THE TROUT 



289 



and they are usually situated in the 

 affluents of the main river. From the 

 time that the ova are deposited until 

 the 3'oung Trout are big enough to take 

 care of themselves, the spawn and the 

 immature tish are exposed to many risks 

 of destruction. A heavy flood sometimes 

 causes the washing of silt and mud on to 

 the spawning beds, and the eggs are lost. 



swallow their smaller neighl)()urs. More 

 serious still are the attacks of pike and 

 chub, which often breed in the lower 

 reaches of Trout rivers. The otter also 

 takes his toll of Trout ; but he is not so 

 destructive as many anglers imagine, for 

 he subsists principally upon eels, frogs, 

 and black slugs. 



As the Trout approach the yearling 



A NLRSKKY t^F TKOUT. 



Then there are the depredations of fish 

 and birds. Eels are voracious de\'Ourers 

 of ova, and even Trout will eat the spawn 

 of their own species. Various aquatic 

 birds, and domestic swans, geese and 

 ducks, if they have access to the stream, 

 consume a quantity of the eggs. 



The diminutive Trout that emerges 

 from the ovum is called an alevin. These 

 tiny fry swim in dense shoals, and are 

 to be seen in the quiet eddies and bays of 

 the river, while they often swarm in the 

 runnels. Their rate of growth is usually 

 rapid, and they disperse before they are 

 a few months old, and haunt the feeding- 

 places 'of the mature Trout. Their chief 

 enemies now are the heron, kingfisher, 

 and the gull — among birds ; and among 

 fish the larger Trout are often their 

 worst foes. Most Trout of half a pound, 

 and even of less weight, will seize and 



37 



stage, they become adventurous, and love" 

 to explore the streams. They frequent 

 the shallows as soon as the temperature 

 of the water rises in spring ; and at this 

 season they rise most eagerl\' to the 

 flies that float upon the surface. A diet 

 of surface insects restores them to good 

 condition after the process of spawning ; 

 they become brighter in the scales, and 

 their flesh is firmer after a few weeks 

 of liberal feeding upon flies. Water 

 that contains ample food produces big 

 Trout in a short time : while in streams 

 or lakes where bottom and surface food 

 is scarce. Trout are small and olten 

 attenuated. The fresh-water shrimji, 

 water snails, and minnows are highly 

 nourishing. Besides these, the river beds 

 supi)ly the larw-e of flies and beetles ; 

 and in flood time worms and land insects 

 are washed into the rivers. 



