96 FTSH CULTUBE. 



counterbalance any slight loss. If the fry are 

 kept until they are of fair size, fed regularly every 

 day, never seeing an enemy of any kind, what 

 wiU hecome of them when they are turned at once 

 into deep water an^ongst foes, without the pre- 

 liminary and probationary life on the comparatively 

 safe shallows, beiag all unaccustomed to seek their 

 own food or to see enemies? In my opinion they 

 are far more likely to fall victims then, and less 

 likely to thrive' on their own exertions, unless it be 

 proposed to keep them until they are beyond the 

 size' taken by pike or large trout, in which case I 

 do not think the pisciculturist would be likely to 

 repeat his experiment. The trouble and expense 

 of looking after and feeding the young fish is very 

 considerable ; so that, all things considered, it is far 

 better to turn the fry in as soon as possible. Still; 

 it may be thought desirable to keep some of them 

 at any rate for a time, so we will consider their 

 feeding. This at first must be done very sparsely, 

 or they will surfeit themselves if the food be strong, 

 such as liver or meat. The best and most natural 

 food is the roe of coarse fish. One of the best for 

 this purpose is the plaice, a common fish in which 

 the roe is plentiful during March, April, May, and 

 June. Parboil, it, and then put it in water to dig- 



