464 SALMON AND TROUT. 
The stomachs of very young trout have been opened, and found 
to contain quantities of shrimps, snails and lary, and also 
the fry of such coarse fish as may happen to be in the same 
water.! 
PONDS. 
The construction and maintenance of rearing ponds are 
matters of careful study, and often require considerable en- 
gineering skill in obtaining levels, so as to lose no space and 
economise labour. It is also to be observed that whilst the 
quantity of water and its ‘reliability’ are matters of the first 
moment, it must also be of the quality and temperature suited 
to the growth of the best natural food, and of the weed upon 
which ‘the food’ lives, and further, that it is not subject to pollu- 
tion or uncontrollable floods. My own ponds are constructed as 
close to sfrings as possible, in fact, at the springs themselves, 
that is to say, either over the springs, or within a few yards of 
them. Here they are safe from any risk of pollution or floods. 
If under the above conditions the quantity and ‘ unfailing- 
ness’ of the springs are established, there is scarcely any limit 
to the number of ponds that may be made, depending on the 
fall of the land, and the extent of the holding. If, on the 
contrary, the springs have been known to fail, even in the 
driest season, I should turn my back on the place, however 
tempting in other respects. 
It is a popular error to suppose that trout will thrive only 
in streams ; they often grow far more quickly in ponds. It is 
not the current they require, but a constant supply of good 
water, with plenty of food. The majority of streams, however 
small in their normal condition, are occasionally subject to 
floods, and cannot, on account of the great body of water then 
coming down, be effectually fenced. 
1 At the proper season, large numbers of small coarse fish can be procured, 
including pike, perch, gudgeon, roach, dace, chub, minnows, &c., and these 
make excellent food for young trout, The writer has frequently hatched the 
ova of these fish for the express purpose. 
