ANGLING FOR TROUT. c9 



or roughness of their current, as well as its rapidity, 

 will depend on the nature and the slope of the channel 

 towards the sea. 



These varying characters of rivers have great influ- 

 ence on the sort of fish by which they are inhabited ; 

 and a species, such as the pike for example, which likes 

 to prowl about in slow-running, weedy waters, will not 

 thrive or multiply in the turbulent streams of alpine 

 or mountainous countries, which are the dehght of 

 trout, and in many instances of salmon. In treating 

 of River Angling, I think it will, on that account, be 

 better to confine the attention chiefly to the fish which 

 prefer swift-running water, and comprehend the fish 

 of slow-running rivers under Canal Angling. The 

 fish more pecuhar to swift-running waters then, are 

 the trout, grayhng, salmon, and a few others of inferior 

 value. 



ANGLING FOR TROUT. 



As this is the most abundant river-fish, as well as of 

 excellent quality, trout fishing is perhaps more univer- 

 sally pursued by anglers, than any other, and therefore I 

 shall be more particular in detail. There are a great 

 number of varieties of trout which different naturalists 

 have deemed to be distinct species ; but Professor 

 Jurine of Geneva, who studied their changes for many 

 years, under very favourable circumstances, came to 

 the conclusion that there is only one species'. The dis- 

 tinctive marks usually taken from the under jaw pro- 

 jecting beyond the upper; the colour of the fleshy 

 white, yellow, or red ; the shades of the skin with the 



(l) In Latin, Salmo/Uriv. 



