NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH SALMONID&. 169 



was Lord Eldon, who also examined the keeper in my presence, 

 as to the circumstances, whose account again was confirmed in 

 every respect by the corroborative testimony of Mr. Dickson, 

 one of Lord Eldon's stewards, who was cognisant of all the 

 facts of the case, and was also present and saw the fish weighed 

 when caught. 



The only outlet to the pond is a small drain at one end up 

 which nothing could practically pass, even if there were any 

 trout streams at hand with which it could be supposed to com- 

 municate. 



It may be mentioned that the weight of the trout at the end 

 of the first year was from a quarter of a pound to half a pound. 



In the ' New Sporting Magazine ' an interesting experiment 

 in trout growth was chronicled. The progressive weights of a 

 female fish, regularly fed and weighed during six consecutive 

 years, were as follows : 



At the end of the six years the fish being observed to be 

 falling off in colour and condition was killed, when it was 

 found to weigh less by 4 oz. than it had done six months 

 previously. 



The advent of the May fly gives the signal for the carnival 

 of the trout to begin, and they may be seen almost with their 

 noses out of water lying in wait to gulp down the succulent 

 morsels which the stream floats over them. It seems, there- 

 fore, that the bliss ascribed by the poet to our 



. . . painted populace 

 That live in fields and lead ambrosial lives 



is not without its alloys. 



The voracity of trout when in pursuit of its favourite food 

 sometimes leads to curious results. Dr. Gillespie once saw a 



