How to obtain it. 145 
On another occasion we walked from our quarters at Grange 
to the head of Ullswater, crossing Watendlath Fell, and over the 
three bridges of Thirlmere—now, alas! no more—up over a spur 
of the great Helvellyn, and down the Glenridding Vale into 
Patterdale, and, by the kind permission of the proprietor, fished 
some water there, stayed the night and tried next morning, but 
with very poor success, for the fish were not up from the lake. 
After luncheon we started on the return journey, and found 
some beautifully curious snow caverns in crossing the mountains, 
where a stream had been snowed up, and the water flowing 
underneath had hollowed out the frozen mass. It was getting 
dark as we crossed the Watendlath Bridge, and the waters of the 
celebrated tarn looked black and sombre in the dim twilight, but, 
knowing the danger of being benighted on the hills in weather 
that did not look the best, we hurried on until we reached the 
road in Borrowdale. These days were most enjoyable occasions 
in spite of the weather, which was often very wild and stormy. 
Now, however, with a well-ordered set of ponds and a goodly 
stock of breeding fish the matter is a very different one. <A net 
specially constructed is run through one of the ponds, and brings 
to the bank at one haul several hundred fine large female fish, 
which are at once sorted. The ripe ones are picked out by an 
expert at a glance, and placed in tanks close by, while the unripe 
ones are thrown back again or put into a spare pond, as may be 
deemed most desirable at the time. Having thus separated the 
spawners, a large number of males are similarly secured from 
another pond, and the choicest fish are selected and also placed in 
readiness in tanks. A number of spawning dishes are then 
brought out, a table on which to place them, and a few clean 
rough towels. The dishes are thoroughly dried, and a number of 
female fish are thrown into a net, from which the operator takes 
them one by one. He holds each fish successively, vent down- 
wards, over the dish, with the left hand grasping just above the 
tail, while the right seizes the head. A very gentle pressure 
applied with the thumb of the right hand upon the belly of the 
fish causes the eggs to flow in an unbroken stream into the dish, 
till, by the skilful movement of the thumb, the whole of them are 
expelled. A novice invariably makes great bungling at this work ; 
L 
