FISH PHOTOGRAPHY AT HOME 185 



case proudly shows me these tench, for I shall then be 

 able to offer him a photograph of them, taken when 

 alive, and twenty-four hours after they were fished 

 out of the mud. 



Finally, my friend Mr. Richmond has from time to 

 time sent me Loch Levens, rainbows, Windermere char, 

 and good specimens of commoner fish, 



When a fish arrives from a fish farm it has travelled 

 in a large can constructed for the purpose, and is pro- 

 bably quite fit. But often a fish brought by a friend is 

 half dead, for though many people can catch fish, few 

 know how to keep them alive. 



The first thing, then, is to revive the fish. Let the 

 cold water tap run with full force into the bath, and 

 hold the fish two or three inches under the water, with 

 the bubbles of air rising all round its snout. If this is 

 insufficient to revive the fish, pour a little weak whisky 

 and water down its mouth, or swab the gills with cotton 

 wool dipped in the same restorative. A fish is never 

 beyond hope until it is stiff. 



Once revived, place the fish under conditions to 

 ensure its convalescence. This is best done by keeping 

 him in shallow water, the surface of which is being 

 continually disturbed ; fish will keep healthy during 

 long periods in water so shallow that their back fins 

 appear above the surface, whereas they will die in a 

 bucket full up to the brim. The reason for this is that 

 in shallow water a large surface in proportion to its bulk 

 is exposed to the air, and in consequence the water 



