172 WINTER ANGLING 



a fond foster-parent. Mr. Buckland's success in 

 the breeding and rearing of fish was, as a conse- 

 quence, very pronounced ; and his charming lec- 

 ture before the London Royal Institution, on the 

 subject of fish culture (which was afterwards pub- 

 lished in book form), proves to any one that, so far 

 from the subject being a dull one, it is replete with 

 remarkable interest, and far from difficult of prac- 

 tice. 



Of course, however, it is impossible for boys in 

 general to undertake the artificial spawning, im- 

 pregnation, rearing, feeding, etc., on the scale car- 

 ried out in the various State hatcheries ; but, as I 

 shall explain in the following pages, it is quite 

 within the means of my readers to artificially hatch 

 and rear a few dozen of trout or young salmon ; 

 and what can be a prettier or more interesting 

 amusement for the student of fish-life, apart from 

 the knowledge it imparts of the natural history of 

 the most important family of fishes in the world ? 

 Boys breed and rear canaries and other birds, rab- 

 bits, guinea-pigs, mice, and dogs ; why, therefore, 

 should fish be neglected, when they are really 

 easier to breed and keep than any of those just 

 named ? And are they not far more beautiful ? 



