ON THE LEVELS OF STREAMS. O 



to make their appearance upon the hill. The river which 

 I have restored for many miles is the Colne ; but the most 

 remarkable evidence of the results which I have obtained 

 may be witnessed at Carshalton, on the Wandle stream, 

 from which I have seen small trout taken by angling par- 

 ties early in March, which were decidedly in perfect season, 

 having recovered their condition, but did not weigh more 

 than six ounces. 



I will now draw the particular attention of my readers 

 to the state of streams of which they are owners or fishers, 

 if they wish to insure an abundant stock of healthy fish. 

 As there are not many landed proprietors in our south 

 country who possess more than five or six miles of river, I 

 recommend, in the first place, that the levels of the falls 

 be taken from the upward to the lower boundary ; so that 

 a systematic husbandry of the springs, and a judicious dis- 

 charge of the land waters by a back or tributary stream, 

 may be obtained from the extreme point of boundary. This 

 has a twofold benefit : in the first place, in keeping the 

 thickened or land waters from the pure or spring waters, by 

 which means their temperature does not become much dis- 

 turbed ; for if the waters are blended, the fish become sick 

 and cannot feed : in the second place, in making use of the 

 artificial back-stream as a sluice, any accumulation of mud 

 may be swept away with a very little management. I 

 strongly recommend the removal of all trees and underwood 



