416 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



operation for several years, and which has had an annual 

 output of nearly 300,000 healthy fry of trout, sea-trout, 

 and salmon. To assist the practical man as far as 

 possible, a sketch plan of the hatchery, a specification 

 and estimate of cost, and other particulars are appended. 

 There is no occasion at this time of day to refer to 

 the practical benefits which may be obtained from 

 artificial trout-hatching. Nor are we concerned to de- 

 fend the practice of salmon and sea-trout hatching, the 

 necessity for which, in our opinion, depends solely upon 

 local conditions. At Luss, on Loch Lomond, it has 

 been found from practical experience that the available 

 natural spawning-ground is so deficient and the streams 

 themselves are so obstructed, that a hatchery forms a 

 valuable supplement of nature. There is really nothing 

 artificial involved in the process. The ova collected 

 are simply placed in security. There are many small 

 sea-trout streams in the Highlands, especially on the 

 west coast, where similar conditions prevail, and for 

 these a hatchery would be similarly valuable. Pro- 

 prietors, moreover, need have the less hesitation in 

 hatching sea-trout for this reason, that the sea-trout 

 does not roam far afield, as does the salmon, but is 

 essentially an estuary fish. A large proportion of Loch 

 Lomond fish, marked when spawning in the tributaries, 

 have been recaptured the following season spawning 

 again in the same tributaries. To the hatching of sea- 

 trout, then, as well as trout, attention may be usefully 

 directed. 



