing up the line, he was astonished to find the identical perch that eluded his grasp a few minutes before, and which literally perished in swallowing its own eye.

Fishes are exposed not only to external foes, which it requires all their dexterity to elude, but to the torment of parasitical marauders in their own person. Besides creatures which make a lodgment in the intestines, various parasites fix themselves beneath the scales, in the mouth, and upon the gills. Salmon, perch, trout, and other fresh-water fish, are preyed upon in this manner by different species of lice; and as some of these parasites cannot live in salt water, it has been supposed that one of the reasons for the salmon migrating to the sea is to relieve itself from the lice (lernea salmonia) which have adhered to its gills. The trout louse, or lernea trutta, is not unknown to trout fishers.

FISHING-TACKLE.

The Rod.

This is the chief implement of the angler. It ought to be strong, but perfectly elastic, and bend, on being waved, through its upper half, but particularly at the small tapering point. The wood most suitable is hickory or ash, with yew for the upper part, to which a point of whalebone is attached. The size and strength must depend on the nature of the duty to which the rod is put. One for trout, perch, &c., ought to be from twelve to fifteen feet in length, and a salmon one from sixteen to twenty feet, besides being considerably stronger. Whatever be the length, it must be quite straight, and on all occasions bend back to its original straightness. If there be a single knot in the timber reject it, for it will certainly snap at the first severe pull or jerk. It should be varnished, to protect it from the action of the water. The rod is not all of one piece. For the sake of convenience, it is divided into four, or perhaps six pieces in the length. These pieces are usually joined by means of screws and verules; but if this be the plan of the rod offered to your choice, take care to see that these metal junctions do not impair the bending properties of the instrument, or render it too heavy. Rods of a plain kind made in the country are spliced with waxed threads, and these are generally more serviceable than the fine-looking rods manufactured in cities. Listen to what John Young of St Boswells (a village on the Tweed) says on this subject :-" To those who reside near the water, I would recommend a rod all of glued and tied joints as best in point of real use, and not so liable to break in the moment of action. Or, indeed, even for travelling, I would prefer tied joints, That fishes are liable to diseases arising from varia- as wherever a person has time to stop to fish, though tions of temperature and other causes, there is no reason only for a day or two, he has at least five minutes to to doubt; but few are ever seen dead in the water, there spare for tying his rod in a sufficient manner. being too many scavengers of the deep to allow of this are often breaking at brass joints, and those who use waste of food. In general, the weak fall a prey to the them, instead of bringing in a back-load of fish, are strong before the period of natural death. It is under-constantly arriving home from the water, telling you, stood that fishes possess a blunted nervous energy, 'I've broke my rod! Such sickening news may genewhich renders them almost insensible to any ordinary rally be prevented by tied joints."* infliction; and so mean are their reflective faculties, At the bottom of the rod, where it is grasped by the that after escaping from a hook which has lacerated hand, a brass reel or pirn is attached, and on this the their palate, they will in the next minute catch at a simi- line is wound. It should be simple in its mechanism, lar bait, and be hooked a second time and drawn from so as to allow of expeditious winding or unwinding. the water. A number of years ago, two young gentlemen, The line is conducted from the reel to the upper terwhile fishing in a lake in Dumfriesshire, having ex-mination through small wire loops, in Scotland called pended their stock of worms, had recourse to the ex-mylies, which are fixed to the rod; these must be in pedient of picking out the eyes of the dead perch they had taken, and attaching them to their hooks-a bait which this fish is known to take as readily as any other; one of the perch caught in this manner struggled so much when taken out of the water, that the hook had no sooner been loosened from its mouth than it came in contact with one of its eyes, and actually tore it out. In the struggle, the fish slipped through the holder's fingers, and again escaped to its native element. The disappointed fisher still retaining the eye of the aquatic fugitive, adjusted it on the hook, and again committed his line to the waters. After a short interval, on pull- St Boswells. Edinburgh: Blackwood and Sons. 1840.

Rods

an even line when the pieces of the rod are joined together, and be about a foot asunder. In fashionable rods, the mylies are small rings held by wires to the rod, and they conveniently fall flat when the rod is not in use. Good serviceable rods require no such elegance of design. The angler who is skilled in his art cares nothing for finery of apparatus, and will pull out dozens of fish in a day with an instrument which many would think not worth the carrying.

*"On River Angling for Salmon and Trout," by John Young,

Lines.

roughly dried by waving in the air before being wound up or laid aside. When to be again used, look it over, giving it a gentle tug here and there to try its strength, and repair damaged parts. On coming to the water side, and just before throwing, allow the casting line to be wetted in the water, and this will at once give it smoothness and elasticity.

Hooks.

