256 THE CHARS. 



these fishes as are met with in his own country; but the common 

 character he has assigned to them is, that the head is longer 

 than the height of the body; and especially that the colour of 

 the back is inclined to a dark green, tinged with blue, often 

 strewed over with pale red spots; low on the sides, and the 

 under portion of the body white or yellowish red; the fins 

 below yellowish red, with a white edge in front; the anal fin 

 and tail, the latter especially, lunated. Intensity of colour is 

 indeed a particular characteristic of the Chars; but it is to be 

 remarked that this applies in part only to the British species; 

 and in reference to the character which is made prominent by 

 Nilsson, and is represented in the plates of Donovan and Mr. 

 Yarrell, of a scattering of pale red or white spots over the 

 back and sides, it is remarked by Dr. Gunther, and in part 

 agrees with our own observation, that however commonly these 

 may be seen, they are not constant; and they are also liable 

 to disappear in examples on which they have been before 

 conspicuous. I have seen them, however, after long immersion 

 in spirit, in examples of the Torgoch from Llanberis, when the 

 red colour of the under parts had vanished. 



In proceeding with this portion of our subject, we deem it 

 proper to specify the materials from an examination of which 

 the conclusions have been drawn at which we have arrived; 

 and these are in the first place two specimens of the so-called 

 Fresh-water Herring of Lough Melvin, in Ireland; which, 

 however, are not to be confounded with the Pollan or the 

 Powan, which we shall describe, and the former of which, 

 with somewhat more propriety, bears the same name. This 

 Char is the Sal/no or Salvelinus Grayi of our History; and a 

 comparison of examples obtained from the same lake has 

 persuaded Dr. Gunther that they are distinct from all the Chars 

 which he has a knowledge of on the continent of Europe; as 

 also, so far as he is able to discern, from all those which are 

 described by the continental writers Heckel, Nilsson, and Rapp. 

 And this judgment is further confirmed by about twenty other 

 examples sent by the noble Earl already mentioned to myself, 

 and the same number to Dr. Gunther at the British Museum; 

 all of them males, and caught together; and it is worthy of 

 notice that afterwards a considerable number taken at the same 

 place were all females. Again, and in contrast to these, there 



