ISO GRAYLING. 



rriHE only classical authors who have mentioned the Grayling are ^Elian, to whom this fish 

 -*- was known under the name of Thicmaliiis, and Ausonius, who appears to allude to this 

 fish in his tenth Idyll, under the name of Uinbra. 



"Effugiensque oculos celeri levis Umbra natatu." (90.) 



^^lian gives the following account of the Grayling: — "The river Ticinus, in Italy, produces 

 the fish called Thymallus ; it is about a cubit in length ; in appearance it partly resembles 

 the labrax (Sea Perch) and the ccphalus (Grey Mullet). When captured it has a remarkable 

 odour — not that other kinds are destitute of a fishy smell — so that you would say you had 

 in your hands a freshly-gathered piece of thyme. In fact if you did not see the fish you 

 would imagine you had the plant, which is the chief food of bees — whence the fish takes its 

 name — in your hands, so fragrant is the smell. It is taken easily in a net, but not with a 

 bait and hook, whether the bait be the fat of a pig, or a scrphus (some two-winged fly), or a 

 shell-fish (Xrifi-)]), or the entrail of another fish, or the neck of a strombus. It is taken only 

 by a small gnat, the troublesome little beast, which- day and night is a nuisance to men on 

 account of its biting and buzzing : with this, which is the only food of which it is fond, is the 

 Thymallus captured." 



The association of the odour of thyme with the Grayling, noticed by ^Hian, has been 

 kept up ever since his time. It is referred to by Izaak Walton, who says, "Some think that 

 he feeds on water-thyme, and smells of it at his first taking out of the water; and they may 

 think so with as good reason as we do that our Smelts smell like violets at their first being 

 caught, which I think is a truth." Walton also refers to the opinion of St. Ambrose — "Much 

 more might be said of this fish's taste and smell ; but I shall only tell you that St. Ambrose, 

 the glorious Bishop of Milan, who lived when the Church kept fasting days, calls him the 

 flower-fish, or flower of fishes, and that he was so far in love with him, that he would not 

 let him pass without the honour of a long discourse." Willughby thinks that more modern 

 writers are simply following in the wake of the ancients ; he says Salvianus could detect no 

 thyme flavour about the Grayling, but thinks the Grayling has a sweeter odour about it than 

 fish in general. Pennant speaks of the "imaginary scent" like thyme, but he never could 

 perceive any particular smell about the Grayling. Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell thinks that the 

 odour rather resembles that of a cucumber than of thyme. Mr. Francis Francis writes, "he 

 has a peculiar and strong fragrance when handled, which is said to be like thyme, and is 

 so to some little extent." I must place myself among the number of persons who, as Mr. 

 Manley says, "utterly fail to distinguish this thymy fragrance" about the Grayling; but I 

 will not deny that to the olfactory nerves of some people, the association of the odour of 

 this plant with the Grayling may be sufiiciently striking. 



The Grayling is found in the fresh waters of Central and Northern Europe, but though 

 abundant in some streams, it is a local fish, much more so than the Common Trout. As to 

 English localities, I cannot quote a better authority than Mr. Francis Francis, who justly has 

 a very high opinion of the Grayling. "If the Trout," he says, "be the gentleman of the 

 streams, the Grayling is certainly the lady." The rivers mentioned by Mr. Francis as con- 

 taining these fish, are the Teme, the Lugg, and the Wye, with their tributaries wherever 

 they are found to suit them ; the Ure and the Swale, in Yorkshire. Of the Derbyshire streams, 

 the Wye, Derwent, and the Dove. The Grayling is found in the Hampshire rivers, the Avon, 

 Itchin, and Test, where it runs to a large size ; Mr. Francis has taken Grayling, both in the 

 Itchin and Test, up to four pounds weight. This fish has been brought into the Clyde, 

 where it has thriven well; it is said to be increasing rapidly in the Tweed. "But there are 

 very many other rivers — the tributaries of the Thames — where it could be naturalized ; the 



