SALMON AND TROUT CULTURE. 463 



fish when first taken throw up a species of fresh- water shrimp." 

 Again, "where these gammari are most plentiful the trout 

 are nearly always the largest, and of the best colour and condi- 

 tion."' 1 



It appears to me that there must be some colouring matter 

 in the ' shrimp ' itself, as they turn red, or rather, a deep orange 

 colour, when dead, not having been in a fish's stomach. Trout, 

 although apparently living under the same circumstances, feed 

 very differently, and some may prefer one kind of food to an- 

 other, doubtless caring very little whether his flesh is pink or 

 white when his turn comes to be put on the table ! F. Buckland, 

 in his manual of Trout culture, advises the destruction of the 

 'shrimp ' as 'vermin.' From this dictum I must beg to differ 

 entirely, maintaining on the contrary that the fresh-water 

 shrimp is the finest natural food to be found in the water. 

 Doubtless they do destroy a few of the ova deposited natu- 

 rally in the ponds or rivers, but not anything like the quantity 

 which the parent fish and the later spawning fish devour, or 

 spoil by the frequent disturbance of the spawning grounds : 

 moreover, a pisciculturist takes care that his fish do not spawn 

 in the ordinary pond or nursery. Even in waters which are 

 not annually replenished by artificial breeding, the damage 

 caused by shrimps cannot be compared with the great gain in 

 respect of food by its preservation. 51 



A pisciculturist protects the ova by bringing them to the 

 hatching house, where no shrimps or other ' vermin ' can 

 possibly come. 



The eggs of the ' gammari ' are exceedingly small, almost 

 microscopic, and when hatched are exactly the proper sized 

 mouthful for the fry, as also are the small Limnae, whose shell 

 is so delicate, that it is easily digested by young fish. 



It is one of Nature's wise provisions that most water insects 

 breed and develop at the very time when the fry begin to feed. 



1 Practical Management of Fisheries, p. 18. 



2 See account also of trout growth-rate when fed on water-shrimps at Lord 

 Eldon's, p. 168. H. C.-P. 



H H ? 



