GEN. OSMERUS. THE SMELT. 145 



land yield it in tolerable plenty, it is also found in 

 Orkney, and has been long known in some of the 

 Welsh lakes. As it haunts deep cool water, and is 

 seldom found at the surface till late in the autumn, 

 it is not frequently made an object of sport with 

 anglers. In the Cumberland and Westmoreland 

 lakes, however, it may be taken, sometimes in to- 

 lerable plenty, by trolling ; and occasionally it rises 

 to a fly. M. Agassiz considers it identical with the 

 celebrated Ombre chevalier fS, umbla, Linn.) of the 

 Lake of Geneva. The different states and varieties 

 are known in this country by the names Case Charr, 

 Gilt Charr, Red Charr, Silver Charr, &c. 



Gen. LXYI. Osmerus. In general form and 

 appearance it is at once seen that this group differs 

 from the true Salmones; and upon close examination 

 it is found that the chief distinctions consist in the 

 body being long and rather slender, the ventral fins 

 placed on a line with the insertion of the first dor- 

 sal ; two distinct rows of teeth on each palatine 

 bone, the vomer with only a few in front, the 

 branchiostegous membrane with only eight rays, 

 scales larger than in Salmo ; intestinal canal with- 

 out caeca. 



(Sp. 131.) O.eperlanus. Smelt or Sperling. This 

 well known fish is procured in great quantities along 

 most of our sea coasts, and is in demand in our 

 markets for its delicate and peculiar flavour. The 

 scent it emits has been compared to the smell of 

 green rushes, cucumbers, or violets. It frequents 

 sandy bays, generally near the mouths of rivers. 



