FEBRUARY 31 



until they weighed two pounds ; that 

 they were turned into streams a few 

 days before the arrival of anglers from 

 London ; and that these fish were the 

 game which the Dry-fly Purist, our 

 censor, sometimes caught while admiring 

 the wild flowers and the whispering wind. 

 Could this be true ? Was the South of 

 England idyll rotten at the core ? Other 

 writers to The Times refused to believe 

 the scandal, which was flouted in the 

 journals of sport. Alas, the story, which 

 had horrified anglers all over the land, 

 turned out to be at least partly true. 

 The truth was formally acknowledged. 

 Any one who has watched the artificial 

 rearing of trout will realise what the 

 truth meant. Trout born and grown in 

 a state of nature do not lose their 

 instincts, some of which are self- 

 protective ; but trout brought up in 

 captivity become tame and trusting. 

 Throw a handful of things-to-eat into 

 the tank, or into the pond, and they will 

 instantly rush at the tit-bits without the 



