How to obtain tt. 83 
terrestrial vegetation when it has ceased to exist. This is a 
matter which is often seriously neglected, and which many people 
who have the care of fish ponds quite fail to understand. 
The stocking in the Dalbeattie reservoir gave most encour- 
aging results, and continued to do so because the proper 
conditions existed and continued to exist. In the case of a 
neighbouring piece of water known as Loch Fern, however, the 
fishing fell off considerably after the first few years. Now this 
lake was made by building a dam and flooding some fifteen acres 
of land, and the submerged vegetation continuing to exist for 
some time, a considerable amount of growth as well as decay of 
vegetable matter took place. The conditions were highly 
favourable for the generation of an enormous mass of fish food, 
but as the various plants died out these conditions ceased to 
exist. I gave instructions at the outset for the loch to be planted 
with suitable aquatic vegetation to take the place of the other 
plants, and had the instructions been carried out the result would 
have been very much better than was actually the case. 
There existed on the estate close at hand a large crop of 
suitable plants, and I advised that a considerable quantity should 
be carted over and planted in the newly made loch. Instead of a 
horse and cart, however, a small hand basket was used, and the 
quantity transferred was quite inadequate to produce the necessary 
results. The fishing at first gave great promise, but instead of 
improving declined a good deal. The condition of some of the 
fish pointed to a lack of food, and as no improvement took place, 
but, if anything, rather the reverse, the water was run off, and a 
more barren wilderness could hardly be imagined than was 
presented to view. The plants introduced had made good 
progress, but occupied far too small an area of the bottom, and at 
my suggestion more were put in. The lake was refilled, and the 
plants have now been growing for some years. After the refilling 
the water was at first naturally very barren, but the condition 
steadily improved and the amount of natural food materially 
increased. I shall refer to this lake again in my chapter on 
stocking. 
The advantages possessed by a newly-made pond where the 
sod has remained undisturbed are great, and if a good amount of 
