i8o WOODLANDERS AND FIELD FOLK 



vapour. Ever and anon a big fish throws its steel- 

 blue form many feet above the water, endeavouring 

 to clear the obstacle. Many times it is beaten back, 

 but at last it gains a ledge, and by a concentrated 

 effort manages to throw itself into the still deep 

 water beyond. Instead of leaping, the female fish 

 try to run through the foam and on from stone to 

 stone until a last leap takes them over. Where no 

 passes exist many fish are picked up dead. The 

 majority of these prove to be males, and this pre- 

 ponderance is also noticeable upon the breeding 

 grounds. The spawning redds are selected where 

 the tributaries are clear and pure where there is 

 bright gravel and an entire absence of sediment. 

 Here the fish settle down to their domestic duties 

 and their movements seem to be regulated by a 

 dulling stupor. This facilitates observation, but it 

 also assists the poacher in his silent trade. Once 

 settled, the female fish scoops out a hollow in the 

 sheltering gravel, and is closely attended by her lord. 

 Whilst spawning is proceeding, observe with what 

 care he attends her, and in what evolutions he 

 indulges. He rises and falls, now passing over, now 

 under her, and settling first upon this side, then upon 

 that. Observe, too, how he drives off the young 

 unfertile fish which are ever lying in wait to devour 

 the spawn. The eggs are deposited at intervals in 

 the gravel, and when the milt has been fertilised the 



