612 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



at a height of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. These fish increase 

 very rapidly, but grow slower than the lake- salmon. Their flesh is, 

 according to the season, the lake in which they live, and the water in 

 ■which they have been kept either of a reddish or a whitish color, but 

 has always been considered a great delicacy. 



The Salmo salvelinus of the Fuschler Lake is distinguished by its rapid 

 growth in size and weight. Here, as well as in the Hinter Lake near 

 Bercktesgaden, rare specimens are sometimes caught, weighing 22£ 

 to 25 pounds. This fish has likewise been transferred to lakes where 

 formerly it was not found. In Upper Austria, they are caught with 

 seines drawn by four men in two boats. 



Artificial fish-culture has produced many cross-breeds, especially of 

 the Salmo salvelinus and the trout, which excel the pure breed in many 

 respects. In Upper Austria, the eggs of the Salmo salvelinus are mostly 

 impregnated with the milt of brook-trout. 



The third genus of the Salmonoidei includes the "Asch," called 

 "Aesche," in North Germany, (Thymallus vulgaris.) It is found through- 

 out the whole of Central Europe, in clear, shallow, running water, with a 

 stony bottom, less frequently in lakes near the shore and the mouths of 

 rivers. Its flesh comes nearest to that of the trout ; and they are caught 

 in a similar manner to the trout, but in a peculiar manner in the river 

 Yokla, in Upper Austria, by tying a female which is on the point of 

 spawning to a pole rammed in the bottom of the stream, by means of a 

 thread fastened to the dorsal fin ; when the males approach the female, 

 they are quickly raised out of the water by the net spread out below. 



The Thymallus vulgaris is distinguished from all the other Salmonoidei 

 by its remarkably large dorsal fin and by the great beauty of its vary- 

 ing colors. 



In the ancient Austrian fishery-regulations, the Thymallus vulgaris is 

 frequently mentioned, the young fish being valued very highly. At 

 times it could only be caught for the imperial table, for sick persons, or 

 pregnant women. In Upper Austria these fish are in the first year 

 called tl Sprenzling f in the second, " Mailing ;' ; in the third, "Aeseh- 

 ling;" and, finally, "Asch." 



The fourth genus of the Salmonoidei, the Coregonus, especially the 

 species Coregonus Wartmanni and Coregonus /era, live almost exclu- 

 sively in lakes, and at the beginning of the spawning season gather in 

 such large numbers that many are killed by the pressure of the crowd ; 

 at this time they may frequently be seen leaping out of the water. 

 Closely pressed together, they drop roe and milt in the water. In large 

 schools, they swim noisily at the surface, especially at night-time, and 

 immense quantities are caught near the shore with floating drag-nets, 

 and, where the water is deeper, with v . stationary nets. Their flesh is 

 esteemed very highly; and, in some lakes where this industry is carried 

 on a large scale, it is of as much importance as the herring-fishery. 

 They cannot be easily caught with a hook and line. When taken out 



