Facts and Remarks on the Char. 23 1 



pellation has been dropped." In the Phil. Mag., new series, 

 vol. v. p. 299., it is stated to the amount that W. Thompson, 

 Esq.,vice-president of the Belfast Natural History Society, made 

 known, at a meeting of the Linnaean Society, on May 6. 1834, 

 that he had discovered in the north of Ireland a three-spined 

 species of stickleback, which he had deemed distinct from the 

 three above named, and, he also deemed, probably identical 

 with the G. brachycentrus (short-spined) of the Hist. Nat. des 

 Poissons of Cuvier and Valenciennes, a species which is pub- 

 lished in that work as one newly discovered, and mentioned 

 as having been obtained by M. Savigny from the brooks of 

 Tuscany. Should Mr. Thompson's view be confirmed, four 

 species of three-spined sticklebacks will be known to occur in 

 Britain. One four-spined species, additional to these, is the G. 

 tetracanthus noted above (p. 230.) ; and a ten-spined species 

 (the G. pungitius Lin. and Pennant) is noted by Mr. J. D. C. 

 Sowerby, in our III. 332. where there is a figure of it by him. 

 The words " ten dorsal fins," in his notice, are a misprint for 

 " ten dorsal spines." In the report of Mr. Thompson's 

 communication above alluded to, it is stated that he had 

 pointed out a discrepancy between Cuvier {Regne Animal, 

 2d edit.) and British authors relative to the G. pungitius. 



Facts and Remarks on the Characteristics of the Species of 

 Fish called Char, and a Suggestion respecting the Synonymy 

 of it. — While I resided in the county of Cumberland, forty 

 or more years ago, I learned that in that county was to 

 be found a fish chilled char, which was to be met with 

 in very few places elsewhere; I was, consequently, very de- 

 sirous of meeting, and becoming acquainted, with it. My 

 wishes were, at length, gratified. A gentleman, an expert 

 angler, who frequently angled for char in its season of spawn- 

 ing (perhaps the only time when it is to be taken by a bait), 

 apprised me of the time of his going for that purpose. 

 Having arrived at Ennerdale Lake, he soon caught some in 

 the rjver that runs into it. Upon seeing them, and observing 

 that they were extremely different in point of colour, I imme- 

 diately exclaimed that the fishes which he had produced were 

 of two different kinds ; upon which he replied, that the fishes 

 which he had produced were what were called char. I pro- 

 ceeded to examine and describe them, committing my observ- 

 ations to writing. As, however, my manuscript has been 

 mislaid, it must be observed that I now speak from recollec- 

 tion of what took place forty or more years ago, and from 

 seeing my manuscript six or seven years ago. I was rather 

 surprised to find the rays of the branchiostegous membrane 

 on one side exceed by one their number on the other side 



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