SOCIETIES OF LONDON AND THE PROVINCES. 27 



coaching days could tell of the great gastronomic attractions 

 of the Kennet eel, 



" At the house below the hill." 

 There it was that, in the days when the " Pelican " did 

 flourish, seventy coaches in the day and night passed 

 through the good old town. 



But I must pass to the present time and the working 

 of the Association. Well, from small beginnings it has 

 grown so much that at the meeting previous to the next 

 angling season this question will have to come to the fore 

 — either the Committee must raise the price of the tickets 

 or place a restriction upon the number of the members. 



It may be as well to add that no profit whatever is 

 made out of the Association, as it is only in existence to 

 preserve the water and improve sport, and all its Committee 

 of Management wish to see is enough to pay the outgoing 

 expenses. They are of necessity large, when consideration 

 is given to keeping up a stock of fish, by turning in hun- 

 dreds at the proper season, the pay of the keepers all the 

 year, and the constant supervision that is required. 



Many fine specimens of Kennet fish may be seen in the 

 Western Quadrant of the Fisheries Exhibition now open 

 at South Kensington. 



It only remains to add that all particulars may be 

 obtained of the worthy chairman of the Association, Mr. 

 John Packer, 87 Northbrook Street, Newbury, who will 

 forward rules and all needed information upon application, 

 and from whom alone tickets can be had. 



There is yet another Society doing good work upon the 

 Thames, called the Oxford Angling Association, but I 

 regret that I received no particulars as to its constitution 

 until too late for insertion in this book. 



Finding it to be a matter of exceeding difficulty to 



