VEN. Yes, good master, I pray let it be so. PISC. Well, scholar, now we are sat down and are at ease, I shall tell you a little more of trout-fishing, before I speak of salmon, which I purpose shall be next, and then of the pike or luce. You are to know there is night as well as day-fishing for a trout, and that in the night the best trouts come out of their holes: and the manner of taking them is, on the top of the water, with a great lob or garden-worm, or rather two, which you are to fish within a place where the waters run somewhat quietly, for in a stream the bait will not be so well discerned. I say, in a quiet or dead place, near to some swift: there draw your bait over the top of the water, to and fro; and if there be a good trout in the hole, he will take it, especially if the night be dark; for then he is bold, and lies near the top of the water, watching the motion of any frog, or waterrat, or mouse that swims between him and the sky: these he hunts after if he sees the water but wrinkle or move in one of these dead holes, where these great old trouts usually lie near to their holds; for you are to note, that the great old trout is both subtle and fearful, and lies close all day, and does not usually stir out of his hold, but lies in it as close in the day as the timorous hare does in her form, for the chief feeding of either is seldom in the day, but usually in the night, and then the great trout feeds very boldly. And you must fish for him with a strong line, and not a little hook; and let him have time to gorge your hook, for he does not usually forsake it, as he oft will in the day-fishing. And if the night be not dark, then fish so with an artificial fly of a light colour, and at the snap: nay, he will sometimes rise at a dead mouse, or a piece of cloth, or anything that seems to swim across the water, or to be in motion. This is a choice way, but I have not often used it, because it is void of the pleasures that such days as these, that we two now enjoy, afford an angler. And you are to know, that in Hampshire, which I think exceeds all England for swift, shallow, clear, pleasant brooks, and store of trouts, they used to catch trouts in the night, by the light of a torch or straw, which, when they have discovered, they strike with a trout-spear, or other ways. This kind of way they catch very many; but I would not believe it till I was an eye-witness of it, nor do I like it now I have seen it. VEN. But, master, do not trouts see us in the night? PISC. Yes, and hear and smell too, both then and in the day-time for Gesner observes, the otter smells a fish fortyfurlongs off him in the water: and that it may be true, seems to be affirmed by Sir Francis Bacon, in the eighth century of his "Natural History," who there proves that water may be the medium of sounds, by demonstrating it thus: "that if you knock two stones together very deep under the water, those that stand on a bank near to that place may hear the noise without any diminution of it by the water." He also offers the like experiment concerning the letting an anchor fall, by a very long cable or rope, on a rock, or the sand within the sea. And this being so well observed and demonstrated as it is by that learned man, has made me to believe that eels unbed themselves and stir at the noise of thunder; and not only, as some think, by the motion or stirring of the earth, which is occasioned by that thunder. And this reason of Sir Francis Bacon, Exper. 792, has made me crave pardon of one that I laughed at, for affirming that he knew carps come to a certain place in a pond, to be fed, at the ringing of a bell, or the beating of a drum; and however, it shall be a rule for me to make as little noise as I can when I am fishing, until Sir Francis Bacon be confuted, which I shall give any man leave to do.* * That fish hear, is confirmed by the authority of late writers. Swammerdam asserts it, and adds, that "they have a wonderful labyrinth of the ear for that purpose." See Swammerdam on Insects, edit. London, 1758, p. 50. A clergyman, a friend of mine, assures me, that at the Abbey of St. Bernard, near Antwerp, he saw carp come at the whistling of the feeder.-H. In [With respect to the organs of hearing, and the power of hearing in fish, I consulted Mr. Erasmus Wilson, one of the most eminent anatomists and physiologists now alive, and the following is his opinion :-" There is nothing in the exterior head of the fish to indicate that it is provided with an ear. the higher animals, the mechanical apparatus of hearing consists of an internal and an external portion: in fishes, the internal portion alone exists, and is hardly inferior in perfection of form and structure, to that of creatures placed higher in the animal scale. The nerves distributed to the organs of hearing are of large size, and the vital apparatus, or portion of brain, from which the former proceed, is considerable. There exists, however, this important difference between the organ of hearing of terrestrial animals and fishes, viz., that the ear in the former is organized for the reception of the more delicate vibrations of the atmosphere, while in the latter it is adapted to the rude oscillations 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 And, lest you may think him singular in his opinion, I will tell you, this seems to be believed by our learned Dr. 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 Martial, lib. iv. Epigr. 30, who writes thus: Piscator, fuge; ne nocens, etc. ; Angler! wouldst thou be guiltless? then forbear; All the further use that I shall make of this shall be, to advise 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 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 approcahing 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. 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. begin: To 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 66 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 to 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 bulltrout, 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 laketrout, 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. 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 I |