GROWING THE LARGE TROUT. 2IQ 



dew before the sun. If you observe the following di- 

 rections, many of which are only repetitions of what has 

 been previously said, I think your trout will be safe : 



1. Guard against freshets. 



2. Avoid overstocking. 



3. Guard against heated water. 



4. Handle carefully. 



5. Keep the trout well sorted. 



6. Never let the water get foul. 



7. Protect from natural enemies. 



8. Protect from poachers. 



1. Guard against freshets. So much has been said 

 under this head in the chapter on suitable water, that 

 we will merely refer the reader to that chapter, saying, 

 en passant, that the danger from this source cannot be 

 overestimated, and that the losses, when they do oc- 

 cur, are usually overwhelming. 



2. Avoid overstocking. There is no indiscretion in 

 the world so easy for a trout breeder to fall into as 

 overstocking his ponds when he has many fish and not 

 much water* ; but I need not say it is a fatal mistake. 

 There is usually a very dry hot time in the summer, 

 which, if not a fiery furnace, is, at least, a watery fur- 

 nace for the trout to pass through ; and it is often hard 

 in the fall, winter, or spring, when the deceitful water 

 is cold, and there is plenty of it, to realize what the 

 inexorable exactions of this ordeal will be ; and al- 

 most without knowing it the trout breeder will some- 

 times get more trout into his stream than it will carry 

 through the summer. Therefore the beginner cannot 



* See remarks on water supply and droughts, pp. 11-12. 



