FIRST YEAR. 119 



worst enemy of the fishes, and we are sorry to 

 say tha.t no means for his capture or destruction 

 have as yet been devised. Flying at night and, 

 like the owl, having the gift of nocturnal vision, 

 he is enabled to visit the pond with impunity ; 

 and being to a certain extent gregarious, will 

 return, bringing with him numbers of his fellows. 

 Walking in darkness, they are comparatively safe 

 from the gun, and rarely alighting upon trees, can 

 not be captured in the pole traps. Their pres- 

 ence is only known by their peculiar foot-prints, 

 and a diminution in the number of fishes in the 

 ponds. Of quadrupeds, the evils caused by the 

 muskrat have been mentioned (page 36), and the 

 means by which damage from them may be pre- 

 vented, noted. 



The otter has fortunately disappeared before 

 advancing civilization ; his presence on a fish farm 

 would result in the disappearance of the entire 

 stock ; but his cousin, the mink, still remains, and 

 has more than once caused serious loss. If fishes 

 are found dead with a large gash, sometimes 

 lengthways and sometimes across the throat, it is 

 a sure sign that a visit has been paid by a mink. 

 A vigorous system of trapping by an expert is the 

 only remedy, and one of the murdered trout is 

 the best bait that can be obtained. Water snakes 

 are particularly fond of trout, and have, during 



