110 THE ACCLIMATISATION 



Every rustic now knows that these fish 

 are to be found in the rivers, and the deadly 

 worm has been employed with too good 

 success in districts remote from the influence 

 of the commissioners. It would be well if 

 stringent protective powers were conferred 

 upon riparian proprietors, but nothing wiU 

 avail to prevent the destructive use of net 

 and rod in streams which run through un- 

 appropriated land, which spawning fish will 

 be sure to frequent. The only hope for 

 these is the great prolificacy of the fish and 

 the sparse population. The river Plenty 

 has been opened to rod-fishing since 1870, 

 at a license of £1 per rod, and the commis- 

 sioners anticipate a considerable and per- 

 manent revenue from this source — it yielded 

 £100 in 1876 — while this measure tends 

 to keep down the large fish of 5 lbs. and 

 iipwards, which are frequently seen lurking 

 under the banks, and Uving in luxurious ease 

 on the small fry of their own species. 



Indeed, the rapid growth of trout in the 

 Derwent and its tributaries is a serious 

 danger to the spawn and fry of the migratory 



