The Confessions of a ^Poacher. 93 



poacher to salmon and trout and the wader 

 uses it almost as skillfully. He has a bottle on 

 the bank, and into this he pours the fish unhurt 

 which he captures with his hands. Examine his 

 aquarium, and hidden among the weeds you 

 will find three or four species of small fry. 

 The loach, the minnow, and the bullhead are 

 sure to be there, with perhaps a tiny stickle- 

 back, and somewhere, outside the bottle 

 stuffed in cap or breeches pocket crayfish of 

 every age and size. During a long life I have 

 watched the process, and this is the stuff out 

 of which fish-poachers are made. 



It is part of the wisdom of nature's economy 

 that when furred and feathered game is " out," 

 fish are "in." It might be thought that 

 poachers would recognize neither times nor 

 seasons, but this is a mistake. During fence 

 time game is nearly worthless ; and then the 

 prospective penalties of poaching out of season 

 have to be taken into account. Fish poaching 

 is practised none the less for the high preserva- 

 tion and strict watching which so much prevails 

 now- a- days; it seems even to have grown 



