poacher. 



POACHERS. 71 



to the evidence of Mr. Armistead, in his 

 admirable work on Fish Culture (to which the 

 strangely misleading title of " An Angler's 

 Paradise and How to Obtain It" has been 

 given), the larger forms of caddis, or larvae 

 of the Trichoptera, attack the trout eggs and 

 alevins. Possibly, too, other larvae, such as 

 those of the larger dragon flies, prey upon the 

 eggs, and it would not be surprising to find that 

 even shrimps and snails satisfy their appetites 

 at times on trout ova. 



As man has been placed by modern scientists The human 

 at the head of the sub-kingdom of Vertebrata, 

 the same position must, I suppose, be accorded 

 to him here among poachers. A certain school 

 of sportsmen are in the habit of expressing 

 sympathy with this class, saying that every true 

 sportsman is at heart a bit of a poacher. Some 

 go so far as to suggest that it is excusable for 

 a poor man to poach an odd rabbit or hare, or 

 an occasional brace of trout for his supper. 

 This is not only nonsense, but worse still, as it 

 is quoted by the rustics, until at last, even if 

 they do not become poachers themselves, they 

 will, by encouraging and shielding others, often 

 prevent keepers from detecting them in ihe 

 act. 



In most villages there are a certain number 

 of idle, loafing vagabonds, whose only visible 



