ON THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE COLN 177 



Two days on that water I devoted in part to this 

 pair and to four or five other big fish above them 

 whose personalities did not become so definite; they 

 were just plops, waves and swirls to me, no more. 

 Of smaller trout I not only saw, but had my share 

 four and a half brace on the two days of fish that 

 would average about a pound, the biggest one pound 

 six ounces. They were all beautiful to look at, and 

 those that came to table were excellent to eat. Here 

 and there I saw some biggish rainbows, and caught 

 some small ones on both the waters fished. One or 

 two were so small as to prove that the original stock 

 must have bred in the river, and it seems that they are 

 not trying to leave their quarters, as they do in so 

 many rivers. Indeed, I know not why they should 

 want to leave such quarters. I should not myself. 

 The inhabitant of Bibury, be he fish or human, can 

 have but one dearest wish to live at Bibury for ever 

 and ever. 



One of the attractions of the place is the Bibury 

 fishery, the trout-farm which Mr. A. Severn has estab- 

 lished close to the upper mill. It would be difficult to 

 conceive a better place for trout-breeding. It has two 

 sources of water-supply, at one end the river itself and 

 at the other the famous Bibury springs. This makes 

 it possible to vary the climate for the fish. The spring 

 water has a mean temperature all the year round, 

 warm in winter and cold in summer, and by trans- 

 ferring the fish from river ponds to spring ponds, 

 Mr. Severn is able to get remarkable results in the 

 way of growth. A thing I noticed about the ponds 

 was the extraordinary quantity of natural food in 

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