WASTE LANDS AND ^YASTE WATERS. 151 



water, witlioiit adjoining shallow swamp, Avarmed 

 in its masses by the sun, wild fowl could not 

 breed up their own young, on such an expanse 

 of cold, deep water, ''cramp" must kill them, but 

 their eggs, Avhenever the old birds laid them far 

 and near, could be carefully watched, and taken 

 and put under barn-door hens; the young reared 

 at a distance on the grass, like pheasants, and taken 

 down with their coops and old hens to the margin 

 of the lake when half-fledged and too old for any 

 sized pike to swallow. 



There would be no objection, by way of 

 experiment, to turn into this lake some large 

 trout, if they could be got, with the pike. The 

 generality of the store pike would be small, and, 

 until the pike grew, the large trout, growing 

 also, would take care of themselves. But in that 

 lake I do not think that trout would breed, for 

 want of the necessary beds of sandy gravel and 

 insufficiency of running streams. Perch might 

 be put in also to any amount, and as many 

 large ones as could be procured. I am certain 

 perch would do there, and they would assist to 

 keep down the carp fry. Perch are the most 

 prolific breeders within my knoAvledge, and there 



