98 FISH CULTUKK 



We also caught specimens of the fish in the other lakes, 

 and the difference between the fish I have already men- 

 tioned. While fishing the small lake I accidentally 

 allowed my fly to sink to the bottom, and on pulling 

 it up again with some difficulty I brought up a large 

 piece of a thick moss-like green weed, with which 

 the bottom of the pool appeared to abound On 

 examiaing this weed more closely I found it swarm- 

 ing with a variety of insects, chiefly water-soails, the 

 small crustacese that inhabit fresh water, and large 

 quantities of the caddis of some considerable fly. The 

 abundance of food thus found at the bottom of the 

 lake fully accounted not only for the large size and 

 good condition of the fish, but also for its being a 

 sulky lake, or for the trout not paying much attention 

 to the flies upon the surface of the water. For they 

 had no difficulty in procuring any quantity of food 

 they needed at the bottom, without swimming hither 

 and thither to seek it, or giving themselves the 

 troiible to come to the top. Colonel Whyte also 

 mentioned a fact somewhat of this nature, some 

 time since, in the Field. He related, that wishino- to 

 improve the size and condition of his fish in a small 

 lake, he cast into it a bushel of the small crustaceae, 

 which are often found on water weeds. These in- 

 creased rapidly, and as they did so his trout increased 



