GRAYLING. 213 



more like the most exquisively tasted of all 

 our fish — the red mullet. 



Phys. — Out of the water, this is a hand- 

 some fish, broader round the middle, and 

 more hog-backed than the trout, but grace- 

 fully tapering towards the tail. The belly, 

 I see, is silvery with yellow; and the pec- 

 toral, ventral, and anal fins are almost gold- 

 coloured; the back gray, with small black 

 spots, and the back fin of a beautiful bright 

 purple, with black and blue spots. It has 

 likewise an agreeable odour; so that both 

 from its colour and smell it does not seem 

 undeserving the title given it by St. Ambrose, 

 of the Jlo'-joer of fishes. It measures, I find, 

 14 inches in length; in girth 7^. It weighs 

 17 ounces. It has 10 spines in the pectoral 

 fin, 23 in the dorsal, 16 in the ventral, 14? in 

 the anal, and 18 in the caudal. 



Hal. — Now for its anatomy. Its stomach 

 is very thick, not unlike that of a char or 

 gillaroo trout, and contains flies, gravel, and 

 larvae, with their cases. The liver and bowels 

 do not differ much from those of a trout ; and 

 the ovaria or roe, with eggs as large as mus- 

 P 3 



