384! Proceedings of the British Association. 



It is a very singular fact, that those fishes which are the most 

 widely distributed, and those which are most highly prized, are 

 precisely those whose natural history is the most perplexed. The 

 opinions, too, which are so widely extended concerning their geo- 

 graphical distribution, are not at all in unison with the real state 

 of things. There scarcely exists a country to the which some 

 peculiar species of salmon has not been assigned, and I may add, 

 that even in the Regm Animal of Cuvier, we find many nominal 

 species, which are not even local varieties, as I purpose ere long 

 to demonstrate. The cupidity of the fishermen, the rivalry of epi- 

 cures, and the fastidiousness of the palate of salmon eaters, have, 

 without doubt, contributed to spread these opinions upon the nar- 

 row limit assigned to the haunts of the species of the Salmon. 

 There is especially a famous variety, in the annals of epicurism, 

 over which the g^-eatest possible obscurity has been cast, — it is Vom- 

 hre cJievalier, the char, or alpine trout. After having attentively 

 examined the continental varieties, I with eagerness availed my- 

 self of the opportunity I have lately enjoyed, of examining near 

 their native haunts several species of this genus which are found 

 in England. Through the kindness of Sir William Jardine and of 

 Mr Selby, I have also had an opportunity of examining all those 

 which they have collected from the Scottish lakes ; and the result 

 has been, that I have succeeded in determining the perfect identity 

 of many of them with the species found in other countries in Eu- 

 rope ; while, on the other hand, 1 am convinced, by the observa- 

 tions of these naturalists, that there are species peculiar to Scot- 

 land. Nevertheless, it is true, that systematic authors, from ha- 

 ving allowed themselves to fall into error by the prevailing opi- 

 nions circulated concerning the vast multitude of species oFthis 

 genus, have been investigating the characters of a great number of 

 merely imaginary species. But to the philosophical naturalist, the 

 distinctions upon which they support themselves in establishing the 

 difi^erences of species, are quite insufiicient, and the comparative 

 examination of these pseudo species admits of very different re- 

 sults. 



I am convinced that all the fish belonging to this family, on the 

 Continent, may be reduced to the six following species : 



li Salmo Umbla, Lin. the Char of England, — the Ombre Che- 

 valier of the Lake of Geneva, — the Rotheli of Swiss Ger- 

 many, — and the Schwarz Reutel of Saltzburg. 



