Those who have ever accompanied a fisherman while taking a pull round to examine the contents of his crab or lobster pots will probably have noticed what strange creatures, in addition to the edible crabs and lobsters, sometimes find their way into the trap. These creatures are often of great interest to a young naturalist, and it will repay him to take an occasional trip with a fisherman in order to obtain them; or, still better, to have a crab-pot of his own. The writer has obtained many good specimens by means of an inexpensive trap, on the same principle as the ordinary crab-pot, made from an old metal bird-cage of rather small size. The bottom was removed, and a very shallow bag of thick canvas fixed in its place; and some of the wires were cut, and bent inwards so as to allow the easy entrance of moderately large crustaceans and other creatures, while at the same time they served as a barrier to their escape. Such a trap, baited with pieces of fish, and let down to a rocky bottom, will enable the young naturalist to secure specimens that are seldom seen between the tide-marks; and the animals thus obtained will include not only those larger ones for which the opening was made, but also a variety of smaller creatures that may enter between the wires of the cage. Some of the latter may, of course, escape by the same way as the trap is being hauled up for examination, but this is not so likely to occur if the canvas bottom is of a material so loosely woven that water can pass through it very freely. It will, of course, occur to the reader that the insertion of a stone or other weight will assist in sinking the trap; also that the ordinary door of the cage forms a ready means by which the captives may be removed. [Illustration: FIG. 21.--AN OLD BIRD-CAGE USED AS A CRAB-POT] One thing more: make it a rule never to go out collecting natural objects of any kind without a note-book and pencil. This, to the beginner who is anxious to get to his work, with the idea only too prevalent with the amateur that the success of his labours is to be measured only by the number of specimens obtained, may seem quite an unnecessary part of the equipment. But it must be remembered that there is much to _observe_ as well as much to collect on a well-selected coast; and that without the aid of the book and pencil a great many of the observations made will be forgotten, and thus much interest that would otherwise be attached to the objects permanently preserved will be lacking. The above appliances include the only necessary equipment of the sea-side naturalist, with the exception of a few required for occasional use in connection with the species of a somewhat restricted habitat, and the outfit of the sea angler. The former will be dealt with in the chapters where the species concerned are described, while the subject of sea angling is of such general interest that we propose to devote a short chapter exclusively to it.