1-36. How to obtain.it. 



profuse in his apologies. But how . much better it would have I 

 been to have let things alone at first. 



c I once knew a visitor" to poke a hole through a perforated 

 zinc screen, with the result that a quantity of fish escaped from a ; 

 stew, in which the owner had placed them at considerable expense. 

 One day two individuals came to look at my fish, and without 

 asking leave went amongst the ponds, and before they had been 

 many minutes they were actually leaping over the fry nurseries, to 

 save going round a few yards, and running a great risk of doing > 

 irreparable damage. This was rather too much, and they were,.: 

 as a somewhat natural consequence, ordered off the ground. This 

 they did not like, but who was to blame ? Every part of a fish 

 farm should be kept strictly private, and no one allowed to wander/ 

 a^bout without a conductor. 



| c Before leaving the. subject of the hatchery, I must again refer - 

 1 1 to the water supply. It is the driving power of the works, and' 

 1 1 must on no account be allowed to fail. Take care, then, that the 

 I supply is ample. There should always be plenty to spare, and 

 i j this should be duly considered before entering upon the work. 

 ; Another thing which is of the utmost importance is that there 

 should be no possibility of the supply being by any means cut off. 

 All the arrangements are now very perfect at the Solway Fishery, 

 but it was not always so, and consequently I have had consider- 

 able opportunity of gaining experience. When I first commenced 

 work, with no other building than ^a hatchery in a very isolated; 

 position, I soon found how absolutely necessary it was to be on 

 the spot myself. I therefore fitted up a room in one corner of 

 the building, with a cooking stove and a berth, and, having been 

 accustomed to camp life, thoroughly enjoyed being lulled to sleep! 

 by the music of the water as it passed from tank to tank, and in 

 the middle of the night awakened at once if a change took place 

 in the sound, owing to the alteration of the currents. A whole ; 

 winter was spent in this hatchery, the day being occupied in 

 poring over the hatching boxes, watching carefully the development 

 of the embryos and the growth of the little fish, whilst working 

 amongst them, and the long winter evenings were spent in writing 

 up my notes, reading, correspondence, &c. I cannot but look i 

 back upon 'this period of my life as one of pleasure and delight, 



