OLD JOHN, TIM, & OTHERS 159 



the only conceivable methods by which 

 trout could be taken without unnecessary 

 suffering ? Imprisonment in a net would 

 prolong their terror more than the sports- 

 man does. Damming a stream in order 

 to leave them defenceless on the dry bed 

 below, or liberating the waters of a lake 

 for a similar purpose, would entail the 

 death of many more fish than were 

 wanted, and could be frequently repeated 

 only at the sacrifice of the whole stock. 

 Painless death would follow a handful of 

 dynamite hurled into a pool ; but, whilst 

 only a few of the fish in the pool might 

 be wanted, all of them would perish. 

 By throwing lime into the water, you 

 could easily poison a stream for miles. On 

 the other hand, the methods of capture 

 adopted by the sportsman seem to be 

 exactly in accord with the balance of 

 nature. They prevent overstocking and 

 degeneration ; and, as general experience 

 shows, they do not unduly reduce the 

 numbers of the trout. Then, what of the 

 sportsman's methods ? Was it only by a 



