How to obtain it. 83 



terrestrial vegetation when it has ceased to exist. This is a 

 matter which is often seriously neglected, and which many people 

 who have the care of fish ponds quite fail to understand. 



The stocking in the Dalbeattie reservoir gave most encourag- 

 ing results, and continued to do so because the proper conditions 

 existed and continued to exist. In the case of a neighbouring 

 piece of water known as Loch Fern, however, the fishing fell off 

 considerably after the first few years. Now this lake was made by 

 building a dam and flooding some fifteen acres of land, and the 

 submerged vegetation continuing to exist for some time, a 

 considerable amount of growth as well as decay of vegetable 

 matter took place. The conditions were highly favourable for 

 the generation of an enormous mass of fish food, but as the various 

 plants died out these conditions ceased to exist. I gave instruc- 

 tions at the outset for the loch to be planted with suitable aquatic 

 vegetation to take the place of the other plants, and had the 

 instructions been carried out the result would have been very 

 much better than was actually the case. 



There existed on the estate close at hand a large crop of 

 suitable plants, and I advised that a considerable quantity should 

 be carted over and planted in the newly made loch. Instead of a 

 horse and cart, however, a small hand basket was used, and the 

 quantity transferred was quite inadequate to produce the necessary 

 results. The fishing at first gave great promise, but instead of 

 improving declined a good deal. The condition of some of the 

 fish pointed to a lack of food, and as no improvement took place, 

 but, if anything, rather the reverse, the water was run off, and a 

 more barren wilderness could hardly be imagined than was 

 presented to view. The plants introduced had made good 

 progress, but occupied far too small an area of the bottom, and at 

 my suggestion more were put in. The lake was refilled, and the 

 plants have now been growing for some years. After the refilling 

 the water was at first naturally very barren, but the condition 

 steadily improved and the amount of natural food materially 

 increased. I shall refer to this lake again in my chapter on 

 stocking. 



The advantages possessed by a newly-made pond where the 

 sod has remained undisturbed are great, and if a good amount of 



