STOCKING WATEES WITH FOOD 



weeds are planted in baskets, the baskets must, 

 of course, be weighted when put in a position 

 where the current can act upon them. 



Besides vegetation in the water, vegetation on 

 the bank is of considerable importance. I shall 

 deal with this at a later period more fully, as trees 

 and bushes, besides harbouring many insects which 

 serve as food for fish, have also considerable im- 

 portance in giving cover to the fish and to the 

 fisherman who is pursuing them. 



I think that in the case of a bare water, a year 

 at least should be devoted to developing a good 

 supply of vegetation. This will generally pro- 

 duce a considerable amount of animal life, with- 

 out any artificial help, but judicious help will be 

 sure to accelerate matters to a considerable extent. 

 I would, however, advise the amateur not to at- 

 tempt to introduce a quantity of creatures into 

 his water, until the vegetable life therein is well 

 established. For instance, though fresh-water 

 snails are desirable in every trout water, if intro- 

 duced in large numbers into a water in which the 

 vegetation is small and not well established, they 

 will eat down the weeds too much and then die 

 off from disease caused by want of sufficient 

 nourishment. 



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