THAMES BANKS IN AUTUMN.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
Sre,--The author of the article on " Thames Banks in Autumn" in the Spectator of October 26th, speaking of the Utricularidx, says : " By this time all the bladderworts have disappeared under water. In June, in a pool near the inflow of the Theme at 'Day's Lock, opposite Dorchester, the fine leafless yellow spikes of flower were standing out of the water like orchids, while the bladders with their trapdoors were employed in catching and devouring small tadpoles." As the discoverer of the fact that U. vulgaris will con- sume vertebrates as well as invertebrates, a circumstance in connection with carnivorous plants entirely unknown to science until I demonstrated it with young roach and perch some eighteen years ago, I am naturally interested in any reference to these genera of plants. To my mind, there are three circumstances which militate against the correctness of the statement that any member of the Utricularidx will consume tadpoles. (1) No species of Utricularia is found in the Thames. U. vulgaris, U. major, and others of the family are so fragile in their structure that they cannot withstand the _ effect . of water through which a current passes, and are therefore essentially mere and marsh plants. (2) The vesicles with which they entrap their prey are so minute that a tadpole, even in its alvine stage--i.e., when first batched—could not get its tail into them. It might succeed in the case of U. major, which is very rare and has vesicles of about the size of the seed vessels of the weed forming the Sargasso Sea, but it would not be retained there, on account of the weakness of the valves of the vesicles and. the slight bolding powers of the bifid processes projecting from the quadrangular mouths of these appendages. Small tadpoles from the time they emerge from the egg are sturdy little creatures, while young roach and perch in the alvine stage are mere collections of animated protoplasm, and are therefore easily susceptible to the retentive powers of the bifid processes whenever they strike against one of them. (3) I have fished the Thames and other rivers for nearly forty years, but in the whole coarse of my experience I have never found tadpoles in a river. The writer of " Thames Banks" also favours us with some very curious observations on Thames fishing, from which it might be assumed that our Royal River is almost bereft of fish life. In the shallower parts of the river be could see no decent fish. It would have been something near akin to a modern miracle if he could have seen fish there at this season of the year. With the advent of autumn, all species of fish seek the deeps for the sake of the warmth afforded by the heavier water. A more complete misstatement was never written than the assertion that the gudgeon at Clifton Hampden are not more than a third of the size of those at Maidenhead. The same remark also applies to what he says on jack, because the Thames is a winter pike river pure and simple. Last season we were catching them in plenty rip to 20 lb. in weight. The only point on which he is even approximately correct is in respect to the perch. The disease which broke out a few years ago bas sadly depleted the stock of these game, handsome fish in the Thames, but the efforts to introduce fresh blood instituted by the angling societies all along the river from London to Oxford have almost remedied the mischief which was then caused. The Thames is not by any means over-fished, except to the rank duffer, and to him all waters alike are over-fished. How much knowledge of the Thames the writer of "Thames Banks" pos- sesses, as far as its angling goes, is shown by what be says.on the tidal waters. Here the roach and dace are legion, but they are small and not worth catching. In the upper reaches dace of 8 oz. and 10 oz. are not uncommon. Below Teddington Weir, however, such a size would be a curiosity, and for this reason; a few years ago, when floods prevailed in the Thames Valley, vast shoals of these fish were swept into the tideway. They did very well there, until the crude sewage was removed from the river. Consequently food has become restricted in quantity, and the result is a stunted race of fish. A parallel case to this can be seen in any of the ornamental waters of the London parks. Such a state of things does not prevail in either the Mid or the Upper Thames, because the weed growths provide a sufficiency of natural food for the sustenance of the fish, and I may add that the higher one goes, especially between Oxford and Lechlade, the better and more prolific the fishing becomes. Personally, I sin satisfied that great as is the strain on its resources, both in water and fish, the Thames can still hold its own in regard to sport against any other coarse fishing river in the United Kingdom.2I am, [The Ulric' ularia referred to grew in a backwater pool close to the weir at Day's Lock, where it is always found in profusion. The small tadpoles were caught and held by the small bladders, just as these will catch and hold alvine roach or perch. In regard to the scarcity of fish visible in the Thames, it is true that on cold autumn days fish retire into the deeps. But on the last hot days of the St. Luke's summer they come on to the shallows and to the surface, and some idea of the existing stock can very well be formed from what are seen. It would be matter for surprise if the Thames were not eoinewhat depleted, in spite of the energy of the Societies which do their best to re-stock it.—THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE ON " TRA.M.ES BANKS."]
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