THE SCOTTISH ANGLER. 



even one fish, if properly cultivated and shed, will re- 

 plenish an emptied stream ; nor would a seemingly 

 meagre spawning fail of this object, were it not for 

 other causes and impediments. One of these is dis- 

 covered in the unnatural voracity of large fish, which 

 prompts them to devour their own young, as well as 

 eat each other's roe a passion which in streams of 

 this sort is easily gratified, whereas in bottoms composed 

 of loose stones, &c., the young fry find refuge so ad- 

 mirably adapted to their size, that it would be idle folly 

 in a huge trout to attempt seizing them, " with all its 

 appliances and means to boot." And it may be noted, 

 that even in a sluggish water provided with such pecu- 

 liar shelter, the fish thrive more abundantly than in 

 one where the cover is under banks and among weeds, 

 both of which can be worked into by a strong active 

 fellow. Nor let any one be too credulous of the fact 

 until witnessed, what amazing power the chin and snout 

 of a milter possess. We have seen, hollowed by a 

 single fish, such prodigious cavities as would lead one 

 to imagine that a plough had actually been driven un- 

 der water, and these, too, in the course of a single night. 

 What havoc, then, must be made in a loose embank- 

 ment by like monsters in search of their prey during 

 the summer months ! An additional reason may here 

 be stated, why slow-running rivers, like those in Eng- 

 land, are prejudicial to the multiplication of trout ; and 

 it is this, that such places are greatly adapted to the 

 growth of their natural enemies. Of these, the otter 

 and the pike are the most formidable perch and eels 

 moderately so. We shall discourse in due order con- 

 cerning them : meanwhile, let us revert to our original 

 intention, which was to describe our idea of a good 

 angling river. 



There are only three kinds of streams, properly 



