FAT AND FLESH OF THE HUCHO. 311 



Orn. — This hucho is a very good fish, and, 

 indeed, I can praise all the varieties of the 

 salmo on the table that I have yet tasted. 



Phys. — Amongst them, I prefer the char, 

 which, I til ink, is even better than the best 

 fresh salmon I ever tasted. 



PoiET. — This char is surprisingly red and 

 full of curd ; I wonder at its fat ; it comes from 

 the Griindtl See, which is a high Alpine lake, 

 covered with ice more than half the year: 

 what food can the fish find in so pure and 

 cold a water ? 



Hal. — Minnows and small chubs are found 

 in this lake; and the flies which haunt it in 

 summer have been aquatic larvae in the au- 

 tumn, winter, and spring; and there are 

 usually great quantities of small shell fish, 

 which live in the deeper parts of this water ; 

 so that char may find food even in winter ; 

 and cold, or the repose to which it leads, 

 seems favourable to the developement or con- 

 servation of fat. Most of the polar animals 

 (the whale, morse, seal, and white bear, for 

 instance) are loaded with this substance ; and 

 the salmon of the Arctic Ocean are remark- 

 X 4 



