168 SALMON AND TROUT. 
matter, and it can be attracted by sinking a piece of half-putrid 
flesh in the water. When it is not engaged in active exertion, it 
retires to some little crevice at the side of the stream, whence, 
however, it keeps a careful watch so as to be able to dart out as 
soon as it sees anything eatable. When removed from the water 
the little creature is quite helpless, lying on its side, and merely 
spinning round and round in its struggles—a habit which has 
gained for it the title of fresh-water shrimp. 
But to my feeding experiments. At Encombe, in Dorset- 
shire, the seat of the Earl of Eldon, there is an artificial pond 
of two or three acres in extent facing the house. The pond is 
paved with marble at the bottom and sides, and is supplied 
with water from a small fountain fed from a spring in the” 
neighbouring valley, carried by an artificial tunnel under some 
high hills. ‘The pond is, for all practical purposes, stagnant ; 
the fountain’s supply not being more than equivalent to the 
summer evaporation. From 1862 to 1864 this pond was 
drained off and left absolutely dry, in order to kill the weeds 
and clean the bottom. In 1864 the water was turned in again, 
and in August of that year a number of artificially reared trout 
of the same season’s hatching, about three-quarters of an inch 
long, were put into the pond. In August 1866, the pond was 
again dried for cleansing purposes, when it was found that the 
trout had grown in the space of two years to an amazing 
extent—four or five pounds being the smallest size, and a 
weight of six pounds ten ounces having been attained in several 
cases. 
When visiting at Encombe in September of the following 
year, I examined the pond at Lord Eldon’s request with a view 
to ascertaining to what cause, in the absence of any artificial 
feeding, the extraordinary growth rate was to be attributed. 
With the aid of a bucket and a rope, the explanation was not 
hard to find: he whole pond was simply swarming with water 
shrimps, and on questioning the keeper he assured me that 
when the water in the pond was let off there were literally cart- 
loads of these insects. My informant as to the facts and dates 
