109 



put in the grooves as quickly as possible so as to let 

 none of the fish escape from the race. Go quietly to 

 the spot, and do not walk down the raceway to get to it, 

 but approach from one side and put the net in the 

 groove as quickly as you can. The water running down 

 will swell the net out to its full length. The covers 

 maybe then removed, and^with a stick you may frighten 

 the fish down from the head ot the raceway into the net. 

 As soon as they are all in, the frame may be lifted out 

 of the water, and the fish are then enclosed in the bag, 

 A tub of water should be previously brought near the 

 spot, and the end of the net can be lifted into the tub 

 and untied, when the fish will all fall into the tub with- 

 out trouble. Coarse cloth is better for the purpose than 

 netting, as it can be more easily tacked to the frame, 

 does not hurt the fish so much, and lasts longer ; besides, 

 the water swells it out and holds it open for the fish to 

 run in better than it would a net, and the fish not seeing 

 you through the cloth as they would through an open 

 mesh, are not scared, and do not try to run back up the 

 race. 



It must be remembered in this and all subsequent 

 handling of the fish, that it the outer skin of a trout is 

 broken or abraded by the hand or in contact with any 

 hard substance, it will, in nineteen cases out of twenty, 

 cause the fish to die. A white fungus appears on it first 

 where the skin is broken ; this fungus spreads over the 

 fish until it is sometimes half covered with it before it 

 dies. We speak of the covering of trout as " skin," 

 because it feels like it and looks like it, although in 

 reality trout are covered with minute scales. Thej will 

 get over a deep and clear cut much more quickly than 

 over a bruise where the cuticle or skin only is broken. 



