56 



SALMONID^C. 



here shown was taken, by permission of Mr. Groves, who 

 allowed a drawing to be made, which was engraved for this 

 work. 



Some deep pools in the Thames above Oxford afford 

 excellent Trout, and some of them of very large size. 

 I have before me a record of six, taken by minnow spinning, 

 which weighed together fifty-four pounds, the largest of 

 them thirteen pounds. Few persons are aware of the dif- 

 ficulty of taking a Trout when it has attained twelve or 

 fourteen pounds' weight, and it is very seldom that one of 

 this size is hooked and landed except by a first-rate fisher- 

 man : such a fish, when in good condition, is considered a 

 present worthy a place at a royal table. 



Among performances in Trout catching, the following 

 may be mentioned, as found in the MS. of the late Colonel 

 Montagu. 



" Mr. Popham, of Littlecot, in the county of Wilts, 

 was famous for a Trout fishery. They were confined to 

 a certain portion of a river by grating, so that fish of a 

 moderate size could not escape. To the preserving and 

 fattening these fish much trouble and expense were devoted, 

 and fish of seven and eight pounds' weight were not uncom- 

 mon. A gentleman at Lackham, in the same county, had a 



