SOCIETIES OF LONDON AND THE PROVINCES. 5 



within bounds, and at that time it was not necessary to 

 employ bands of men, as it is in the present day, to drive 

 these handsome but terribly destructive birds from the 

 line of weed-fringed roots dependent from stubbly pollards 

 lining the bank, and upon which spawning perch have 

 deposited their riband-like strings of ova, nor from " the 

 hills " in the weir streams, where the great and bonny 

 mother trout has frequented during that time when she was 

 simply obeying Nature's urgent laws. 



Steam launches, probably the greatest of all great curses 

 to him who, following the example of a writer of other 

 days, would fain — 



" Live harmlessly, and by the brink 

 Of Thames or Avon have a dwelling place, 



Where I may see my quill or cork down sink 

 With eager bite of perch or bleak or dace, 



And on the world and my Creator think, 



were then absolutely unknown. In any event, there were 

 none of those thrice detestable " puffers," with silent engines 

 and dull moaning whistle, which daily and hourly tear 

 through the water at the rate of 12 to 20 miles an hour, 

 doing direful and deadly injury every yard they go. It 

 may be said that this language is excessive in its strength, 

 and overstrained in its application. Not a whit, take my 

 word for it. I have seen more damage done to the ova of 

 spawning fish in one season, and particularly perch and 

 pike, by the everlasting swash and wash of these deadly 

 pests, more — aye, far more than an army of poachers and 

 fishermen could do in five years, had they even combined 

 their forces, without absolutely netting the river wholesale 

 every day, and harried every fish to death that came 

 within their ken. 

 At the first glance this would seem to be an overwhelming 