These should be long, smooth, light, and flexible, and of a material which will not be easily injured by wet. These qualities are found in lines made of horse hair and gut, which we recommend in preference to any other. The part of the line which is wound on the reel, and goes along the rod, is called the reel line; and being designed to be let out only on occasions when a fish darts off with a hook in its mouth, it need not be so thin and light as the bulk of the portion termed the These are small instruments made of tempered stevi, casting line. The reel line, which may be about thirty and of whatever size, they require to possess the qua yards in length for ordinary trout fishing, is formed lities of lightness and great strength. They have been by spinning together horse hairs, so as to make a fine always principally manufactured at two places-Kendal even cord. As it is troublesome to make, it should be in Westmoreland, and Limerick in Ireland. The Ken purchased from a respectable dealer in fishing-tackle. dal circular bends, as they are called, are reckoned the It should be from twelve to fifteen hairs in thickness, best hooks of a small size, while the Limerick hook is the hairs being white, fresh, and well cleaned. The preferable for salmon. Many of the fish-hooks of ord line for salmon should contain from eighteen to twenty-nary English makers are worthless. Hooks range in four hairs, and extend to at least sixty yards in length. size from about an inch and a half in length down to The casting line, which is united by a loop to the a quarter of an inch, with a proportional diminution of reel line, may be also of horse hair, but of a smaller thickness. Some makers number them from No.4 texture and lighter in weight. It should be five lengths the smallest, to No. 20, the largest, while others number of hairs in extent, the uppermost length being eight from 1, the largest, to 14, the smallest. The Limerick hairs in thickness, and gradually diminishing the num-hooks are denoted by letters, commencing with A, and ber to three or four in the lowest length. To the lower so on. In purchasing hooks, try their power of res end of this casting line is added the gut line, which is ance by forcing the bend with the fingers, and urging the part that actually falls upon the water, and there- the point against the thumb-nail. Hooks for fly-fishing fore requires to be very fine. It consists of a series of should be thinner in the shank than those designed f strong gut, and to it is attached the short lengths or bait. An angler should keep a small stock of hooks of casts of gut on which are the hooks. In some instances, various sorts, to be ready on all emergencies; with the the casting line is altogether made of gut, on which tackle to which they are attached, they require to be usually more dependence can be placed than on hair kept very dry. lines; if of gut, three threads are sufficient for the thickness.

On the article gut, Mr Stoddart has the following observations :-"This article, originally imported from the east, and now brought in considerable quantities from Spain and Italy, is, as far as we have been able to learn, fabricated from the male silk-worm in a state of decomposition. The operation is principally conducted by children, and consists in removing the external slough of the worm with the fingers, elongating at the same time the gluey substance which composes its entrails. To do this properly requires some care and attention. Should the worm be kept too long, a hard crust forms itself over it, in destroying which the application of the nail is necessary; hence the gut becomes flattened, and loses much of its value. The sinews of herons and other birds are also manufactured in Spain into a sort of gut, and are much used, although unwittingly, by our salmon fishers. Worm-gut varies in length from nearly two feet and downwards. We have seen, however, an article very closely resembling it from the Archipelago, which measures at least a yard and a-half. This is not to be confounded with sea-weed, although a vegetable fibre, and drawn out of a plant, It is much stronger and better suited for angling. The inhabitants of the Greek islands use it for catching mullet, and will often toss a fish some pounds weight over their heads by a thread or two. We ourselves have found it excellent for the larger sorts of tackle. Animal gut is, however, more generally used, and better adapted for trouting. It ought to be small, round, and transparent, without any flaw or roughness. When worn or disordered, the application of a piece of India rubber will at once renovate it. In joining threads together for the purpose of making casts, the single knot properly drawn is quite sufficient. One should avoid clipping the useless extremities too closely in this operation, as in that case the knot is somewhat liable to give way. Gut, to keep well, should be moistened with fine oil, and stored in oiled paper." *

To these recommendations we may add, that lines of all kinds should be kept dry. On returning from a fishing excursion, draw out the line, and let it be tho

The Art of Angling as practised in Scotland," by Thomas irt, Esq., author of the "Death Wake" and other inburgh: W. and R. Chambers. 1835.

Landing Net-Gaff-Drag-Hook.

The landing net is considered in England a necessary implement for an angler, but in our opinion they mu be poor hands at fishing who cannot drag a trout or any similar small fish from the water after hooking it w out resorting to such a cumbrous apparatus. Perha it is found to be essential, in consequence of the feebleness of the rods and tackle usually employed. It consists of a small bag net stretched on a hoop at the extremity of a pole four or five feet in length. Mr Blaine seems to think a landing net of first importance, and for the use of tyros in the art he gives the follow ing directions :-" In fly-fishing, when the line is long, and there is not much space to step backward, or the reel clogged, it is necessary sometimes to lay hold of the line with one hand; but this should be done with great caution, and then only after the fish is well nigh spest, or one struggle may carry away line, hook, and fish. It all other cases avoid touching the line if possible; bet having sufficiently played the fish, whether taken by bottom or by fly-fishing, bring him within reach of the landing net, and then carefully conduct or slide the met obliquely under the foreparts of his body, which, if the fish be completely exhausted, will fall into it; but if he has still sufficient vigour, it will be prudent rather t slide him over the net than the net under him. It m have occurred to every angler to have supposed a troet or salmon to be completely spent, who, the moment has been touched by the net, or has even caught sight of the fisher, has sprung off with most annoying v lence. Against such an accident it is prudent to be ever prepared by keeping the rod in an upright positum, acting on a tightened line, but yet so disposed that a can run at liberty if required. When the head and shoulders of the fish are once fairly within the net, a slight turn of it will take in the whole body, and the met being then kept horizontally, will insure his safety; fer with the head downwards, no efforts he can make wil disengage him from the net: but if he be received t foremost, as is sometimes done in deep waters, from overhanging banks, &c., beware of his plunges

The gaff is another aid to landing fish, and is em ployed in cases in which the landing net would be tos small. It is used chiefly for landing salmon, and e

* Encyclopedia of Rural Sports.

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