148 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
part and parcel of the mud and manure be- 
came, through the middlemen Bacteria, part 
and parcel of the Infusorians. These were in- 
corporated in water-fleas, which, in turn, 
found a new incarnation in fishes. What was 
part and parcel of the fish became part and 
parcel of man. And so the world goes round. 
If we believe that fish-food is good for the 
brain, as some doctors tell us, we may trace 
the links of a chain between mud and clear 
thinking. 
The sturdy fern, called Bracken, is doing 
much harm in Britain and other countries by 
destroying pasture land. It kills out the grass 
and other useful plants, and it is so vigorous 
that it can conquer even the heather. One 
wishes, therefore, that there might be a whole- 
sale repetition of the experiment of tumbling 
cartloads of bracken into fresh-water lochs. 
The result, where it was tried, was the great 
improvement of the fishing. For the bracken 
tumbled into the water was acted on by Bac- 
teria, and rotted, providing food for Infuso- 
rians, which in turn gave sustenance to water- 
fleas, as these to fishes. If we cast bracken on 
the waters, we may get, after many days— 
not bread exactly, but trout! 
