388 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



made for me and purchased from the Itchen River 

 Trout Breeding Establishment at Chilland, are 9 feet in 

 length with upright bars securely fixed to the top and 

 bottom of the frame of the screen and to an inter- 

 mediate iron cross-piece. They are throughout of 

 galvanized iron. For the yearlings the bars are 

 spaced ^ in. apart, and for the two-year-olds f in. 

 The necessity of keeping the bars free from weed or 

 other obstruction must be impressed on the keeper, 

 and he will require to clean them at least twice a day, 

 and more frequently in the summer or when weed- 

 cutting is in progress. 



Most of the necessary work in making the stew is 



at the points where the screens 



Construction of the (top, bottom, or intermediate) 



stew. are fixed. Boarding the sides 



is an advantage, and not very 

 costly ; it makes it easier to pick up the fish, and saves 

 all anxiety as to the existence of rat holes, which 

 permit the trout to stray from one division to another, 

 or even to escape at the upper or lower ends. All 

 woodwork used in the construction should be charred 

 or tarred, and if the latter it should be left to soak in 

 the water for several weeks before using so as to get 

 rid of all the dangerous oils, etc., in the tar. 



Begin by cutting back the bank on either side 

 immediately below the place at which the various 

 screens are to be fixed. These spaces cut out are 

 generally called the wings, and in good solid ground 

 they should extend for 2 feet into the bank and 2 feet 



