108 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [PARTI. 



mouths, but are nourished and take breath by the porousness 

 of their gills, man knows not how ; and this may be believed, 

 if we consider that when the raven hath hatched her eggs, 

 she takes no further care, but leaves her young ones to the 

 care of the God of nature, 1 who is said in the Psalms, " To 

 feed the young ravens that call upon him ;" and they be 

 kept alive and fed, by dew, or worms that breed in their 

 nests ; or some othefr way that we mortals know not. And 

 this may be believed of the Fordidge trout, 2 which as it is 

 said of the stork, that he knows his season, so he knows his 

 times, I think almost his day, of coming into that river out 

 of the sea ; where he lives, and (it is like) feeds nine months 

 of the year ; and fasts three in the river of Fordidge. And 

 you are to note, that those townsmen are very punctual in 

 observing the time of beginning to fish for them ; and boast 

 much that their river affords a trout that exceeds all others. 

 And just so does Sussex boast of several fish ; as namely, a 

 Shelsey cockle, a Chichester lobster, an Arundel mullet, 

 and an Amerley trout. 



And, now, for some confirmation of the Fordidge trout : 

 you are to know that this trout is thought to eat nothing in 

 the fresh water ; and it may be the better believed, because 

 it is well known that swallows, and bats, and wagtails 3 which 

 are called half-year birds, and not seen to fly in England for 



Spit; in these the eggs of the grasshopper are deposited [no ; it 

 is the larva of a fly. ED.] ; and if you examine them, you shall never fail 

 of finding a yellowish insect, of about the size and shape of a grain of wheat, 

 which, doubtless, is the young grasshopper. A passage to this purpose is 

 in Leigh's " History of Lancashire," page 148. H. We give this note 

 because it is found in most editions, including Sir Harris Nicolas' s, without 

 refutation. It is obvious that Sir John Hawkins is labouring under a 

 vulgar error. The grasshopper has large jaws, and is voracious* rather 

 than otherwise, sometimes feeding on their own species, as has been 

 proved. ED. 



1 On the contrary, the raven, like the rook, feeds and attends her young 

 with great care. The Psalmist, no doubt, refers to the young ravens after 

 they have quitted their nest. ED. 



* Mr. Yarrell says that the Fordwich Trout of Izaac Walton is the 

 Salmon Trout (Salmo Trutta), and that "its rare good meat" was greatly 

 enhanced, no doubt, by the opportunity of eating it very fresh. They have 

 been caught seventeen pounds in weight. Is this the Seiven of the fresh 

 rivers in Glamorganshire ? ED. 



3 Bats and wagtails are not migratory. ED. 



