HOW TO MAKE TROUT-FISHING 



shallows, and in lakes fed by a number of hill streams of that 

 character, the trout will be numerous and small. In deeper 

 streams with a gentle flow, like those of the southern English 

 counties, and in lakes fed chiefly by springs and with few 

 surface feeders, trout will be less numerous and of goodlier 

 proportions and quality. Hence it follows that in a fishery 

 such as I have sketched above, the average size of trout may 

 be regulated almost to a nicety. Spawners can be admitted to 

 or excluded from the running water at the discretion of the 

 manager. It is true that food supply varies according to the 

 soil ; it is scarce in streams flowing over granite or plutonic 

 rock, more abundant in limestone districts, and profuse in 

 water flowing through alluvium or other sedimentary deposits. 

 But even the hungriest waters may be improved by the forma- 

 tion of still deeps where a certain amount of sediment will 

 accumulate, wherein insect and crustacean life may find shelter. 

 Two examples from my own experience may serve to 

 illustrate the capacity of small sheets of standing water to pro- 

 duce trout of the finest quality. Both of these ponds are on 

 my own property, and contained no trout until they were 

 introduced some years ago. One of them lies in a hollow 

 formed by digging out marl, much valued as a farm fertiliser 

 in the eighteenth century. In extent it is only about four or 

 five acres ; the water is nowhere more than nine feet deep, 

 and, being chiefly supplied from springs, is of crystal trans- 

 lucency. A small runner enters the tarn, but is of no use as 

 spawning ground, for it runs by a couple of cottages, the in- 

 habitants whereof keep a number of ducks, which may be 



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