80 



and it sticks in their throats and kills them. Often it 

 it is caught in their teeth and thus prevented from going 

 down the throat, or it gets into their gills and stops 

 their breathing. They will, when choking, come to the 

 top of the water, and may sometimes be saved by taking 

 the piece out of their throats, or pushing it down. But 

 the best remedy is to chop the meat fine, say one-half or 

 one-quarter inch squares for two and three years old. 



No machine which we have ever tried would do the 

 work of chopping to our satisfaction. A sausage ma- 

 chine runs the food together and mashes it, and the 

 meat cutters, which do the best, require cleaning and 

 sharpening so often that they are only a nuisance. The 

 best thing we have ever found is a butcher's block, or 

 log of wood two and a half feet high on which to cut, 

 and a very heavy knife or light butcher's cleaver. These 

 instruments are very simple, not liable to get out of 

 order, and do the work required of them in the best 

 manner, and with no more labor than a machine would 

 require. -Sometimes two or three knives are fastened 

 together to make the work go more expeditiously ; but 

 one is best, or at most one in each hand. 



Fish fed on liver or lights are not as good eating as 

 wild fish ; this is especially so of trout, which should 

 never be sent to market or the table directly from the 

 stew pond. But they soon recover their flavor when 

 they are turned loose, and made to seek their natural 

 food in a natural way. 



Any kind of meat is good for food. Trout are carni- 

 vorous and will not eat vegetables of any kind that we 

 have ever tried. We feed them lights and liver because 

 it is the least expensive food we can find in large 

 quantities, and answers a very good purpose. In their 



