62 



V. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



This trout originated in Locli Leven, the lake made famous by Scott's poem, 

 " The Lady of the Lake." Typically it was peculiar to this loch, where it sel- 

 dom, if ever, attained much over 1 pound in weight. The claim has been made 

 that it is merely an ontogenetic development of the common brown trout, and 

 that when transferred to other waters its progeny can not always be distin- 

 guished from the common brown trout. On the other hand, information de- 

 rived from persons familiar with Loch Leven indicates that both this trout and 

 the brown trout exist in the same lake, and that in that body of water they can 

 always be distinguished. 



It is not impossible that confusion has arisen by brown trout from that lake 

 having been propagated under the supposition that they were Loch Leven trout. 

 There are parallel instances of such mistaken identity in this country in respect 

 to other species, and so-called Loch Leven trout have been propagated for a 

 long time in this country. In the early years the progeny of Loch Leven eggs 

 could easily be distinguished from brown trout hatched at the same time, espe- 

 cially when they had attained a few inches in length. Recently, however, tliere 

 is reason to suspect that many of the so-called Loch Leven plants have been 



brown trout. 



I 



PROPAGATION. 



The Bureau of Fisheries makes no special effort to artificially 

 propagate the Loch Leven trout for reasons stated elsewhere. At 

 two of the hatcheries — Leadville, Colo., and Spearfish, S. Dak. — very 

 limited numbers of eggs are handled each year. At the former point 

 the egg collections are obtained from the Arkansas River, and such 

 work is incidental to the more important brook trout egg collections 

 annually undertaken in the same region. At the latter station a 

 small brood stock of the species is maintained, numbering 82 female 

 fish sexually mature at the end of the fiscal year 1922. The distribu- 

 tion of the output in each case is limited to local waters. 



The information regarding the spawning season, incubation period 

 of the eggs, etc., contained in the following table, is taken from the 

 reports of the superintendents of the stations: 



Table 4.- 



-Spawning season of Loch Leven trout, 

 of incubation. 



egg production, and period 



The superintendent at Spearfish (S. Dak.) station comments 

 further on the Loch Leven trout, as follows : 



The Loch Leven trout has proven to be the hardiest trout in the Black 

 Hills, for, while the numbers planted each year have been small as compared 

 with plants of brook and black-spotted trouts, the numbers taken by fisher- 

 men would seem to exceed those of both the other species. Very few black- 

 spotted trout were ever taken in this section. 



