56 DISEASES AND ENEMIES. 



Crabs, or cray-fish, as they are more properly called, very 

 seldom eat the yoimg fish. They will lie on the bottom of 

 the pond, hidden in the mud, with the joint of the claw 

 wide open and ready ; then if any unfortunate Troutling 

 passes within reach, his doom is sealed. Cray-fish do 

 much more mischief by their burrowing propensities. 

 They will make holes out of the pond, or from one pond 

 to another, through which the water escapes, and very 

 often the young fish also. The cray-fish is the scavenger 

 of the water, and it may be a question whether a few of 

 them will not do as much good, by disposing of decaying 

 animal matter, as they do harm, by destroying a few fish. 

 The greatest fear of all fish-raisers is that their fish will 

 be stolen at night. Well, there is the same danger here 

 that there is in any other property, and no more. In fact, 

 not so much. The risk of the States Prison is too much for 

 any one to incur for the sake of a few fish : and then there 

 is only one way in which the fish can be obtained. They 

 cannot be taken out of the ponds with a scoop (or scap) 

 net. If any one will try this a few times, even in broad 

 daylight, he will soon be convinced of the fact. A few 

 old logs, stones and branches of trees, strewn on the bot- 

 tom of the pond, will make it impossible to drag the 

 pond with a seine. Catching them by hook and line 

 is the only means ; and if the fish are well fed daily, 

 it will take more time to catch a mess than thieves can 

 usually spare. Trout also find'enemies in their own kind. 

 The only way to stop them from feeding on each other is 

 to give them plenty of other food. It may be as well, 

 perhaps, not to feed them on small fish, unless they are 

 chopped up fine, for this reason : Trout soon accustom 

 themselves to certain kinds of food, and will refuse any- 

 thing strange. If they get into the habit of feeding on 

 small fish, they will not be likely to make a distinction 

 between Trout and any other fish. Certain old Trout also 



