64 

 ALONG THE BROOK. 



There is a strange fascination in following along the 

 winding banks of streams, ^^'ell-trodden paths show that 

 for ages the same fascination has existed. This fascina- 

 tion may be the soft murmuring, gurgling notes of the 

 water eddying around corners and tumbling over boulders; 

 it may be the songs and \isions of beautiful birds that 

 are likewise fascinated by these surroundings; it may be 

 the attractive flowers that bloom by the brookside^ — the 

 Dog-tooth Violet, called "Fawn Lily" and "Trout Lily" 

 because of the handsome spotting of its leaves, and the 

 brilliant Cardinal-flower, that gem so attractive to hum- 

 mingbirds and to mankind; and then we have the fisher- 

 man, attracted by and hoping to capture in some of the 

 deep pools, that most beautiful of fresh-water fish. 



THE BROOK TROUT. 



Like shadows, we may see the dark forms moving slowly 

 to and fro in the darker, deeper parts of the brook. 

 Occasionally one, deciding to seek new feeding grounds 

 or perhaps to visit a neighbor up-stream, dashes through 

 the rapids, just a glimmer of gold and silver marking his 

 course. To look at trout from the foot-bridge crossing 

 the stream or from a rock overhanging a favorite pool 

 one can admire their grace and speed but can get no idea 

 of their beauty of form and coloring. 



Gamey, — they will fight every instant from the strike 

 of the cruel hook until placed in the creel, and toothsome; 

 the two attributes that endear them to the fisherman to 

 such an extent that they are being hunted to death. Many 

 streams know them no more, where once they were abundant. 

 Years ago, trout weighing five to eight pounds were a 

 common occurrence; now the capture of one in any except 

 the most remote streams weighing more than two or three 

 pounds is a noteworthy event. 



