RATS — ^WATER-SHEEWS. 69 



of them from off the glass rods. They must 

 have got into the water to get at them. 



I want, moreover, information about the 

 water-shrew. I hear that this httle fellow 

 eats the ova ; his teeth are insectivorous, but 

 still he may eat fish-eggs. The accusation, 

 anyhow, has been brought against him, and I 

 should much like to inquire into the matter. 



There are birds who are most destructive 

 to spawn, and common ducks lead the van of 

 these feathered poachers. I saw a lot the 

 other day hard at work on a spawning-bed, 

 as I was looking over the bridge at Eomsey, 

 and watching the trout in Lord Palmerston's 

 beautiful fisheries. Readers, if you want fish, 

 drive off the ducks ; you cannot have both. 

 Again, the swans are most destructive ; though 

 ornamental, they are more than useless, par- 



