296 Nature's balance. Ai 



increase on the former they monopolize this food; 

 the larger fish, and especially their young, are sta 

 Minnows have starved out trout. It has been a que 

 whether it would not improve the Thames fisherit 

 allow again a certain amount of netting of the sm 

 fishes. If this can be a question on a river whi 

 crowded every day with hundreds and perhaps thous 

 of professional and amateur anglers, armed with the 

 of tackle, it must surely be beyond a doubt in a cou 

 where there are no amateur anglers, and the 'profes 

 als are few indeed, and very rudely equipped. 



77. On both these grounds, therefore, it would 

 that the size of the meshes to be prohibited shoul 

 reconsidered. The object should be not to interfere 

 the netting of fishes which are always small, and on 

 protect from premature capture the young of sue 

 are calculated to grow to a large size. Two inchi 

 circumference is found to be the size of* mesh most 

 These are of the venient for the capture of se 

 sorts numbered 3, 8, sorts of small fish which are 

 9, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, mos t abundant in the Canara ri 



27, 30, 31, 36 in the 



list given in Appen- These are fisheS that when a1 



dix G. size to which they ordinarily a1 



would escape through a mesh 4 inches in circumfer 

 Their ordinary size is nevertheless such that but fei 

 are able to prey on them. There are no sorts, it v 

 Nos. 17, 18, 24, 25, seem, but those given in the m 

 26 in the same list. that would be large enough to 

 on them when mature; and of these sorts even onl; 



