And, lest you may think him singular in his opinion, I will tell you, this seems to be believed by our learned Doctor Hakewill, who, in his "Apology of God's Power and Providence," fol. 360, quotes Pliny to report that one of the emperors had particular fish-ponds, and in them several fish that appeared and came when they were called by their particular names: and St. James tells us, chap. iii. 7, that all things in the sea have been tamed by mankind. And Pliny tells us, lib. ix. 35, that Antonia, the wife of Darsus, had a lamprey, at whose gills she hung jewels or ear-rings; and that others have been so tender-hearted as to shed tears at the death of fishes which they have kept and loved. And these observations, which will to most hearers seem wonderful, seem to have a further confirmation from Marshall, lib. iv., Epigr. 30, who writes thus: Piscator, fuge; ne nocens, etc. Angler! wouldst thou be guiltless? then forbear; Who know their sovereign, and will lick his hand; All the further use that I shall make of this shall be, to advise of a denser element. We may make this difference apparent by the following simple illustration. The impulse occasioned to the air by the ticking of a watch is so weak, as to be indistinctly heard when the watch is brought close to the ear; but if we convey the watch to a greater distance from the ear and press it against the teeth, we hear the ticking with remarkable distinctness. In the language of science, solid and dense bodies vibrate with greater intensity than lighter media, such as the atmosphere. When the watch is held nigh to the ear, the atmosphere is the conductor; when the watch is connected with the ear by the intervention of a rod of wood, or the solid parts of the head, these are the conductors. Now the apparatus of hearing of the fish presents conductors of the latter kind; water, a denser body than air, is the conducting medium; and the solid mass of the head, and, in fact, of the entire body, complete the conduction to the vital apparatus. Hence, in fishes, an humble contrivance is capable of effecting the same end as the higher-toned instruments of terrestrial animals. As fishes thus evidently possess the organ of hearing in a moderate degree of perfection, they must therefore hear with moderate acuteness, particularly such sounds as occasion a vibration of the element in which they reside; for example, an approaching footstep; while the sounds which proceed from musical instruments, being less easily conveyed, are probably unknown to them: certainly this is the case with regard to tone." We constantly hear of fish coming to be fed at the sound of the bell. They rather come to the sound of the bell-ringer's feet, that is to the vibration caused by his foot-fall, and so indicating his presence.-ED. anglers to be patient and forbear swearing, lest they be heard, and catch no fish. And so I shall proceed next to tell you, it is certain, that certain fields near Leominster, a town in Herefordshire, are observed to make the sheep that graze upon them more fat than the next, and also to bear finer wool; that is to say that that year in which they feed in such a particular pasture, they shall yield finer wool than they did that year before they came to feed in it, and coarser again if they shall return to their former pasture; and again return to a finer wool, being fed in the fine-wool ground. Which I tell you, that you may the better believe, that I am certain, if I catch a trout in one meadow he shall be white and faint, and very like to be lousy; and as certainly, if I catch a trout in the next meadow, he shall be strong, and red, and lusty, and much better meat. Trust me, scholar, I have caught many a trout in a particular meadow, that the very shape and the enamelled colour of him hath been such, as have joyed me to look on him: and I have then with much pleasure concluded with Solomon, "Everything is beautiful in his season." I should by promise speak next of the salmon; but I will by your favour say a little of the umber or grayling, which is so like a trout for his shape and feeding, that I desire I may exercise your patience with a short discourse of him, and then the next shall be of the salmon. [REMARKS, ETC., TOUCHING THE TROUT.-Walton has dedicated portions of the Third and Fourth Day's fishing and dialogue, embracing two very long chapters, to that interesting fish the Trout. To be sure the chapters are interspersed with songs, conviviality, and conversation on many subjects besides fish. This good father of us anglers knew well how to catch a trout with a worm, or with a live May-fly; but certainly he was not an adept at taking that fish with the artificial fly or by spinning the minnow. Nor do I at all think that his knowledge of the natural history of the trout, of its habits, and of the methods of breeding it, was either accurate or profound. I shall begin with the natural history of the fish, and most probably state that which will appear heterodox to thousands. We know the history of salmon, but certainly not of trout, because there are so many varieties of that fish differing in appearance, size, colour, shape, and habits. As Walton and Cotton treat only of the common trout, perhaps, I ought to have confined myself to that fish, and avoided the other species. My love for the art I have so long possessed prevents me. Το begin: The common trout is the salmo fario of Linnæus. On its lateral line it has red spots, its tail is much forked when out of condition, and hardly forked at all when the fish is in full season, at the end of June. It is yellowish about the belly, darkish on the back, and in the upper part of the sides has deep purple and pink spots. The head of the female is blunter than that of the male, which, if he is an old fish, has the lower. jaw more elongated than the upper. The rays of the dorsal fin are thirteen, pectoral thirteen, ventral nine, anal nine, and caudal or tail twenty-five. Guided by this description, no one can fail to recognise the trout. Let me utter one caution. He is not always of the colour described, and the best signalement must be sought for in the rays of his fins. I have seen trout of the very same species, nay, probably of the same brood, differing much in colour; some dark, some bright, and some yellow. Colour depends on depth of water. In deep and shaded waters, yellow and dark-coloured trout will be found; in shallow waters, bright ones. The chemical properties of light are the cause. The sun's rays can penetrate and oxygenate the shallow exposed streams, and hence the brightness of the fish resident there. Light is wanting in the deep and shaded waters, and hence the darkness in the colour of its denizens. The general habits of the common trout are well enough known. Its food are worms, small fish, larvæ, grubs, caterpillars, flies, etc. On flies