Trout and Grouse. i P 



of his neighbourhood, and, since still in old age he 

 can musically imitate many of their cries, it must 

 have been pleasant to hear him piping them out with 

 fresh boyish voice, in the wantonness of youthful 

 spirits, upon the unfrequented hillside. 



He became very expert at catching trout with his 

 hands. The mode of capture was called " guddling," 

 and the operation was conducted by the sportsman's 

 lying down over the bank of one of the moorland 

 burns, putting his hands wide apart into the water 

 under the overhanging turf, and bringing them very 

 slowly together. If this is done with sufficient care, 

 when the fish is touched it seldom offers to move 

 away. But the hands must be worked gently about 

 it till you have it fairly within them ; then give it the 

 grip. Otherwise, if you come on the fish too suddenly 

 it is sure to start off. Rod-fishing was seldom tried 

 in these narrow moorland burns except when they 

 were in flood in August and September, when the trout 

 came up to spawn. Then, with a worm for bait, and 

 a strong hair-plait line, as soon as the cork was seen 

 to bob or sink under the water, there was no playing 

 with the fish, he .was " wapped," that is, pulled out of 

 the water at once. 



On the moorland farms the grouse took heavy toll 

 from the small fields of corn, attacking the crop as 

 soon as it began to ripen, but more particularly after 

 it was cut. This gave cause to a great deal of poach- 

 ing by the farmers themselves. The birds came to 

 the corn only in the morning at the break of day, and 

 in the afternoon a little before sunset. In the after- 

 noon the full light made it difficult to get near them, 



