The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-03-17
Artificial Worms.

upon SUBJECT Ol interest 10 small boys.
Every sportsman comedies that fly fish
ing is the only way in which fish should
be captured by beings with immortal
souls. The small boy, however, has II
strong prejudice against the fly. This
is partly due to the fact that in order to
fish with a fly he must borrow his fathers
fly-rod. OF course, with practice, boy
can walk short distances with three
joints of a rod concealed in the legs ofhis
trousers and under his jacket, but the
process is at best difficult one, and, in
case the performer drops his hat, his ut
ter inability to stoop down in order TO
pick it up is sure to create suspicion.
Then, too, when Il small boy has gone
TO Sunday-school with the hope of en-
joying an hour of successful fishing, il
is excessively annoying to have to spend
nearly the whole of that time in cutting
ont the hooks which every attempt to
throw the fly has lodged in the flesh of
doubtcdly right in rejecting the fly, and
in contcnting himself with the safe and
casily-handlcd worm; unless, ofcoursc,
he intends to be surgeon, in which case
the more hooks he can cut out of other
boys the more real and intelligent en-
joyment will he secure.
But the worm has also its disadvanta-
ges. Although it is neither swift nor
q tcrocions beast, the worm often dis
the very time when Ii is iiiv.t IL, uu-
mand. For this reason the prudent
small boy lays in his worms on Satur-
t,ay, and conccals them in an empty soup
tureen or his sisters elovc-boX until the
hour of Sunday-school is at hand. Ii
Sunday happens TO be rainy dav. he is
apt to forget all about his store of worms.
and their subsequent discovery by the
domestic authorities leads To painful pa
rental interviews in the woodshcd. Ma
NY boys prefer TO conceal their Satur-
days collection of worms in their pock-
cts, but experience has shown that
worms will not thrive when placed in
contact with licorice or lnmps of maple
sugar. OF course, the best plan is to
put the worms in n small tin box. but
ii is a well-known popularity of the
small tin box that il is never 10 be found
when il is wanted.
There are other objections to the worm
besides those connected with its prcser-
yation and concealment. There are fish
that nibblc the worm from the hook
without suffering themselves to be
caught, and thus awaken in the small
boy feeling of bitterness and contempt
which is sharply at variance with the
true spirit ofthc Sabbath. Unless boy
is fairly rolling in worms, his supply OF
bait is usually exhausted just about the
time when the fish make up thcirc minds
To bite, and he goes home in sullcn and
discontinued frame ofmind which causes
his parents to entertain strong doubts
as to the Sunday-school superintendent
fitness for his position. The abhorrcnce
of the worm which is innate in the hui
man girl practically excludes the sex
from the pleasures of fishing. Ii is true
that ladies will sometimes make pas
time of fishing, provided member OF
the other sex is present TO impale the
worms; but, after all, fishing, like cro-
quct. is in their estimation. only II means
10 an end and of that end il is sufficient
to here remark that il parlakes more of
the nature of business than of pleasure.
IL i. certainly strange that, in view al
the many objections to the natural and
carnal worm, the idea of invcntin9 an
artificial worm should only recently have
occurred 10 an ingenious friend of boys,
The artificial fly ought long ago to have
suggested the artificial worm, and now
that the latter has been actually invented
and patented every one will wonder why
il was not invented centuries ago. The
artificial worm j. composed of India
rubber, properly coiored, and brought
to precisely the degree ofelasticity which
enables it to simulate the wriggle oi
the read worm. The vast advantages OF
this invention are manifest mt glance
One India-rubber worm will last
through an entire summer. provided III
owner can resist the temptation ofchew
ing il in school hours. Ii cannot be nib
bled, it will resist the teeth OF the larges
pike, and there Is no doubt that the mos
cautious fish who vainly tries TO carry
off n small piece of it win become 81
exasperaied by failure that he will reck
lessly gorge both hook and bait. There
will hcnceforth be an end of digging
worms. whether for immediate or fol
future use and the small boy who carries
his artificial worm in his pocket, will no
only be ready to go fishing at moment'l
notice, but will also have il in his powc.
to produce HISTORIES in his sistnr at thl
most inopportune times by merely drop
ping his 1ndia-rubber worm upon he
hand or neck. As soon, however, n,
ladies can be convinced that tho artill
cial worm is devoid of the alleged fero
cious qualities of the living worm. tho,
will hail II as the most beneflcent lnven
ton of the age, and we shall see troops o
girls tangiing thier lines in every poo
and trying 10 lure the fish from thei
hiding-places by exciting their curiosii,
with innocent and musical prattlc.
i II is TO be hoped that theinventor will
not rest contented with having supcrsc
ded the common earth-worn with his i'm
proved India-iubber worm. VIII,
should he not invent and introduc
India rubber mosquitoes, artiflcia
house-fies, and other improved insects
! Thoere Is magnificent field in this di