118 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



At this period are the attacks of birds, "both 

 wild and tame, to be especially guarded against. 

 We have taken eighty -five young trout from tin*. 

 stomach of a tame duck shot on our ponds, and 

 the number which would have been swallowed 

 had she been left unmolested would undoubtedly 

 have been much greater. It is well for fish cultur- 

 ists to keep an eye upon the aquatic poultry owned 

 by their neighbors. The kingfisher is a perma- 

 nent nuisance, and the great fish-hawk, during the 

 spring and early summer, is an epicure whose 

 fastidious taste is only to be satisfied by the larg- 

 est and nnest trout in your ponds. A well-loaded 

 gun should be always kept in readiness in some 

 convenient place for the accommodation of these 

 visitors. They may sometimes be trapped in the 

 following manner: Near the ponds erect some 

 poles about twenty feet in height, and on these set 

 a steel- trap, securely fastened to the top of the 

 pole. As is well known, it is the habit of both 

 the fish-hawk and kingfisher to rest upon the 

 tops of dead trees for which the poles are a good 

 substitute. On alighting, the trap is sprung and 

 the bird caught. No bait is required. In remov- 

 ing the fish-hawks from the traps it is well to 

 throw over them an old coat or blanket, as they 

 are capable of inflicting severe wounds with both 

 claws and bill. The night-heron is decidedly the 



