GROWING THE LARGE TROUT. 243 



it off, sweep out all the fish with a sweep seine, and 

 sort them thoroughly at stated intervals. In sorting, it 

 is well to remember that there is six times as much 

 mischief from having one large one with six small 

 ones than six large ones with one small one, because 

 the one large one will eat up all the small ones, while 

 the whole of the other six can eat only the small one. 

 The most dangerous times, when the trout are not kept 

 sorted, are just after a rain in the spring or summer, 

 and when the weather suddenly moderates in the win- 

 ter. In the first case the disturbed water prevents 

 their taking their regular feed, and they get very hun- 

 gry in consequence, and in the other case the warm 

 winter days sharpen their appetites. In either case, if 

 you do not anticipate the cravings of their instincts 

 with your food, the smaller trout will pay the penalty 

 of their lives. It makes no difference with the large 

 ones whether they can wholly swallow those they 

 kill or not. They seize them by the middle, whirl 

 them round as herons do, and swallow them head 

 down. If they cannot swallow the whole fish at first, 

 they will begin digesting the end that is down, and 

 swallow the rest as it comes along. 



I will also suggest the following precaution here, 

 though it is a little out of place. If you have two 

 ponds on the same brook, one below the other, with 

 large fish in one and small fish in the other, make it 

 doubly sure that none of the large ones can by any 

 possibility escape into the pond of smaller ones. Do 

 not be satisfied with leaving things so that you think 

 this cannot happen, but make it impossible by any 



