inspection. 



SELECTION. 5 



or his agent cannot always be implicitly relied 

 on. 



At this stage a visit to the river in person is Personal 

 of advantage, and if the intending lessee does 

 not consider himself capable of forming a 

 definite opinion on his own inspection, he 

 should, if possible, persuade some friend, in 

 whose judgment he has confidence, to accom- 

 pany him. Unfortunately there are no qualified 

 experts who can be retained for a fee to give 

 a proper report on the subject, so that in the 

 absence of a reliable friend one is obliged to act 

 on one's own observation. The general reputa- 

 tion of the river should be ascertained, and it is 

 always well to try and see keepers or pro- 

 prietors of the adjoining waters, as a careful 

 sifting of their conversation will usually enable 

 one to get some idea of the capabilities and 

 present state of the waters offered. 



It must be remembered that the tendency of 

 the rustic is to exaggerate ; hence it may be 

 inferred that, if he condemns the fishing, the 

 keepers, and the proprietor in unmeasured terms, 

 they are not quite as black as he paints them ; 

 and conversely, if his praise of his neighbours 

 and their property is given too freely, it may 

 equally be inferred that they are not quite so 

 angelic, and their fishing not quite so much of a 

 paradise as his words would lead one to believe. 



