TROUT IX S.A. WATERS 269 



larvae, water biijis. orassliopjuMs, spiders, crabs, oaddis> 

 mussel shells, pupae, fr<)«;s, (rout aud otlier fry, chunks 

 of meat, ojreen weed, grains of barley, seeds, skeleton leaf, 

 ])o}»lar coronae aud twigs, i)oj)lar catkins, husks of acorns 

 aud feathers: of which the most imi)ortaut are rrahs, pica 

 and grassliopprrs. Not a bad selection? On 1st. October, 

 1917, in the Hex River, 1 killed a trout that contained 



2 or 3 small fish. On Gth October, 1917, I killed a tr')ut in 

 the Herg River containing one small fish and on 2nd. 

 October, 1915, in the Eerste a trout only 10" long, con- 



•taining two or three undoubted ti'out fry. 



Division of Sexes. 



Experience has led me to believe that there is a pre- 

 ponderance of female fish in our waters and that such is 

 dangerously on the increase. There can be no doubt, 1 

 think, that in the early season the lusty vigorous young 

 male fish fall victims to the rapacity of their seniors and 

 of angers to a much greater degree than the more modest 

 and circumspect females. It therefore seems necessarv in 

 the course of artificial incubation to place a preponder 

 ance of male fish into our rivers, for otherwise old and 

 worthless males may take the place of the younger fish in 

 the spawning beds with a resultant decline in the quality 

 of the output. On the assumption, that a male fish is only 

 of service to one female in particular, the necessity of 

 balancing the numbers of the sexes is paramount. From 



3 to years seems to be the limit of age for the useful 

 breeding of trout, especially of the males, and after that 

 age they become bottom feeders, cannibals, bullies and all 

 that is bad. They should be destroyed at all. costs and 

 by any means. 



Selection of Stock Fish. 



I have for some time watched the habits of trout in 

 waters that have been stocked with both Rainbows and 

 Browns, and have come to the conclusion that it is a 



