194 PROTECTION OF FISH. 



cess. A few montlis in jail would cure the reck- 

 lessness of the former and cool the ardor of the 

 latter. 



A still more murderous proceeding, so infamous 

 that it is rare even with professional poachers, is to 

 cast poison into the water, thus slaying, by one fell 

 process, large and small, young and old. Condem- 

 nation of such a practice is unnecessary ; and were 

 it otherwise, fit language could hardly be found to 

 depict its enormity. 



By the introduction of unsuitable fish much injury 

 is occasioned, more frequently through ignorance 

 than wilfulness. Perch placed in a sluggish trout 

 pond, like many of those on Long Island, will 

 devour the young fry, and soon diminish the yield ; 

 and pickerel, which are especial pets of our farmers, 

 although nearly worthless for food or sport, have 

 devastated some of the best ponds in the country. 

 The former are devotedly fond of minnows or small 

 fish of any kind, and such bold biters as to give rise, 

 in England, to the story of a country gentleman 

 who enticed an ardent angler to his house by stock- 

 ing one of his ponds with several dozen perch, all 

 but one of which the visitor captured on the day 

 after his arrival, before breakfast. The pickerel is 

 exceedingly voracious, and also right fond of his 

 smaller fellow fish for dinner. 



To meet these cases the ponds must be drawn off, 

 as neither perch nor pickerel remain in running 

 water, and the waters must be re-stocked. In fact, 

 wherever, from any cause, the drain is greater than 



