902 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVII. 



It has been suggested that certain of the present trout in the Nilgiri streams 

 are in reahty crosses between males of S. irridens and females of S. fario. Al- 

 though a few brown trout were stocked at Avalanche up to 1919 and although 

 there may have been a few wild ones in the streams, yet not a single cross-bred fish 

 (with red spots) has been observed by the writers. 



Early in 1907, Mr. H. C. Wilson went to Ceylon and obtained a hundred year- 

 lings {S. irridens) from the hatcheries there. These he brought to Ootacamund, 

 but owing to misfortunes en-route onty twenty-seven live fish were placed in the- 

 Parson's Valley Stream. 



One of them was caught on a fly in the late autumn of the same year having 

 increased in weight four ounces. The Parson's Valley Stream holds a very heavy 

 head of fish, is netted periodically, but is closed to angling. 



On 21st April 1907, a consignment of 10,000 ova of 8. irridens from Osnabruck 

 in Germany arrived in bad condition. 



In 1909, however, jMr. Wilson obtained ova of 8. irridens from the Auckland 

 Acclimatization Society in New Zealand. Most of these were successfully hatched 

 out, and it is from them and the twenty-seven yearlings from Ceylon (and possibly 

 from the survivors of previous experiments) that the bulk of the fish on the Ml- 

 giris are supposed to be descended. In 1908, thirty trout from 12" to 16" in length 

 from the Parson's Valley Stream were turned into the Krurmund River at Hodg- 

 son's Hut. 



In May, 1909, thirt)^ fish were transferred from the Parson's Valley Stream to 

 the Emerald Valley, eighty-three to the Avalanche Paver and sixteen to the stock - 

 ponds at the hatcher3^ The average length of these fish v/as 11^"- It was in this, 

 year that the hatchery was completed. 



In 1910, a stock-pond and spawning race were constructed below the hatchery. 

 The ivj were allowed to escape into the hatchery str-eam through the race. Since 

 then, however, a second stock-pond has been excavated below this spa\^^ling race, 

 and fry which seek to escape into the stream must run the gauntlet of the fish 

 in this second stock-pond. 



The Avalanche, Emerald Valley, Krurmund, Mekod and Pykara Streams 

 were thrown open to trout fishing for the first time on September 5th, 1911. A 

 large party was entertained at Krurmund Bungalow bj^ the Governor, Sir A. 

 Lawley, who caught the first trout in the adjacent pool. 



The season ended on September 30th. No less than 299 trout were killed, the 

 largest of them being 5 lbs. in weight. The limit of size was 12" and 140 small 

 fish were returned. 



In 1913, Mr. Wilson reported that the size of the fish was less than he had 

 anticipated. He attributed this to lack of food. The remedy adopted by him 

 was to diminish the number of fish by netting. 



In 1914, it Avas remarked that the size of the fish Idlled was less than in the^ 

 previous year. An attempt was, therefore, made to diminish the stock of fish in 

 the rivers by reducing the size limit from 12" to 8". It was hoped that more fish 

 might be killed and that more food would consequently be available for the 

 survivors. 



In the following year there was a general complaint from Sportsmen both as 

 to the number of the fish and their size. The limit was accordingly abolished 

 altogether in the ho]3e that more fish might be caught. 



A ten-inch limit wag again imposed in 1920 on the advice of certain gentlemen 

 who were interested in fishing. Much discontent has been the result as only one 

 .fish in every four or five caught could be retained. 



Despite forty years of failure, there are still a few enthusiasts who seriously ad- 

 vocate the importance of brown trout. They argue that even if it does not breed 

 well, it makes an excellent cross. They point to dark specimens of pure Rainbow 

 trout in proof of their assertions. The fact that some Rainbows fight better than 

 others is with them a further proof of interbreeding. They are unable, however. 



