36 ABUNDANCE OF FOOD. 



duce for the food of the country, and a splendid stock for 

 future operations in breeding and rearing. 



After the successful experiments I have myself made, I 

 have no hesitation in saying, that if thinking minds will 

 aid and assist in working out this great practical problem, 

 we may produce and supply an enormous amount of food 

 to our poorer fellow-creatures, at a cheap rate to them, and 

 at very little trouble and cost to ourselves. It is no chi- 

 merical good I am advocating : I am plainly, and in true 

 terms, relating a tale of experience, and should be sorry to 

 advance a single assertion which could not be sustained by 

 irrefragable evidence. All the fresh waters of these United 

 Kingdoms, it is not too much to say, are grossly neglected, 

 and the rivers especially are imperfectly understood ; but 

 I hope to hear shortly that the broad hints I have given 

 for obviating these evils have aroused the energies of men 

 who are well-wishers to their country, so that they will 

 undertake a work which will be profitable to themselves, 

 and that they will attend more closely to the fisheries in 

 fresh water. In our fisheries, salmon is first in rank ; trout 

 the second ; grayling follows ; and then the coarse fish, 

 pike, perch, carp, tench, roach and dace, come as a matter 

 of course : these are not to be despised, though light in 

 food in comparison with the first. 



It will be seen that, by this system of artificial spawning, 

 breeding and rearing of fish, depleted rivers running into 



