FEBRUARY 41 



tunity of handling wild spawning fish will 

 frequently find males so badly wounded 

 that they cannot live." Watching a 

 stream carefully, you may see some of 

 this hostility for yourself. It is to be 

 noticed even in spring and summer, when 

 it arises from pure selfishness. Wherever 

 there is a particularly good hover, as just 

 below the place where a ditch runs in, 

 bringing a special supply of food, you 

 shall see a particularly large trout. He 

 is the largest in the neighbourhood. Any 

 male seeking to trespass in the choice 

 corner will be immediately and fiercely 

 attacked ; indeed, if the intruder be small 

 enough to be merely impudent, and not 

 a serious rival, he will be seized and 

 chewed. Should the large trout be 

 caught by an angler, his place will soon 

 be taken by the next-largest among those 

 close by, and the state of siege and defence 

 will go on exactly as before. This war- 

 fare is greatly aggravated when the time 

 for spawning comes. The female trout 

 seems to be invariably good-tempered, 



