184 WINTER ANGLING 



does, number ten or a dozen troughs, and, of 

 course, admits of a great number of fry being 

 hatched. I am, however, writing for boys here, 

 and I do not advise a larger receptacle than that 

 described, for an initial experiment. Such a 

 trough will accommodate some thousands of ova at 

 a pinch, though I advise the learner not to, in any 

 case, overcrowd. The fewer the eggs under care, 

 the easier is each individual looked after, and the 

 easier is it to remove dead matter, debris, and the 

 ordinary flotsam and jetsam inevitable on an as- 

 semblage of living beings. 



The trough I have described should be placed 

 on either trestle, or on stakes driven into the 

 ground, to a height which, whilst it admits of a 

 fairly good fall from the cistern to the filter, is not 

 too low so as to be inconvenient. In my fish- 

 breeding experiment nothing has seemed to con- 

 duce to the lack of patient, absorbed observation 

 of the eggs and embryos like the backache engen- 

 dered by reason of the inconveniently low troughs ; 

 therefore, be particular when making your trestles 

 not to make the legs too short. The trough can 

 be nailed (copper nails preferable) to the stakes or 

 trestle for security's sake ; in fact, it is advisable 