it thrives best, next on fish, and worst of all on worms. Very large fish thrive best on fish-food. It breeds in September, October, and November, rarely earlier, but sometimes later. What is called the throng" breeding season depends upon temperature-upon season and locality. The trout of England breed earlier than those of the North of Scotland. They breed in the shallows at the heads of rivers, and in the smallest rivulets. Male and female assist each other in excavating in the sand and gravel a bed, or nest for their spawn. The female first deposits her ova, or eggs, and then the male sheds his milt over them, and so impregnates them. The fish then covers over with sand and gravel the deposited and impregnated ova. In about fifty days, on an average, they are hatched, but perfect incubation may, in a cold climate, or in a very severe winter, require thirty days longer. The growth of trout is not precisely ascertained. It is not possible to do so. They differ so much in size, though of the same species, in different rivers, that it is extremely difficult to strike an average. Guessing, I should say that the common river trout averages about one pound in two years. think (many will think me mad for doing so) that the sea-trout, the bulitrout, and many other varieties, are crosses of ancient date between the common trout and the pure salmon. I think also, that these crosses inter-generate, if I may use the word, and hence a vast variety of rivertrout. Of lake-trout, bred in lakes not connected with salmon rivers, I have little to say. Every such lake has its particular trout; some small, some large, some handsome, some ugly, some well-flavoured, some ill-flavoured, all which conditions are the results of the volume and depth of water, its temperature, and the quantity and quality of the food it affords. It is only in very large lakes that the immense grey lake I trout, or salmo ferox, is found. In my remarks on the salmon, at the end of the seventh chapter, I'll show how trout and that fish are bred artificially. ones. If I fished for trout with the worm, I should never use a float, but put a few shot on my line, increasing or diminishing the number according to the strength or weakness of the current. I should have a swivel on the gut foot-line, about two feet from the hook, and I should fish close to the bottom, allowing the worm to move on with the current-more slowly than the stream where it is rapid. Two middle-sized worms on the hook at the same time are better than one, and the best worms are brandlings and blue-heads. The most deadly way of fishing for trout is by spinning the minnow for moderately sized fish, and the gudgeon, dace, and even a small trout for large trout. A very large fish of that species, such as the great grey lake trout, will take a common trout, weighing half or three-quarters of a pound. A Thames trout, of the weight of twelve pounds, will take as a bait the largest gudgeon, or even a dace, four inches in length. It is a general rule, that large baits are the best for large fish; they will not trouble themselves about small The best minnow-flight consists of eleven hooks [see cut at end of these remarks]: one lip hook, two treble hooks, a single hook to curb the fish bait, a little below the vent, a treble hook to pass "fly" or free beyond the tail. In the London fishing-tackle shops every sort of spinning tackle is sold, but I conscientiously believe the above "flight" is the best. It must be firmly tied on gut for small fish, on gimp for large ones. There must be a swivel close to the lip-hook, and another on the gut, or gimp-trace, two feet higher up. The trace should be shotted at about twelve inches from the lip-hook. The spinning rod need never to be more than twelve feet in length, and it should be rather stiff than pliant. Its rings should be large and stand upright. It should be made of the following woods, and be of four joints, butt, ash, or willow, second joint hickory, small piece ditto, and top lancewood and bamboo-cane. The line should be stout, and of platted silk, and it should be oiled or varnished. The winch should be large, and of free action. The tyro must cast the spinning-bait and work it through the water thus: uncoil from the winch as much line as is wanted, allowing the coils to rest at your feet. Let the bait hang not more than a yard from the top of the rod, then, poising and bringing back the rod either to the left or right, propel the bait somewhat upwards and forwards; and its weight, and the momentum given to it, will carry out all the coiled line. As soon as the bait falls in the water, commence drawing it towards you by short pulls of the line either with the right or left hand, making the bait spin straightly towards you with moderate speed. When the bait is drawn in close to the fisher, he must lift it out of the water, and repeat the cast. When there is what is called a "run," the angler must strike sharply, and play the hooked fish boldly. Repeat casting until the stream or pool is fished all over, and then move to another spot. All hooks used in spinning should be made of bright wire. There is a spinning flight called Colonel Hawker's, sold in all the shops, which I consider very good; but it is not very easy to bait with it. Artificial minnows are to be bought, ready mounted, and they must be used just in the way I have described. Spinning answers best in water that has been recently discoloured by rain, and is useless in clear shallow water. The Thames punt-men are the best masters and teachers of the art of spinning in the world.-ED.] FLIGHT OF HOOKS, CHAPTER VI. OBSERVATIONS ON THE UMBER OR GRAYLING, AND DIRECTIONS HOW TO FISH FOR HIM, Lfourth Bay.] PISC. The umber and grayling are thought by some to differ, as the herring and pilchard do. But though they may do SO in other nations, I think those in England differ in nothing but their names. Aldrovandus says they be of a trout kind; and Gesner says, that in his country, which is in Switzerland, he is accounted the choicest of all fish. And in Italy, he is in the month of May so highly valued, that he is sold at a much higher rate than any other fish. The French, which call the chub un vilain, call the umber of the lake Leman un umble chevalier: and they value the umber or grayling so highly, that they say be feeds on gold, and say that many have been caught out of their famous river Loire, out of whose bellies grains of gold have been often taken. And some think that he feeds on water-thyme, and smells of it at his first taking out of the water; and they may think so with as good reason as we do that our smelts smell like violets at their first being caught, which I think is a truth. Aldrovandus says, the salmon, the grayling, and trout, and all fish that live in clear and sharp streams, are made by their mother nature of such H |