An Angler's Paradise. 25 



continent. The first living black bass ( Grystes nigricans) ever 

 seen in Britain, were brought over by him in 1873, when I met 

 him on board the ship in Liverpool, and helped to convey 

 the little fellows to the Troutdale ponds. For this work we 

 were rewarded by receiving the silver medal of the Societe' 

 d' Acclimatation de Paris. 



A number of these fish, weighing about a pound each, were 

 safely brought by Parnaby the year before (1872), as far as the 

 Irish Coast, where they were simply battered to death in a terrific 

 gale which was encountered off the Fastnet Rock. They were 

 landed in Liverpool the next day perfectly fresh, and two of 

 them we ate, and gave the rest away, one being sent to Frank 

 Buckland for his valuable collection. The two which Parnaby 

 and I disposed of proved excellent. 



In the year 1869 we introduced the American trout (Salmo 

 fontinalis) into this country, and soon had a fine stock of these 

 fish, which did exceedingly well in the ponds at Troutdale. Since 

 those days they have been distributed through the country, and 

 in some waters have done remarkably well, whereas in others they 

 seem to have disappeared. The migratory instinct in these fish f 

 is very strong, and at certain times of the year they will leave a 

 lake or pond and push up stream, or down, as the case may be. 

 They go to the sea, and have been caught in the salt water, in 

 some of our bays and estuaries. This sea-going habit alone 

 proves them to be good fish, but it renders special precautions 

 necessary in order to prevent them from making their exit. 

 Where such steps are taken, by the simple fixing of a screen at 

 the outlet of a pond or lake, the fish are easily retained, and in 

 many instances have given great satisfaction to their owners. 



In other cases, where they have had free access to a river, 

 they have simply run away. That the S. fontinalis is a real game 

 fish is beyond question, but that it is not adapted for all our 

 waters seems to be also a settled fact. In some waters it is 

 accused of not rising to the fly, but I have not yet met with such 

 a case personally. I have on the other hand made its ac- 

 quaintance in. many places, where it rises in a manner that has 

 astonished many old and skilled fishermen. Where these fish can 

 be kept in a lake, and allowed access to a set of artificial 



