le, support a
good head of trout if properly managed. Again a water which contains
trout may become more or less depleted, and here it is necessary to
supply the deficiency of trout by some means. The easiest way is, of
course, to buy yearling or two-year-old fish from a piscicultural
establishment, of which there are many in the kingdom, but I know that
there are many fishermen who would much prefer to rear their own fish
from the ova, than to buy ready-made fish. Any one who has the time and
opportunity to rear his own fish will be amply repaid by the amusement
and interest gained, and it should be the cheaper method of stocking or
re-stocking a water.

The same remarks apply to a certain extent to waters which will not
support trout, or where the owner wants more coarse fish. The stock of
coarse fish may be improved by fish culture just as much as a stock of
trout.

In his first year or two, it is very possible that the amateur will not
save very much by being his own pisciculturist. If, however, he is
careful, and works with intelligence, it is quite possible that he may
succeed better than he had hoped and rear a good head of fish at a less
cost than the purchase of yearlings. In any case he will have had a
great deal of pleasure and gained experience as well as reared some
fish.

In the present little volume, I propose to try and deal with fish
culture in such a way as to help the amateur who wishes to rear fish to
stock his own water. Much of the existing literature of the subject
deals with it on such a large scale that the amateur is frightened to
attempt what is apparently so huge an undertaking. Fish culture may,
however, be carried out on a small scale with success, and though
considerable attention is necessary, particularly with young
_Salmonidae_, it is not a task which involves a very great proportion of
the time of any one undertaking it. It is absolutely necessary, however,
that the amateur fish culturist should live on the spot, or have some
one who is intelligent and perfectly trustworthy who does. In every case
in my experience, trusting the care of young fish to a keeper or servant
has resulted in failure, and in every failure I have seen where the fish
have not been trusted to the care of a servant, the cause has been very
obvious, and could easily have been avoided.

The rearing of trout is the most important branch of fish culture to the
amateur, and fortunately but slight modifications are