^■liitcricaii I'islicrics Society. It.-) 



his vocation in life, he lives Init to eat. I'rom that moment he is 

 as lirave. as cruel and as darinLi:' a little pirate as ever sailed the 

 waters. As bottom feeders, they arc ready. Continue feedinf^^ not 

 less than six times ])er day. .Nature and e.\am])le will soon teach 

 the others. In three or four days, assuminj*' the fry are of an a^e, 

 thev will he feeding- quite q'enerally : hut the amount consumed ])er 

 troui^h will he very small. Requisition is still heini;' made on the 

 kna]:)sack. In a week's time. perha])s, a few of the stron_s^er fish 

 will begin to rise a little from the bottom ; in two weeks all will he 

 up — big', broad, lusty fellows as ever delighted the eye, the equal 

 of fish a month older fed by the usual methods, much more even 

 in appearance and with infinitely greater possibilities for future 

 growth and early maturity. Feed them g-enerously. overfeeding 

 for fish imder a year is but a bugaboo ; feast your soul on his splen- 

 did g^rowth. revel in anticipation of some brother angler's delight 

 when, grown to a two-pounder, the little fellow we saw take his 

 first bite shall strike his fly and give him the strongest, gamiest bat- 

 tle of his life. 



Much of the food fed at this time is entirely too coarse for 

 the fry's delicate digestive organs. We find that grinding it 

 three times through a one-sixteenth inch plate and then running 

 it through a wire screen 24 strands to the inch makes it very 

 acceptable in size. A little of the food will, of course, sink to 

 the bottom; feathering at this stage would be tedious as well as 

 injurious. It is not necessary, however, until the fish rise. Take 

 a fine mesh net, a little narrower than the trough, draw it along 

 the surface of the water ; the current will raise the food as well 

 as some of the fry. The latter, being heavier, will soon sink; 

 reverse your net and you will get most of the waste food. After 

 a few attempts. \ou will soon become expert in this simjile and 

 harmless method of trough cleaning. 



At the beginning of tlie feeding, take out the small dam 

 in use heretofore and substitute one 4, 5 or 6 inches dee]), as 

 your trough may jK-rmit. It serves two puri)oses. additional 

 range for the fast spreading and raising multitude and greater 

 opportunity to secure the food while in suspension. 



