70 Flow to obtain it.- 
frame, forming an aperture through which I could almost have 
crept. When I pointed this out to Mr. Blank and told him that 
most of his fish had bolted, he threw up his hands in astonishment 
that such a thing could be. What else could have been expected 
from a neglected screen, a rat hole, and the action of the water in 
flowing through it, but the result I have described ? 
Similar occurrences I have found to be very common—water 
escaping from a pond otherwise than through the outlet screens. 
Sometimes in a paved raceway it takes the form of bubbling up 
here and there among the stones, or of coming out at a hole in 
the side of the raceway some distance from the pond. These 
things ought not to be, and wherever they do exist they should be 
remedied in the near future. What would be thought of a farmer 
who put his sheep into a field, but did not shut the gate? So long 
as it served the purpose of the sheep to stay in the field they 
would do so, but no longer. It is the same with fish. There is 
a widespread belief that when they are put into a pond they will 
stay there, but my experience is that in a great many cases they 
do not do so. A considerable number of them may remain, per- 
haps enough to keep the pond always stocked, but if the best fish 
be disappearing every time there is an inducement to them to go, 
how much better it would be to prevent all possibility of such an 
occurrence by having a screen at the outlet. With such a pro- 
vision and a good spawning ground, a well-stocked pond or lake 
ought to give very good results. 
Many ponds have been made during the past few years, more 
or less in accordance with the instructions which I have given, and 
where the work has been properly carried out the result has been 
most gratifying. I will refer only to three of these ponds which 
were made by R. A. Yerburgh, Esq., M.P., at Barwhillanty, in the 
County of Kirkcudbright. The first pond was finished in the 
year 1888, and was stocked with trout fry on May 14th of that 
year, according to my instructions. The fish grew splendidly, and 
two months later were seen rising to the fly in all directions. So 
decided was the success of the undertaking that a second pond was 
at once commenced, and a good staff of workmen being employed 
it was speedily completed, and was stocked the following year, 
January, 1889, with large fish. A sufficient supply of natural food 
