62 



so fat as to be unfit for food ; the greater part of it melting down 

 as it were, in the process of cooking. It is stout, broad and 

 thick ; more so than any species of Salmon except the S. trutta 

 of Central Europe. The nostrils are nearer the eye than in 

 S. ainelhystus^ and the dorsal fin is larger. Tail much less 

 forked, and of a crescent shape. The color varies according to 

 the feeding ground on which it is caught, and is brighter during 

 the breeding season. The latter fact Prof. A. remarked is true 

 of fishes in general. The young of the S. sUkiioit have trans- 

 verse bars which disappear with their growth, like those of other 

 species of salmon. 



Prof. A.'s remarks on the color of fishes during the 

 breeding season led to a general conversation on the subject. 

 Mr. Ayres said he considered color a very uncertain mark 

 on which to base specific difTerences. He had frequently 

 noticed the brighter hue during the breeding season, but so 

 far as his observations extended it existed only in the males. 

 Prof. Agassiz remarked that in the genus Phoxinus, the 

 reverse is the case. He agreed with Mr. Ayres, that color 

 cannot be relied on as a specific character. Dr. Bryant 

 remarked that he had noticed at Newport a difTerence of 

 color in the Tautog, Tautoga americcma, of different sexes ; 

 the females being mottled, and the males of a darker, more 

 uniform hue, with white chins. Mr. Ayres said that he had 

 hardly seen two specimens of this fish alike in color, and 

 the white chin he considered due to the locality. Dr. Storer 

 spoke of the remarkable varieties of color noticeable in the 

 brook trout from difTerent localities ; those from waters with 

 sandy bottoms being very bright, while those from waters 

 over muddy bottoms are extremely dark. This difference 

 is even more striking in specimens of pickerel from differ- 

 ent places. Mr. Ayres had noticed similar distinctions in 

 trout caught in different parts of the same stream. Prof. 

 Agassiz had observed them in trout frequenting opposite 

 sides of the same brook, according as they were habitually 

 in the sun or shade. 



Mr. Burnett read a paper on the Peeping Frog of New 

 England, from which the following are extracts. 



