12 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT FISHERIES 



persons of every degree fished in the river, and it 

 was no uncommon sight for an artisan during the 

 dinner-hour to secure a dozen fish anywhere 

 within a stone's throw of the town of Kendal. 

 At this period poachers systematic netters were 

 regularly at work, and upon the occasions when 

 pollution proved deadly it was not uncommon to 

 see a hundred dead trout in a single " dub." 



But all this is changed. Like many another 

 northern stream the Kent has come upon evil days. 

 Over miles of its course the river is now nearly de- 

 populated of fish. This state of things has been 

 brought about by persistent pollution over a long 

 period. This first destroyed the lower forms of life 

 which constitute the food of fish over a greater part 

 of the year ; then the trout fry and yearling fish ; and 

 finally the mature trout. Of course this was not 

 done in a single year, nor were the fish absolutely 

 exterminated. Extermination is almost impossible 

 when numerous unpolluted streams enter the main 

 river, as the fish in proximity to the streams can 

 always find refuge in the purer water. Game 

 fish the most tenacious of life (and the brown 

 trout comes within this category), cannot continue 

 its existence in water which is constantly loaded 

 with impurities, and in consequence the fame of the 

 Kent as a trout stream is but a shadow of its former 

 self. The question of river pollution is often a 

 difficult one owing to conflicting interests, and of 

 course it is essential to safeguard local industries. 

 The pollution of the Kent, however, has been of a 

 peculiarly selfish kind, as here the industries are few 

 and the pollution in every case is of a preventable 

 kind. A general remark may here be admissible. 

 A pure, sparkling river is one of those inestimable 



