ON SMALLEE PONDS. 203 



means of destruction sink into utter insignificance 

 beside tlie ravages of swans, particularly on the 

 Thames. 



I once, when at Marlow early in the month 

 of May, saw the long shallow some distance below 

 the river covered with large fish (barbel, chub, 

 roach, &c.) engaged in depositing their spawn. I 

 watched them for some days ; how long they had 

 been there before I came I know not. The shallow, 

 for nearly a hundred square yards, was black with 

 shoals of fish ; so thick were they in places that I, 

 who happened one day to be fly-fishing, could not 

 throw the fly on the water in many parts without 

 foul-hooking either a large roach or a chub. At 

 length the fish ceased spawning, and dropped off the 

 shallows, exhausted, into the deeper, stiller water 

 below. As soon as the fish left, I saw a troop of 

 swans, about five-and-twenty in number, come sailing 

 up the river, led by a patriarchal old villain with 

 a huge knob over his beak. He appeared perfectly 

 aware of what he was going about, for he led his 

 band direct to the shallow, and immediately the 

 whole troop commenced ripping up the spawning 

 beds, and devouring the spawn. In spite of all my 

 efforts to drive them away, I could never manage to 

 keep them ofi" the beds for more than two or three 



