How to obtain it. 243 
charged, and it becomes available once more for fish-cultural pur- 
poses. Much may also be done for the improvement of the 
water, by encouraging the growth of suitable plants in and about 
the margins of the ponds, aud in the raceways between them. 
Having all in thorough working order, there is little to fear as the 
season goes on. The most critical time with a young fish is 
about a month after feeding commences. At this stage a consider- 
able loss often takes place, and it may arise from several causes. 
The food given has often much to do withit. It will be apparent 
to anyone that such delicate little creatures as young trout, when 
fed on artificial food, may very easily get their stomachs disordered. 
This undoubtedly often happens, and a great mortality is the result. 
Some thirty years ago I found this out by losing a lot of 
young trout fed almost entirely on boiled yolk of egg. They 
were as nice a looking lot of fish as I ever saw, were feeding well, 
and grew up to a certain point, when they sickened and began to 
die off wholesale. In a week I had lost four-fifths of them. I 
attributed the loss entirely to the food, and although now I use a 
large quantity of eggs each season for feeding very young fry, yet 
by judiciously varying the food the mischief is avoided. During 
the first few weeks they require very careful handling indeed, and 
their future depends upon the way in which they are managed at 
this time. 
Some food is too rich for them in quality, and this is the case 
with yolk of egg. I fed another lot of fish entirely on chopped 
worms, and they did very well, the food being much more natural, 
and the amount of earth and grit which it contained being highly 
beneficial to them. Over-feeding with too rich food is, therefore, 
to be avoided, and the more natural food that can be given the 
better. Sometimes, when a few weeks on the feed, some of 
the fish may be seen to be’ getting very thin and “lanky ” 
looking, with heads large in proportion to their bodies. This is a 
sign that something is wrong. It may arise from starvation, but 
that starvation may be brought about in the first place by in- 
judicious feeding. These fish will probably die, although. if not 
too far gone they may be cured by placing them in a raceway 
where there is a good ripple and plenty of natural fond. This 
will cure them when nothing else will. 
