268 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



a space certainly not more than forty yards in length 

 and six yards in breadth, there were at least 300 brace 

 of trout hard at work. The process appeared to be as 

 follows : A female, or more correctly speaking a hen-fish, 

 would take up her place in one of the depressions formed 

 in the gravel, and close behind her were generally two 

 male or cock fish (sometimes as many as four or five). 

 These remain perfectly quiet until the hen-fish suddenly 

 turns on her side and sheds her eggs in the hollow of the 

 gravel. As soon as this is done the cock-fish commence 

 to fight, and the victor, having driven his rival away, places 

 himself over the place vacated by the female, deposits its 

 milt, and then the female having returned, they both work 

 with their tails and lower part of the body to cover the 

 deposited eggs with a coating of gravel and stones, some 

 of these stones being of considerable size. This process is 

 going on all over the shallow occupied by the trout. The 

 fights between the cock-fish are constant and continual, and 

 the turmoil that goes on would, one would think, utterly 

 disturb the females ; but evidently they like it, and the more 

 lovers they have, the better they appear to be pleased. 

 We noticed many of the male fish gashed and torn in these 

 battles ; one or two appeared to be severely wounded, and 

 would probably not recover. At this time it is easy to 

 calculate the number and the size of the fish in the river, 

 for every shallow in the whole length of the water, some 

 three to four miles, was almost as fully populated. But 

 the large males are not always the accepted lovers, being 

 ousted by younger and more vigorous fish ; they rush 

 about from one rhedd to another, endeavouring as much as 

 possible to annoy and harass their more successful com- 

 petitors. The female fish are generally of a lighter colour 

 than the male, and are more difficult to see ; and Buckland 

 states, on his own personal observation, that the females 

 by some means or other manage to elude the nets, and 

 seek safety by getting into holes under weeds, and among 

 the roots of pollard-willows under the banks. He gives 

 several instances of the craftiness of the females in eluding, 

 and the blind rush of the males in rushing into, the nets 



