BROOK TROUT 



minutes, this substance will cake, and if wet again 

 will moisten as before, but in a few hours, even if 

 it be placed on ice, this jellied substance entirely dis- 

 appears, leaving the skin thin, soft, and colorless, the 

 flesh insipid, the delicate color gone, and it is in this 

 condition that city people have their trout cooked 

 and served. An angler while feasting his happy and 

 fortunate friends on the trout he brings from his favor- 

 ite stream, sits and watches them enjoy what he will 

 not touch, for still lingering on his palate is the feast 

 of fresh-caught fish his guide prepared the day be- 

 fore in a clearing of the forest beside a rippling stream. 

 Many guides prefer to prepare trout (up to ten 

 inches) without being washed, dexterously tearing out 

 the gills, the inside being drawn at the same time, 

 leaving the head, body, tail, and fins intact. For 

 larger trout, the gills should be cut from the lower 

 jaw and back of head, a slit made from the head 

 along the lower body to the fin. On the gills being 

 pulled it will draw the inside away. If done with care, 

 a perfectly clean inside is the result. In all fresh fish 

 the blood is encased in a thin skin close to the back- 

 bone, and ought to be pulled entire. A fish so treated 

 can be prepared without the use of water. The case 

 is different if the trout have been carried some dis- 

 tance, the creel at intervals laid down on a sandy beach 

 or covered with grass or ferns and little pine leaves, 

 from the bed of the basket. After being cleaned and 

 prepared, they should then be placed for a few minutes 

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