158 GHJN, ROD, AND SADDLE. 



ceedingly hardy, and the Serpentine and numerous 

 other artificial waters are equally adapted to them. 

 Further, while on the subject aquatic, I am informed 

 that there are fish in the majority of these miniature 

 lakes, but they must be of a very base order, grovel- 

 ers in mud, so much afraid to show their ugly car- 

 casses that the human eye is never greeted with their 

 presence ; of course in comparatively speaking stag- 

 nant water, the river or brook trout would not flour- 

 ish, the lake trout might, although I doubt it, there 

 being an insufficiency of depth without cool springs 

 at the bottom to prevent the water in summer be- 

 coming heated, and a cold retreat is absolutely ne- 

 cessary for their health. However, there is a fish 

 across the Atlantic, equal to either of the two men- 

 tioned, gamer for his size and a much bolder feeder, 

 viz., the black bass, which is a frequenter of both 

 running and still water, clear or muddy, an admira- 

 ble table adjunct, and almost unmatchable in the eyes 

 of the sportsman for pluck and gameness, taking in- 

 discriminately the artificial fly or trolling bait, spring- 

 ing from the water when hooked, and refusing to be 

 landed till after a long, fierce, and protracted strug- 

 gle. I have killed a very great number of trout, and 

 also black bass, and although it was a long time before 



