pond, and as it rises weeds are
planted round the rising margin of the water. In ponds which cannot be
emptied at all, or not sufficiently to carry out this plan, weeds may be
planted in an easy but not quite so effectual a manner. They may be
planted in shallow baskets containing some mud from the bottom of the
pond, and then lowered in suitable places from a boat, or bundles of the
weed may be tied to stones and dropped into the water in a similar
manner.

These latter methods are, of course, not so good as actually planting
the weeds round the advancing margin of the water, for success depends
to a certain extent upon chance. Some of the weeds thus planted are,
however, sure to take root and grow. Plants of different kinds, of
course, are necessary at different depths and on different kinds of
bottoms, and good kinds are necessary at the margin of the water as
well. I give a list of some suitable plants of each kind at the end of
this chapter.

Similar methods are used in planting weeds in rivers and streams to
those used in ponds. If the weeds are planted in baskets, the baskets
must, of course, be weighted when put in a position where the current
can act upon them.

Besides vegetation in the water, vegetation on the bank is of
considerable importance. I shall deal with this at a later period more
fully, as trees and bushes, besides harbouring many insects which serve
as food for fish, have also considerable importance in giving cover to
the fish and to the fisherman who is pursuing them.

I think that in the case of a bare water, a year at least should be
devoted to developing a good supply of vegetation. This will generally
produce a considerable amount of animal life, without any artificial
help, but judicious help will be sure to accelerate matters to a
considerable extent. I would, however, advise the amateur not to attempt
to introduce a quantity of creatures into his water, until the vegetable
life therein is well established. For instance, though fresh-water
snails are desirable in every trout water, if introduced in large
numbers into a water in which the vegetation is small and not well
established, they will eat down the weeds too much and then die off from
disease caused by want of sufficient nourishment.

Having established the vegetable life well in a water, and developed it
to a considerable extent, the amateur may begin to examine his water,
and find out how much animal life exists there, and t