September, 1919] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



51 



and below the illustration, gives the species the alter- 

 native common names of Rocky Mountain White- 

 fish or Grayling which, of course, places it simul- 

 taneously in two different genera. In the Raven and 

 Clearwater rivers, west of Red Deer, so-called 

 "Grayling" occur, and have been taken by fisher- 

 men for years past. Whether these are really Rocky 

 Mountain Whitefish I cannot state, but I am con- 

 fident that many of the "Grayling" catches are so 

 only in the minds of their captors. 



73. Coregonus labradoricus Richardson. Labra- 

 dor Whitefish. 

 Whitefish occur in Lake Wabuma, west of Ed- 

 monton, and in fact in many of the lakes of north- 

 ern Alberta. If the facts are as stated in the foot- 

 note (Jordan and Everman) in the Government 

 Check List, however, the whitefish of commerce 

 in the prairie provinces is labradoricus, and not 

 clupeiformis the common whitefish of the Great 

 Lakes. 



89. Oncorh})nchus kcnnerl^i Suckley. Kennerly's 

 Salmon: Little Redfish. 



I have no personal knowledge concerning this 

 species. Through the kindness of Mr. J. W. Cockle, 

 of Kalso, B.C., I am able to give the following 

 data: 



"This diminutive salmon is found in all the 

 waters of the interior of British Columbia. It runs 

 up the creeks to spawn in the fall and is taken with 

 nets and by spearing and salted down for winter use 

 by many of the settlers. The fish is sometimes 

 taken in Kootenay lake when trowling for salmon 

 and forms the main diet of both salmon and char 

 which inhabit these waters. It runs up from the 

 Columbia river into Christina lake and spawns there 

 on the shallow shores at the south end of the lake; 

 large numbers are taken there every season." 



93. Salino clark'n Richardson. Cut-throat Trout. 



This fish is most aptly named since there is a red 

 streak on the throat on either side. It occurs in the 

 clear rivers of Alberta and in the mountains in 

 streams and lakes. The Cut-throat trout rises very 

 well to artificial flies, and is a game fighter. In 

 bodies of water of high altitude such as Consola- 

 tion lake near Lake Louisa, etc., and mountain 

 creeks, clarkii does not frequently exceed one pound 

 in weight, but at lower altitudes runs from three to 

 four pounds. 



The author of the "Classified Guide," already 

 referred to, suggests that mature fish cannot negotiate 

 the small mountain creeks and that inbreeding re- 

 sults. The lakes are not inaccessible to small fish, 

 however, and as new blood is thus introduced I do 

 not think inbreeding is the explanation. The tem- 

 perature of the high altitude lakes is intensely cold 



42 or thereabouts and I personally incline to the 

 opinion that the rigors of the habitat is responsible 

 for dwarfing a theory supported to some extent 

 by insect life under alpine conditions. 

 95. Sahno rivularis l(amloops Jordan. Kamloops 

 Trout. 

 My experience of this fish is confined to the 

 Kootenay lake at Kaslo, B.C., where it is taken on 

 rod and line with a large spoon. Local fishermen 

 use about 600 feet of thin line, and run the spoon 

 say 300 feet from the boat. The fish in its fight 

 breaks water like an Atlantic salmon. I quote, in 

 addition, from a recent letter from Mr. J. W. 

 Cockle, of Kaslo: 



"A native of Kootenay and Okanagan lakes; 

 when mature, large fish of both genders are slivery 

 with a very faint tinting of pink over the gill coverts; 

 attains a weight of over 20 pounds, but the usual 

 size of mature fish is about 12 to 16 pounds. Noth- 

 ing is known of its spawning habits, but it is usually 

 taken about the end of May and during June at 

 which time it is in prime silvery condition." 

 ( ) Salmo rivularis kamloops? (By Mr. Cockle 

 and the present author). 

 The fish I now refer to is the species commonly 

 (and of course erroneously) called the "rainbow 

 trout" by fishermen. I have taken the fish at 

 Kaslo on a spoon up to 12 pounds, and at, or rather 

 below, Boddington Falls, B.C., up to 3'/2 pounds 

 on artificial fly. It is a very game fighter, and a 

 beautiful fish in appearance the sides being streaked 

 with an iridescent sheen. Mr. Cockle, of Kaslo, 

 B.C., has had this species under observation for years 

 and has consequently had ample opportunity to form 

 a mature opinion as to its distinctness from the 

 species next above. I quote from recent corre- 

 spondence: 



"A large salmon indigenous to Kootenay lake, 

 which spawns on the upper waters of the Lardo 

 and Duncan rivers just as they emerge from Trout 

 and Houser lakes. It spawns during May and 

 up to the second week in June, at which time the 

 males are nearly black: specimens spawned at the 

 Hatchery at Gerrard last season weighed 40 pounds, 

 but the average spawning fish are about 16 to 20 

 pounds. When in prime condition during Novem- 

 ber they are a bright silver color, heavier spotted 

 with black markings than the preceding, and have a 

 bright pink band extending from the gill coverts 

 along the sides. The back is a deep olive green in 

 contradistinction to 5. I^amloops which is blue-black 

 on the back. There also exist some very small var- 

 ieties of this species which are to be found in moun- 

 tain lakes; these attain a weight of about six ounces, 

 but the identical with the above in habit and in also 

 turning black when spawning. The late Dr. Starr 



