91 



ing it. Put the bait in the further end of the box — a piece 

 of meat or a dead fish will answer for bait — set the trap 

 and cover it over with a large leaf. Now, there is only 

 one way for the mink to get at the bait, which is by walk- 

 ing over the trap. Some trout-breeders also try to raise 

 mink for profit as their skins are valuable ; but their 

 habits of eating fish and their custom of getting out ot 

 almost any box or yard in which they are confined do 

 not make them agreeable neighbors for the trout. 



The fish farmer can always tell by looking at his trout 

 in the morning whether they have been disturbed during 

 the night. If they have been molested, whether by birds, 

 mink or men, they will appear' excited and frightened. 

 The water will be discolored by the mud which they stir 

 up as they dart back and forth near the bottom, and the 

 trout will be nearly all hidden under stones or in the 

 moss. 



Some writers on the subject of the diseases of trout 

 have recommended the use of a salt water bath. The 

 fish, when they are affected, whether old or young, are 

 transferred to a tank into which salt is gradually intro- 

 duced, and it is said that this treatment will cure fungus. 

 It is a dangerous remedy, a sort of kill or cure, that in 

 desperate straits may be resorted to, but such straits 

 should never be permitted to arise. It will unquestion- 

 ably kill parasites, but beyond that we have little faith in 

 it. The large fish may occasionally be cured by rubbing 

 with sand, but both of these are heroic measures. Al- 

 though the fungus may be removed by the operation, it 

 is almost certain to grow again, and usually more ex- 

 tensively than at first. 



There is one kind of trout which we do not possess, 

 of which we would very much like a specimen. We 



