132 NOTES ON FISH AND FISHING. 



may be found in quaint Thomas Barker's Angler's De- 

 light of 1657, and all kinds of sauces, compounded of 

 almost every ingredient, have been recommended. But it 

 is high treason to subject such a fish to the indignity of 

 condiments and combinations such as these. It suffices 

 to boil him simply, with a little salt in the water, or better 

 still to crimp him and broil in paper in simple cutlet form. 

 But far better still not to eat him at all. He is altogether 

 too grand a fish for the pot. If you are fortunate enough 

 to capture a grand Thames trout, hand him over to a 

 cunning taxidermist, who will put him in a case for you, 

 and you will have something to be proud of, and " a thing 

 of beauty and a joy for ever." Any future ones which 

 fall to your lot serve in the same way, and send them as pre- 

 sents to your friends. The nearest relatives to the Thames 

 trout are the large Oolne trout, and those of other tribu- 

 taries of tbe Thames, and they may be called first cousins, 

 while those of the Lea seem second cousins. The best 

 districts for Thames trout are those of Hampton, Chertsey, 

 Laleham and Penton Hook, Windsor, Maidenhead, and 

 Mai-low. 



And what a pity it is that there are not more Thames 

 trout to be taken by ardent fishermen, considering how 

 beautiful and good they are ! Can anything be done to 

 increase the supply ? Well, a good deal has been done in 

 the way of stocking the Thames with small trout from the 

 breeding ponds at Sunbury and importations from other 

 rivers ; but, as has been said, these additions have not all 

 been veritable Thames trout, and the majority seem to bo 

 either destroyed by the jack or are washed away from 

 want of proper " hovers." The strange part of the busi- 

 ness is that the stock of veritable Thames trout does not 



