FOOD-SUPPLIES AND RELEVANT MATTERS 131 



of the water-insects being laid bare to the 

 scorching sun is lost. The other half, into 

 which the trout of double the area are 

 crowded, and the larvae being glutted up 

 in slime, are fed upon voraciously ; and most 

 likely few reach maturity or hatch-off at all. 

 The trout get into pink of condition (we 

 never saw them finer on the table), but as 

 rapidly appear to go off colour. It seems 

 evident that larval forms are not so sustaining 

 to trout muscle as winged fly, because even 

 before the summer months were ended, many 

 turned dark in our baskets in a short time. 



A succession of such seasons, we believe, 

 would do enormous damage to the feeding 

 capabilities of a stream. In unoxygenated 

 or half stagnant ponds or lakes, such as 

 Presmennan in Haddington, the fish died, 

 and the water became foetid and covered 

 with a green slime on the surface. ' Also, in 

 this connection : it is well known Lochleven 

 fishes best in cool seasons and in east winds, 

 because the steady breezes off the sea aerate 

 and oxygenate the otherwise sluggish water. 

 East and north-east winds are the salvation 

 of Lochleven's healthy conditions. 



