330 PRAIIUE AND FOREST. 



not be aware of it, there is nothing more destructive 

 to trout and salmon than these minute particles of 

 timber. The fish, as they rest head up stream, imbibe 

 them into their mouths, whence they pass into the 

 gills and stomach, ultimately causing disease and 

 death. When this is known to be the case, would it 

 not be well to insist that this debris should otherwise 

 be disposed of, which may, without much labour or in- 

 convenience, be accomplished by fire. Hendrick Hud- 

 son, the first explorer of the magnificent river which 

 bears his name in America, speaks of that river as 

 swarming with salmon ; but where are they now ? Gone, 

 never to return, unless repopulated by artificial means ; 

 in fact, expelled by dams and sawdust, and such like 

 accompaniments of the human race. As with the 

 Hudson, so it would be everywhere, if preventive 

 measures were not adopted to stop these abuses, so 

 glaring and unjustifiable, that every well-thinking man 

 can scarce fail to anathematise the short-sighted policy 

 that has formerly marked the advance of civilisation. 

 But it is not only fish in America ; game has also thus 

 ruthlessly been dealt with, till forests and farms cease 

 to re-echo the musical, plaintive notes of the partridge, 

 or the sonorous, drumming call of the ruffed grouse. 

 For our part, the most picturesque walk, the most 

 delightful rural drive, if not graced with the presence 

 or note of the feathered warblers, the cooing of the 

 dove, or the flight of birds, loses half its fascinations, 

 half its enchantments, and consequently half the 

 pleasures it would otherwise afford. 



Supposing that you have passed a few days at 

 Upton, and enjoyed, with that relish which is so 

 natural to a sportsman, the manifold pleasures of a 



