SUCKLEY MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SALMO. 125 



called, the fresh and salt water trout. The following varieties in color^ 

 and appearance have been observed : 



"1st. Those having the u[>per part and sides of a pale brown, gradu- 

 ally becoming less so, till it terminates in white on the under part, 

 having a silvery appearance when first taken from the water, and cov- 

 ered with small, distinct scales ; the circular yellow^ and red spots very 

 indistinct; generally found in the marshy creeks, or in open streams, 

 where the sun has free access. They are well fed upon minnows and 

 shrimps, having a plump appearance, and are the variety mostly sought 

 after by those who desire the trout in its highest perfection, for the table. 

 They are taken mostly between the months of January and July. They 

 vary in size from one -fourth of a pound to four pounds; but I have never 

 seen one to exceed two and a half. 



"2d. Those having the upper x»art and sides of a dark brown, havmg 

 a dark-green appearance, terminating in white or orange underneath, 

 and covered more or less with round yellow spots, with a bright red 

 center, color varying according to the location; and generally not so 

 plump and well fed as those above mentioned. 



"3d. Those having the upper part and sides of either a light or dark 

 brown, with spots more distinctly marked on the dark than the light; 

 underneath, the color uniformly ferruginous or orange. 



"Each of these varieties is found both in the streams communicating 

 with the salt marshes, and in those which, are entirely cut off' from theui, 

 by permanent obstructions. The first-named variety, however, is no- 

 where found in so great perfection as in close approximation to the salt 

 creeks. The difference between the salt and fresh water trout, in this 

 vicinity, seems to be only in name, so far as I have been able to deter- 

 mine, with ample opj)ortunities in taking them, and with specimens 

 before me. 



"The peculiarity of these varieties seems to depend entirely upon the 

 location and the nature of the soil at the bottom of the stream they in- 

 habit. The first variety is found in clear water, with light gravelly 

 bottom, and where the banks are not shaded by shrubbery, but where 

 they are almost constantly exposed to the rays of the sun; The second 

 variety inhabits streams which are for the most part shaded by trees, 

 or which take their rise iu, or pass through, jieat-bogs. Thus in one 

 stream, the trout caught at the head of it were always of a very dark 

 brown, almost black, highly marked with yellow and red spots, while 

 those taken near the mouth of the stream were of a light color. One of 

 these streams arises from a deep basin of dark water 30 feet in diamete 

 and 10 feet deep, surrounded by a peat-bog, where fish taken, so far as 

 I know, have been uniformly of a dark brown. In other streams having 

 a bottom of ifon ore they are uniformly marked with orange under- 

 neath, the color of the upper part and sides appearing to depend upon 

 the amount of exposure to the sun's rays. These observations are made 

 independent of any of the changes of color or markings which take 

 place during the spawning season. 



