FUNGUS ON GROWN FISH 135 



do any good to the Thames or the Thames Conservancy, 

 as, instead of the weeds being left in the Colne to check 

 the flood water, this river's volume is increased, and 

 a much more rapid and dangerous addition is therefore 

 made to the already swollen waters of the Thames. 



Always remember that in very weedy water it is 

 better to let a trout go up-stream into the tail of a 

 bunch of weeds than to pull him down-stream, and 

 let him get sideways into the thick of such a danger. 

 A fish which may seem hopelessly entangled in weeds 

 and brushwood may with patience and nerve be 

 ultimately creeled. 



FUNGUS ON GROWN FISH 



A trout may be caught at times suffering from a 

 fungus or a growth on the head, shoulder, or other 

 part of the body. The student will be well advised, 

 after netting such a specimen, to destroy it at once, 

 taking care not to return it to the water or place it 

 among his clean fish. Mr. Stone has proved that 

 fungus can at times be cured by dipping the fish in 

 a strong solution of salt, but that, when left alone, 

 it appears invariably to kill the fry, and also any 

 weak fish which are not situated in healthy and rapid 

 water. Ordinary fungus is a vegetable growth which 

 attaches itself to any bare spot on the trout's skin, 

 caused by a wound or the accidental loss of slime. 

 The natural slime on a trout protects the skin from 

 fungus in exactly the same manner that Peacock 



