tail if possible, and with the same stroke drag it under water, by which means you will escape the shower of ink which they almost always vomit forth at such times.

Nearly all the barb of the hooks should be filed off, or you will find it difficult to unhook them. Hooks without barbs are specially made for catching Squid for the Newfoundland Cod Fishery. Both in Spain and Newfoundland, Squid are taken in large quantities by a jigger, made of pewter, having a dozen or more hooks cast into it grapnel fashion at one end. The piece of pewter is about 3 inches long, with a hole at the upper end to attach the line. In the dusk of the evening, the jigger is lowered over the side of the boat, and jigged up and down. It is scraped bright to attract the Squid, which embrace it with their arms, and are then caught by the hooks. A Spanish fisherman, some years since, took a quantity of Squid in this manner at Plymouth, and it is a method which might be widely introduced to procure Squid for bait. Several of these jiggers were in the Exhibition of 1883. There is a smaller kind also not so frequently seen, with a short rounded body, known as the Sepiola or little Squid, and another the Flying Squid (Ommastrephes), so called from the fact of rising out of the sea and sometimes falling on the deck of a vessel. A piece of Squid 2 inches long, cut tapering, is a good whiffing bait for Pollack and Bass. The Squid attains a monstrous size at Newfoundland.

THE SUCKER OR POULPE.

(Octopus vulgaris.)

The Sucker is the most hideous of its kind, consisting of nothing but a head with eight arms and large staring eyes; they are often found under rocks and stones at low water, whence they are drawn out by iron hooks, to be used as bait for Conger.

This species is much more abundant on the French side of the Channel; in Guernsey it is known under the appellation of Pieuvre,' in Normandy as Minaur,' and has obtained a world-wide notoriety through the work of M. Victor Hugo, 'The Toilers of the Sea.' It is widely spread in the seas of

the world, and is found in Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, British Columbia, &c., and varies in diameter when its legs are spread out from 8 inches to 10 feet. Its flesh is harder than the preceding kinds. Crabs and Lobsters are its constant prey, and many shells are found at the entrance of its haunt under a stone or hole in a rock. In Guernsey to disable it they turn its cap inside out, and carry it on a stick after capture. Large numbers are used by the French fishermen for Conger trots, and about 5 inches of a horn of this creature skinned will answer as a whiffing bait for WhitingPollack and Bass. (See cut of Eel bait, fig. 25, p. 82.) It is excellent for Cod-fishing, and as a bait for Snappers on the Australian coasts. In British Columbia and Jersey they are roasted and eaten, and are cooked in various ways on the Continent.

SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS.

Shrimps and Prawns are often used as bait when alive for Whiting-Pollack, and dead for Mullet and Smelts. Boiled Shrimps peeled will take Eels, Dabs, and Flounders, in most pier harbours on the coast, when used as bait for fine tackle Iwith the rod. Large quantities are taken by trawl-nets in Boston Deeps, on the Lincolnshire coast, and in the mouth of the Thames, &c., for the London market, and the method of catching them with hand-nets in sand and rock pools is known to every sea-side visitor.

For hand-nets, see fig. 74, p. 243, and following pages.

Small traps or pots are much used in Dorsetshire and Hampshire, which are very similar to Crab-pots; and in Devonshire they are taken in hoop-nets baited with stale fish, at night, or during the day, after the water has been discoloured by a storm. (See p. 246.)

THE COMMON GREEN OR SHORE CRAB.

(Carcinus Manas.)

This small Crab is found in great numbers in all harbours as well as on the open coast, and is an excellent bait for Flounders, Freshwater Eels, and various sea-fish, as Bass

Bream, &c., when about to cast its shell, in which state some are to be found the whole year.

To obtain these soft Crabs, see p. 120.

In their ordinary state they are much used to bait Lobsterpots, the back shell having been first removed, and many Wrasse or Rock-fish, otherwise called Conners or Curners, are frequently taken in the pots at such times.

Green Crabs may be caught in any quantity in hoop-nets baited with a bit of meat or any garbage. When two crabs are found under stones in company, the lower one is fit for bait.

THE HERMIT OR SOLDIER CRAB.
(Pagurus Bernhardus.)

