66 



GROWTH. There will be a great difference in the 

 growth of the fish noticeable after the first few weeks of 

 their existence. Some, of course, will be larger and 

 more vigorous than others from their birth ; but of those 

 apparently of the same size and health when one month 

 old, some at six months will be four times the size of 

 others ; this, too, when grown in the same pond and un- 

 der the same circumstances. They will begin to eat 

 each other when very young. A Trout only a few weeks 

 old begins to show symptoms of fight, and will kill his 

 weaker brethren when they get in his way by biting a 

 piece out of their tails. In two or three months, when 

 some of them get to be double the size of others, they 

 will swallow the smaller ones. We have taken a Trout 

 one inch long out of another only two inches long. It 

 would seem to be advantageous, therefore, to sort them 

 out every little while, and put the same size by them- 

 selves ; bat in practice this is very difficult, and the less a 

 trout of any size is handled, the better; besides, if they 

 are fed well they lose their disposition to eat each other. 

 Therefore, the trout of each year may be left by them- 

 selves with very little probability of losing more by can- 

 nibalism than would be killed in sorting out and re- 

 moving. 



Salmon and salmon-trout do not require so much care 

 as trout. Salmon, both the eastern and western, prefer 

 to remain in the strong current of the stream, and not in 

 the quiet eddies or dead water like trout. In this way 

 they receive the element in a purer and better aerated 

 condition. They grow more rapidly, and are sooner out 

 of danger of infantile diseases. A curious fact has 

 been observed in reference to California salmon, and 

 probably the same rule applies to all fish. They will 

 grow much more rapidly in warmer water than in the cold 



