TILL TKOUT. 293 



season, and this in spite of the greatest caution. Over and 

 above those natural impediments, the farmers here have 

 adopted a perverse method of repairing any breaches in 

 the banks by cramming masses of dead thorns into 

 them, with the brush towards the stream, while the root 

 ends are covered with soil and turf. These are exceed- 

 ing great nuisances to the angler, and in many cases 

 render it utterly impossible for him to fish some of the 

 finest stretches of water. 



Towards the mouth of the Till, below the pretty vil- 

 lage of Etal, the character of the river considerably 

 changes for the better ; the banks are less encumbered 

 with bushes, and the water, though broad and deep, is 

 more broken up into streams, and below the weir con- 

 tains a fair sprinkling of salmon, grilse, bull-trout, and 

 whitling, besides some very large specimens of the com- 

 mon trout of occasionally 2 or 3 Ibs. or more. Pike 

 abound here and there over the whole of the Till proper, 

 with also a sprinkling of perch (I once caught one of li 

 pound weight), and no end of eels. 



QUALITY OF TILL TROUT. 



The majority of the trout in the Till are large, pink- 

 fleshed, rich-flavoured fish, and by far the best for the 

 table of any I know of in the north of England, with 

 the exception of those of the Aln, which very much re- 

 semble them in size and quality, both being well-grown, 

 deep-bellied, thick-set fish, with small heads and brilliant 

 colouring. In weight they will be found to vary in a 

 general way, from half a pound to a pound and a half, 



