There is one other method of fishing on which we may make a few remarks, although it hardly comes under the heading of shore fishing. We refer to a method of catching surface fishes from a moving boat, which method is known as whiffing. The line is weighted with a lead which must be regulated according to the speed of the boat. If the boat is an ordinary rowing-boat, kept going at only a moderate speed, a few ounces of lead will be sufficient, but a whiffing line trailing behind a sailing boat travelling in a good breeze will require a pound or two of lead to keep the bait only a little below the surface.
Beyond the lead we have three or four yards of gimp or strong gut, at the end of which is a single hook fitted with a spinner, or baited with some attractive natural or artificial bait. Whatever be the bait used, there will certainly be more or less spinning caused by the resistance offered by the water, hence it will be necessary to have a swivel beyond the lead.
When whiffing near the shore, care must be taken to avoid outlying rocks that approach the surface of the water, or a sudden snapping of the line will give you an unwelcome warning of their existence. Further, we should note that the fishes which are to be caught when whiffing do not always swim at the same depth, thus it will be advisable to fish at different distances from the surface by varying either the weight of the lead or the speed of the boat.
CHAPTER IV
THE MARINE AQUARIUM
We have already advised our readers to take home their specimens alive for the purpose of studying their growth and habits. Now, although there may be some difficulties in the way of keeping marine animals and plants alive for any considerable time, yet we are inclined to emphasise the importance of this matter, knowing that the pleasure and instruction that may be obtained from even a moderately successful attempt to carry this out will far more than compensate for the amount of trouble entailed. There are very many marine objects that are exceedingly pretty and also very instructive, even when studied apart from the life with which they were associated in the sea. Thus, a well-preserved sea-weed may retain much of its original beauty of form and colour, the shells of numerous molluscs and crustaceans exhibit a most interesting variety of features well worthy of study, and a number of the soft-bodied animals may be preserved in such a manner as to closely resemble their living forms. This being the case, we can hardly say anything to discourage those who gather sea-side objects merely for the purpose of making a collection of pretty and interesting things to be observed and admired. Such objects must necessarily afford much pleasure and instruction, and the time spent in the collection and preparation will certainly cause the collector to stray to the haunts of the living things, where he is certain to acquire, though it may be to a great extent unconsciously, a certain amount of knowledge concerning their habits and mode of life. Moreover, sea-side collecting is one of the most healthy and invigorating of all out-door occupations, and for this reason alone should be encouraged.
Yet it must be observed that he whose sea-side occupation is merely that of a collector, and whose work at home is simply the mounting and arranging of the objects obtained, can hardly be considered a naturalist. Natural history is a living study, and its devotee is one who delights in observing the growth and development of living things, watching their habits, and noting their wonderful adaptation to their environments; and it is to encourage such observation that we so strongly recommend the young collector to keep his creatures alive as far as it is possible to do so.
The first thing to settle, then, is the nature of the vessel or vessels that are to serve the purpose of aquaria for the work of the young naturalist.
As long as the outdoor work is in progress temporary aquaria will be very useful as a means by which the objects collected may be sorted and stored until a final selection is made for the permanent tank. These temporary aquaria may consist of jars or earthenware pans of any kind, each containing a few small tufts of weed, preferably attached to pieces of rock, and a layer of sand or gravel from the beach.