This curious animal, having no shell to protect the tail part of its body, takes up its abode in that of a Whelk.

This tail part is a good bait for Whiting-Pout, Cod, Haddock, &c., and must always be put on whole, or it is spoiled.

Soldier Crabs are frequently found in Crab-pots, and where they abound may be taken in hoop-nets baited with a piece of any fish. (See also fig. 76, p. 246.) Numbers are caught

while trawling and dredging.

A large Rag-Worm is sometimes found living in company with this Crab in the tail part of the shell.

THE SOLEN OR RAZOR FISH.

The empty shells of this fish are constantly met with by seaside visitors on every sandy beach. They are both eaten and used as bait for ground-fishing, and are to be procured by the aid of the spear (fig. 52, p. 198), and described by H. K. in No. 1053 of the 'Field.' This consists of a piece of iron wire about one-sixth of an inch in thickness and 2 ft. in length ; one end of this is heated in the fire and then beaten out flat to the thickness of about of an inch for 2 inches of its length, and then with a file a triangular head is cut on the flattened part, projecting equally on both sides, and about half an inch in width (see figure); the other end is then firmly fixed into a small cylindrical piece of some hard wood, such as ash, about 5 inches long and one in diameter,

to serve as a handle. To use this 'spear,' the point should be inserted in the hole (left by the Razor as it descends in the sand), which should be very gently probed in all directions, the flat head of the spear being held with one edge uppermost till the direction of the hole is ascertained, when it should be allowed to run down to the end; then, by a turn of the wrist, the flat of the spear should at once be brought at right angles to its former position, and the spear immediately be withdrawn steadily from the hole, when, if the operation has been properly performed, the Razor will be found on the end of it, and can easily be removed. The best time is at low water of spring tides, and the farther from the shore the more abundant the Razors generally are. By this means I have frequently obtained more than 300 in less than an hour to be used as bait. Some little practice is necessary to acquire the knack of inserting the point of the spear at the proper angle, which always descends in a slanting direction in the case of the common species. In another species it descends vertically. A steady firm pull (not too quick) is necessary to draw them out of the sand, to which they firmly hold by their foot. If not drawn up at once, they obtain such a hold that it then requires very great force to dislodge them; so much so, that frequently in this case the edge of the spear-head will cut through the shell, and the spear-head will be drawn out without the Razor. When a strong wind has been blowing, I have frequently seen numbers of Razors with about one-half or two-thirds of their shells protruded above the surface of the sand, and at such times many may be caught by the hands alone; but it requires some force to draw them out of the sand, to which they firmly hold by their foot, which they expand in the hole. Another correspondent (A Ballybrack Boy) advises running backwards along the edge of the ebbing tide (rather awkward), and when a Razor fish is pressed and

FIG. 52.

the foot removed, it spouts up water, showing you where to thrust down your spear. Another method of taking these fish consists in throwing a large pinch of salt into the hole made by the fish, which immediately comes up partially above the surface of the sand, and must be quickly secured. The holes left by the Razor Fish in the sand are very like a key hole. Take about a pound of salt with you, and dropping a good pinch into the holes of five or six at a time, pour a little water with your hand on top of it. This washes the salt down on to the

Razor Fish, which at once rises an inch or more above the sand, so as to enable you easily to grasp it and draw it up. may be thus taken for food or bait.

FISH BAITS.

Dozens

No class of creatures prey more upon each other than fish. Pieces of Mackerel, Pilchards, Herrings, Gar-fish, &c., are therefore extensively used for Mackerel, Whiting, Hake, Bream, and Conger, &c., as already described under these several heads.

ARTIFICIAL BAITS.

The Spoon-Bait is widely used. In addition to these, I may mention the India-rubber band and Captain Tom's Spinning Sand-eels and Lug-worms, as well as the Silverspinners, by several makers. See p. 83, figs. 27, 28, and 29. Use none but brass swivels for sea-work, as those made of steel corrode very quickly.

KNOTS, SPLICES, AND BENDS.

The Overhand or Common Knot (fig. 53).-This is useful on the end of a line to prevent unravelling, and I recommend that one should be made on the end of the sidstrap of ground-lines over which the snood is to be looped.

FIG. 53.

Regarding these matters, if in a difficulty consult some old

seaman.