ON SMALLER PONDS. 173 



what he was going about, for he led his hand direct 

 to the shallow, and immediately the whole troop 

 commenced ripping up the spawning beds, and de- 

 vouring the spawn. In spite of all my efforts to drive 

 them away, I could never manage to keep them off 

 the beds for more than two or three minutes at a 

 time. By hook or by crook, they would manage to 

 get upon some part of the bed, and repeat the rip- 

 ping-up and gorging process. For ten days those 

 twenty-five swans gorged themselves to repletion, 

 night and day, upon the spawning beds ; and I 

 believe they must have devoured in that time a 

 small barge-load of spawn. Two men, engaged night 

 and day, could hardly have kept them off the bed. 

 I pointed this out again and again to the fishermen 

 about there, but they seemed not to care about it. 

 How much longer these devouring brutes stayed on the 

 beds I know not, for I was obliged to leave the place 

 before they had finished their feast ; but that almost 

 the whole yearly produce of the river for miles below 

 was then and there devoured by the swans, I have 

 not a particle of doubt, as there are no shallows fit for 

 spawning for a considerable distance below that spot. 

 But to return to Pond-fish. Perch thrive fairly in 

 some ponds, but not in others, as they rapidly get the 

 muddy flavour so common to English pond-fish. Many 



