THE SMELT. 



cs tlae eliief montli of spawning. About tTae >en6. of Styptember ihey 

 i^uitihe deep water, to which tiiey had retired during the hot weather 

 and make greaS; eiforts to gain the course of the .currents, and seek out 

 a proper place for depositing their ova. This is always doiae on a 

 gravelly bottom, or where .gravel a.nd sand are mixed among stones^ 

 near the end or sides of streams. At tins period they turn black aboni 

 the head and body, and beeoraie soft and uuwholesorae. They ,are 

 raever good when they are full of roe : which is contrary to the aature 

 <of most other fish. After ha-viug spawned they become feeble, their 



bodies ace wasted, and those beau- 

 tiful spots, w'hieh before adorned 

 them, are imperceptible. Their 

 heads appear swelled, and theij 

 eyes are dull In this state they 

 seek still waters, and continue there 

 sick, as it is supposed, all the 

 winter. There 

 barren female fish, whicli eontinue 



COMMON TRU<JT. 



are in all Trout- 

 prood through the 



rivers some 

 winter. 



In March, or som-etimes earlier, if the weather be mild, the T-routs 

 l>egin to leave their v/inter q<viarters, and approach the shallows or taila 

 ©f streams, where they cleanse and ■rejetere themselves. As they 

 acquire strength they advance still higber up the rivers, till they fis 

 ©n theia* summer residence, for which th«y generally choose an eddy 

 behind a stone, a log, or bank, that projects into the water, and against 

 %vhieh the current drives. They also frequently get into holes undec 

 roots of trees, or into deeps that are shaded by boughs and bushes. 



These fish are said -to be in season from MiiiKjh ,to Seixtember. 



THE SM®LT. 



<SEE -ewzts 



It; is g^aerally ■tOQ'Sisidered that the smell «f t/his -elegaiat liltfle fi.^Ti 



somewhat resemblee 

 that of «!i<jumbers 

 Bewly cut. From its 

 ^ery peculiar scent, so 

 arnFik^ that ©f anj 

 otls«er species of fisli 

 we give to it th« dc- 

 oominati'On of Smelt, or "smell it."" The<JerT«ans call it JStiinckJisck, 

 The best season for these fish, is from December to May, when they 

 sip}»roach the shores, and even .ascend the rivers m imin«nse shoals. 

 Their usual season of spawning is about the snontha of March and 

 April. In certaiii rivers, Smelts appear a longtime before tliey spawn, 

 and in others it has been remarked that they do n<?t at all appear, so 

 long as there is any snow-water floating down. After they have de- 

 posited their ova, they return to the sea, and they are not again found 

 in the rivers until the ensuing season. In the Tbames they ai«j<jai\gh4 

 *n igreat numbers from !Bfovember to January. 



