riSHES AND FISHING. 67 



Mr. Ashworth says, that the Chinese, from the most 

 distant ages, have collected and disposed of "fish seed,'* 

 -^fecundated ova, I presume, to those who wanted to 

 stock, or restock their rivers or ponds, and that the 

 Eomans merely did the same ; but it is, I think, easy 

 to prove, that this was the extent of the knowledge of 

 either the Chinese or Eomans on this subject. 



A beautiful plate of the progress of the egg of the 

 salmon to maturity, is to be found in the Second Re- 

 port on the Salmon Fisheries of the United Kingdom, 

 plate 10 ; ordered by the House of Commons to be 

 printed, 3rd June, 1825. Also a very explanatory one 

 in Messrs. Ashworth's little work before mentioned. 



The immense quantity of sticklebacks in the 

 "Wandle must prove very destructive to the spawn 

 and young fry of trout ; also the eels, which will take 

 trout as large as gudgeons; therefore, unless the 

 young trout are protected and fed till old enough to 

 take care oY themselves, they will be destroyed in 

 great numbers, as soon as they are turned into the 

 river* These pugnacious little fish, the stickleback 

 will attack fish twice their own size. 



Stickleback, prickleback, or sharpling are taken in 

 stagnant waters, and inlets of rivers, with a very 

 small piece of red worm, with the prickles cut off ; 

 they are a very good bait for perch. (Taylor.) It 

 preys on the spawn of fish, therefore is very inju- 



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