166 FISH CULTUEE. 



should he paid to this point} The way to be sure 

 on this head is to select the fish at spawning time, 

 when the fact can very easily be ascertained. Fish 

 of about a pound weight or under should be chosen ; 

 but, under these circumstances, they should be taken 

 out by all possible means once every three or four 

 years, and replaced by others, or instead of con- 

 tenting themselves with the smaller fish they will 

 destroy the larger trout. As I have said before, the 

 experiment is very hazM-dous, and should not be 

 entered upon without due consideration. But it is 

 a well-known fact, that all the lakes in the south of 

 Scotland, which produce the finest trout, have pike 

 in them ; whether in the course of years, if the pike 

 are not kept down, they will continue to have trout 

 in them, is another matter. Long hang-nets, set as 

 trammels, will be found useful in such lakes for 

 destroying pike. 



Common trout in lakes often increase to a large 

 size ; but there is a trout peculiar to lakes, called the 

 great lake-trout, or, salmo feroic. When full grown, 

 the ferox is a handsome fish in appearance, but his 

 flesh is coarse, and, as an adjunct to the table, he is 



1 I own that I do not like the plan, as I have known several 

 lakes quite spoiled by it, though for a time the size of the troat 

 was greatly improved. 



