THE EASTERN' BKOOK TROUT. 



THE BROOK TROUTS OR CHARS. 



Here comes another trout that I must tickle, and tickle daintily. I've lost my end else. 



Beaumont and Fletcher. 



/^UR Brook Trouts belong to the division of the Salmon family known to 

 the English as " Chars," a group confined, for the most part to fresh- 

 water lakes and streams, and distinguished from the true Salmons by a 

 l)eculiar arrangement of teeth on the vomer, and also by their very small 

 scales, and usually by numerous crimson or orange-colored spots, which 

 are especially conspicuous in the breeding season. The Chars of Europe 

 are, as a rule, lake fishes like the Saibling. On the other hand, the Chars 

 of North America are usually found in streams and rivers. 



There is probably no group of fishes in which individual specimens 

 and communities inhabiting certain areas of water show more tendency 

 to variations in color and form than they do in the salmon family. Dr. 

 Giinther has very justly remarked : " We know of no other group of fishes 

 Avliich offers so many difficulties to the ichthyologist with regard to the 

 distinction of the species as well as to certain points in their life-history. 

 Although this may be partly due to the unusual attention which has been 

 given to their study, it has revealed rather a greater amount of unexplained 

 fact than a satisfactory solution of the questions raised. The almost in- 

 finite variations of these fishes are dependent upon the age, sex, and 

 sexual development, food, and the properties of the water." 



The tendency of modern ichthyology, with its more exact methods, and 



