242 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 



These boxes become more or less covered yearly with a 

 green aquatic growth that is always found in spring 

 water, and need a good scrubbing every Fall before they 

 are used. The gravel need not be changed, and the 

 water will carry off the sediment as the^ scrubbing liber- 

 ates it. 



The fish, however, do not confine themselves to these 

 boxes, but spawn all over the^ pond in every little scour 

 that the spring water makes ; for as yet we have not 

 tried extruding the eggs artificially, having attained suffi- 

 cient success in the natural method. 



The breeders, of which there are about three hundred, 

 occupy two of the ponds, and the others are used for keep- 

 ing the fish of the various years separate ; at the age of 

 two they are safe to be trusted and may be said to be of 

 full age, and even in twelve months have learned a great 

 deal about taking care of themselves. Some of the breed- 

 ers weigh about a pound and a half, and anything less 

 than six inches left among them would be devoured at once. 

 They were originally taken on their spawning beds with 

 a scap-net, but are now kept over from year to year, 

 thriving well on minnow and meat, their principal food. 

 In order to spawn, trout seek the narrow and shallow 

 spring runs, where they can always be found in pairs, 

 and, with a little skill, caught in a net or taken with the 

 fly for I utterly deny that they will not feed when 

 spawning and can be accumulated in that way from 

 year to year till a large number is obtained. While 

 the small trout are in the breeding-pond, the large 

 ones are rigidly excluded, but when they have been 

 removed, by drawing off the water into the lower ponds, 



