1894-95-] Glimpses of Trout. 139 



of the blazing torch in the dense darkness, the solemn silence 

 that prevailed — not a sound being heard except the noise of 

 cascades rushing over the rocky mountain-sides, or the plunging 

 swish caused by my own footsteps as I waded abreast of the 

 current — constituted altogether a wild and weird experience. 

 There were numbers of fish upon the spawning-bed, but as 

 these were chiefly salmon and sea-trout, they had no attrac- 

 tions for me. Farther up the stream I discovered many pairs 

 of trout upon the " redd," the yellow-coloured denizens of the 

 river being easily recognised from the dark-skinned frequenters 

 of the lake, which had ascended to perpetuate their species. 

 I there discovered a peculiarity among trout — viz., the occa- 

 sional choosing of a partner much larger or much smaller in 

 size than themselves. On a " redd " a female Salmo fur ox of 

 10 lb. in weight was with a male of 2\ lb. For a long time 

 I looked at them lying side by side, they doubtless wondering 

 meanwhile what strange phenomenon the glare of the torch 

 could be. Having arranged with a distinguished scientific 

 authority to provide specimens for purposes of dissection, with 

 the view of discovering whether the Salmo ferox was a distinct 

 species, I lifted the female out with the aid of a gaff and 

 despatched her on the grass. The male, taking fright by the 

 splashing of his partner, rushed up-stream, but on returning 

 to the water, I found he had come back to the identical spot 

 where he lay before, when I secured him also. Personally, 

 as well as in conjunction with professional authorities, I have 

 dissected and examined numbers of these large fish caught 

 in different Highland lakes, but have never been able to dis- 

 criminate betwixt them and ordinary trout. I am disposed to 

 treat them as simply overgrown monsters that for years have 

 gorged themselves on the smaller trout that abound in the 

 lochs they frequent. 



After the spawn is safely deposited in the " redd " it is 

 exposed to many contingencies of an adverse nature. Very 

 frequently it is disturbed by thunder-storms, which bring- 

 down the river in spate, carrying stones and gravel before its 

 impetuous force, altering the bed of the stream, and washing 

 amongst the water the spawn from the " redd," which will 

 doubtless be then devoured by trout in search of food. It 

 almost seems an incredible thins in Nature that trout should 



