JULY 179 



Ordie, Loch Skiach, Loch Derculich, 

 Loch Tay, and Loch Vennachar ; on any 

 of which waters, on a similar day, your 

 basket may not only have as many trout, 

 but also trout which are at least double 

 the weight. These facts call for a re- 

 consideration of the relations between 

 trout and pike. 



Perhaps those who share the general 

 prejudice against pike will deem the 

 scope of the reference too narrow. They 

 may invite attention to Blagdon Lake, 

 which, whilst without pike, yields trout 

 that on the average are much heavier 

 than the trout taken from any other lake 

 in the country. Blagdon, however, is 

 irrelevant. It is a new lake, artificial ; 

 and waters of that kind have a natural 

 history which, though uniform and 

 peculiarly definite, has not yet been 

 generally noticed. For the first four or 

 five years the trout in any lake made 

 by man flourish abnormally. They grow 

 with great rapidity ; when three years 

 old they are twice as large as trout of 



