THE FISHERY. 503 



afterwards about a mile below my garden, which was sent to Mr. Frank 

 Buckland as an unheard-of monster, but directly he saw it he exclaimed, 

 " That is one of Smee's fish ! " The experiment of introducing this 

 fish, however, was a complete failure, as with the exception of that 

 solitary individual, no one ever saw a burbolt in the Wandle. 



Young Salmon-trout by thousands, and Char, have been reared and 

 placed in the Wandle at my garden, both of which were bred from ova 

 with which the authorities of Huningue were kind enough to supply 

 me, but none of the mature fish have ever been seen. 



The first young Salmon placed into any tributary of the Thames, 

 except varieties of trout, were placed in the tributaries of the Wandle 

 at my garden. Many thousands were distributed in my streams, and 

 also in some of those that run into the river Medway near Rochester. 

 I have heard that occasionally salmon have been captured in the last- 

 named river, but not in proportion to the numbers which have been bred. 

 I felt so much interested in the question of the breeding of salmon that 

 I made a journey to Hereford to observe the salmon fry on their 

 pilgrimage to the sea. It was an interesting sight : thousands upon 

 thousands of fish from four to six inches long were swimming down the 

 stream in a shoal, making the water alive in their passage, and catching 

 the flies as they passed. Anglers were ever on the watch for a shoal, 

 and many were caught at that time. Penalties are enacted against 

 the destroyers of these juvenile salmon, but I was informed on un- 

 deniable authority that the magistrates liked them for breakfast, and 

 therefore were unable to judge accurately whether they were really 

 young salmon or the fry of some other fish. From the tens of thou- 

 sands which I saw in the act of migration to the sea, I should think 

 a very considerable number could be spared for the breakfast-table. 



Next to the trout, the Eel (Anguilla acutirostris] is our most 



important fish. 



" The silver eel in shining volumes roll'd." 



There are two distinct migrations of eels through my garden : 

 the one up the stream, of the smaller eels, in May, June, and July ; 

 the other, of larger eels, towards the sea, which chiefly occurs in 



