46 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



bottom and an equable temperature is 

 an ideal haunt lor spawning purposes. 



MAY-FLIES. 



When the spawning has been accom- 

 plished, males and females alike descend 

 again to deeper waters. In due season 

 the young Trout are hatched and remain 

 in the quiet-flowing waters until they 

 have grown strong enough and wise 

 enough to descend the rivers and enter 

 a world of subtle enemies. 



To the spawning grounds the Trout's 



two great enemies the otter and the 

 heron hie in October. This is taking an 

 unfair advantage, but Nature is not a 

 great moralist. When moving about 

 in shallow places spawning Trout may 

 frequently be seen with their backs out 

 of water, and at such times are occasion- 

 ally carried off even by the water-hating 

 cat or stealthy owl. 



At this season of the year the fish 

 is more easily attracted by artificial 

 light than at any other, according to 

 my experience, and with a bull's-eye 

 lantern and a landing net I have caught 

 it wholesale for friends interested in 

 artificial breeding and rearing. 



Our photogravure has been reproduced 

 from a photograph taken in a clear 

 shallow Westmorland stream with an 

 almost imperceptible current. 



The Common Trout varies in size, 

 coloration, and flavour, according to 

 the character of the soil through which 

 the river wherein it lives flows. In 

 some streams it never weighs more than 

 a few ounces, whilst in others of the same 

 size and in the same neighbourhood it 

 will attain to a weight of several pounds. 



