Bkeeding Salmon and Trout. 65 



Now the boxes had to be made. There is no need that I 

 should trouble you with dimensions. You can have no idea of 

 the trouble I had with the local carpenter. Like others of his 

 fraternity, he seemed to think that he knew what I wanted much 

 better than I did myself. When I told him that I wanted two 

 boxes of certain dimensions to hold water, he suggested that 

 barrels would be much more suitable for the purpose, not knowing 

 of course in the least what my purpose was. But at last I got 

 him to make them exactly as I ordered, and when I got them 

 home and set them up found they were not the rig-ht size and not 

 the right shape. However, I could not find courage to confess 

 that I had been wrong lest he should say " I told you so." I set 

 to work, and at last managed to get them into their places, filled 

 them with fine sifted gravel from the burn, and turned on the 

 water in triumph. The upper box was about 3 inches below the 

 tap, and the lower one about 3 inches below the upper. The end 

 of the lower oiie was placed close against the end of the upper 

 box, and the idea was that the water from the tap was to fall 

 into the upper box and carry air in bubbles to the bottom of it, 

 and then flow into the lower box, with a fall of a few inches so as 

 to aerate that box also. 



With pride I watched the water fill the upper box ; but, alas ! 

 it did not flow into the lower one, it ran all over the sides and end 

 of the box. I had forgotten to cut the groove and place the little 

 spout in position which was to convey the water from one to the 

 other. I tried to stop tlie water. The tap would not move ; do 

 what I would I could not turn it. I rushed off to find some instru- 

 ment with which to turn it, and after long seeking discovered a 

 powerful pair of pincers. By this time the water had run all over 

 the place, and I began to feel a sense of animosity against that 

 tap. I seized the key with the pincers and at once broke it off, 

 and the tap kept running serenely on, its voice seeming to have 

 a mocking note of triumph in it. " I will stop your games," I said, 

 and fetching a cork cut it as nearly as I could in my haste to fit 

 the tap and stuffed it well up. For a moment the tap seemed 

 puzzled. Then as the force of water increased it began to chuckle 

 and fizzle and squirt in all directions, till at last, being pretty well 

 wet all over, I had to give it up. That tap was one too many for 

 me. I cut off the water from the cistern and let it empty itself as it 

 liked. I really think that tap smiled when the cook came running 



