234 THE TROUT 



CHAPTER III 



STOCKING 



STOCKING is a branch of my subject on which alone a 

 treatise could be written. 



The fish-culturist is constantly being asked to ad- 

 vise as to the best and cheapest means of stocking a 

 stream, a lake, or a pond. General rules are of very 

 little use here. A great variety of local conditions 

 have to be taken into consideration, and it is hardly 

 possible to give reliable advice and useful re- 

 commendations except on full information as to the 

 facts and circumstances of each particular case. In- 

 deed, it is often found that a personal inspection of 

 the water by an experienced pisciculturist is necessary 

 in order to secure a thoroughly satisfactory return for 

 a given outlay. 



Where immediate sport is required two- year-olds 

 are recommended, and where it is found impossible to 

 get rid of the coarse fish, or where older trout already 

 exist, two-year-olds are often the least expensive mode 



