ICHTHYOLOGY. 



207 



JIalacop. 

 terygii 



Abdomi- 

 iiales. 

 Salmo- 

 nicte. 



• which in common language receive the appellation of 

 trotits, the colouring is more varied and of brighter tints, 

 in which yellow and orange predominate, changing to 

 various shades according to locality. The best and most 

 familiar example is 

 ' Salmo fario, or comyyion front. This lovely fish is 

 most extensively distributed over the whole of Northern 

 Europe, being found in every burn and tarn, in every lake 

 and river. It may be also said to be one of the most 

 pleasing in its appearance ; and, when newly taken in 

 " golden glory" from some translucent stream, is exqui- 

 sitely beautiful. The variation of the tints of the ground 

 colour is infinite ; yellow, however, is the most predomi- 

 nant, varying to the most brilliant orange ; while at other 

 times the ground colour of the body runs from a dark- 

 greenish black to violet, in most instances numerously 

 spotted with black and red. Sometimes, however, the 

 black is alone present in the form of large round spots, 

 placed in a pale circle, but in all cases beautifully reliev- 

 ed, and breaking up the uniformity of the other colours. 

 In a few instances the spots have been observed to be 

 wanting altogether. One cause of the variation in the 

 trout, is the difference of food ; and, according to every in- 

 formation we possess, those which feed on fresh-water 

 shells, Gammari (screws, or fresh-water shrimps, as they 

 are sometimes called), are of the most brilliant tint, and 

 also of the finest flavour, with a decided pinkness in their 

 flesh. Those feeding on the ordinary water insects are 

 next in brilliancy and flavour, while such as live chiefly 

 upon aquatic vegetables are dull in colour, and of soft 

 consistence. This is further confirmed by the trout in 

 steics being always finished, or fed off as it is called, on 

 the foresaid Gammari, collected often from a distance. It 

 is only in this v.ay also that we can account for the varia- 

 tion in the appearance and flavour of trout found in two 

 adjoining bays of the same lake. The individuals, in fact, 

 do not appear to stray to any distance, but seem to be 

 satisfied with whatever food is found within a limited dis- 

 trict, and which of course will be in many instances of a 

 peculiar and local kind. It is also true, that the colours 

 of trout accommodate themselves to the tint of the water, 

 and to the prevailing to7ie of the bottom, whether of rock 

 or gravel, or of softer substance ; and so constantly is this 

 the case, that an experienced and observant angler has little 

 difficulty in accurately predicating the general aspectof the 

 fish of any lake or river. The presence of moss, so frequent 

 in alpine districts, has invariably the effect of deepening 

 the tints, particularly the shades of green and yellow. 



In form this fish, when in perfect condition, may be 

 said to be nearly symmetrical ; the head only being some- 

 times rather large in proportion to the body, when con- 

 sidered in relation to what we regard as the beau ideal. 

 The fins are of moderate strength, those of the body as- 

 suming a variation of form, from a rounded to a lengthen- 

 ed extremity. The tail is almost always forked ; the fins 

 are always coloured, that is, never of the transparent 

 whiteness observable in the migratory species; and their 

 tints are generally of a paler shade than those of the corre- 

 sponding parts of the body. The anal fin is often border- 

 ed on its lower surface with white. The scaling is propor- 

 tionally less than in the migratory kinds. The toothing 

 is in general strong, and very prominent on both the tongue 

 and vomer. 



The average growth of the common trout, taking the 

 species generally, may be stated at about a pound, and 

 certainly not more than a pound and a half. In almost all 



rivers, fish weighing beyond this may certainly be found ; 

 but they are comparatively uncommon. Individuals from 

 two to six pounds weight are occasionally taken, even in 

 what may be termed a " wild state." In ponds or stews, 

 again, they reach a much greater size, but cannot be said 

 io be in the natural condition of unenclosed fish. The 

 Thames trout seem to reach most frequently the largest 

 size, being short compared to their length, but of great 

 thickness and well flavoured. Two were lately taken, the 

 one of eleven, the other of fifteen pounds weight. The 

 lakes in the north of England produce trout of very fine 

 quality, and which are often passed off for char. Loch Le- 

 ven, too (of which the barren isle and now dismantled 

 castle are famous in history as the prison-place of the 

 beautiful Queen Mary), has long been celebrated for its 

 breed ot trout. These, however, have fallen off of late con- 

 siderably in their general flavour and condition, owing, it is 

 said, to the partial drainage of the loch having destroyed 

 their best feeding ground, by exposing the beds of fresh- 

 water shells, which formed the greater portion of their 

 food. Farther north (as in Sutherlandshire) the immense 

 multitude of lochs produce a corresponding abundance 

 and variety of trout. Of these, however, only a few are 

 of superior quality; but these i'ew may assuredly vie with 

 the trout of any country in the v/orld.' Another large 

 species, occurring in the British waters, and not yet dis- 

 tinctly known elsewhere, is the 



Salmo ferox, Jardine. This species reaches a weight of 

 twenty-eight pounds, and is of very great power compared 

 with its size. The characters which distinguish this fish 

 from S.fario are the great size which it attains in a natural 

 state, the large proportional size of the head, the square 

 extremity of the tail in all the stages of its growth, the 

 relative position of the fins, and the number of rays in the 

 dorsal, which vary from 2 — II to 4 — 11. The external 

 skin or covering of the scales is also extremely tough ; 

 and there is a difference in the form of the scales of the 

 lateral line. In colour the upper parts are generally of 

 a deep purplish brown, shading into purplish gray, and 

 finally, on the lower parts, to greenish or grayish yel- 

 low, more or less tinted with orange. The spotting is 

 large and not numerous, and consists of black spots placed 

 in a pale circle, and of large pink spots with a similar 

 light area. These extend over the gill-covers, upper fins, 

 and often over the tail itself. A variety occurs in Loch 

 Loyal, in Sutherland, above purplish brown, beneath 

 blackish gray, the whole body spotted over with dark se- 

 pio-coloured spots, of a smaller size on the lower portions. 

 Salmo ferox appears to be entirely confined to the lakes, 

 seldom ascending or descending rivers, or wandering in 

 and out of them, and never migrating to the sea. When 

 spawning, it ascends for a short way up the rivers or 

 streams which run into the lakes, but never, as far as yet 

 known, descends those which run out of them. It inha- 

 bits, among the English lakes, Ulswater ; but does not 

 there reach a size above ten or eleven pounds. In Ire- 

 land, as far as we can yet learn (specimens having not 

 yet reached us on this side of the water), it is found in 

 Loch Neagh and some other large lakes ; and in Scotland 

 we have taken it in Loch Awe, Loch Laggan, the upper 

 end of Loch Shin, and Lochs Loyal and Assynt. It is a 

 fish of remarkable ferocity, and as great an enemy to its 

 smaller companions as the pike. It may be taken by night 

 lines, or by strong trolling tackle, baited with a small trout, 

 and will return a second and third time to the bait, even 

 after it has been dragged for forty or fifty yards.* 



Malacop. 

 terygii 

 Abduiiii- 



iiales. 

 iSalnio- 



i)iil;c. 



■ We may here note the existence of a strongly marked and peculiar variety, called the gillaroo trout of Galway. It is remark- 

 able for feeding on shell-tisli, in consequence of whicli (as is supposed) the coats of the stomach acquire a great degree of thickness, 



from wliich peculiarity it is sometimes called tlie ghzard trout. 



■ for a detailed account of the mode of fishing for this and the other species, see our article Angling, in the third volume of the 

 present woik. 



