218 SALMONIA. 



yet they often attain a considerable size. 

 There are few small fish in these streams, and 

 I suppose the grayling, which are most nume- 

 rous, deprive the trout of their proper share 

 of the food, depending upon larvae and flies. 



Phys. — As we are walking through these 

 meadows, pray give us some information as to 

 the habits of the grayling, and its localities in 

 England : I have been so much pleased with 

 my sport, that I shall become, with St. Am- 

 brose, a patron of the fish. 



Hal. — The habits of the grayling, like 

 those of most other fish, are very simple. He 

 is, I believe, to a certain extent, gregarious — 

 more so than the trout, and less so than the 

 perch, and the usual varieties of the carp spe- 

 cies known in England. His form and appear- 

 ance you have seen. He is as yet scarcely in 

 his highest or most perfect season, which is 

 in the end of November or beginning of De- 

 cember, when his back is very dark, almost 

 black, and his belly and lower fins are nearly 

 gold-coloured ; but his brightness, like that 

 of most other fishes, depends a good deal 

 upon the nature of the water : and on the 



