THE SALMON FAMILY. 



43 



more, and in the far north is a food fish of good 

 quaHty. Little is recorded of its habits, and few 

 specimens exist in museums. Species of Stenodiis 

 are said to inhabit the Volga, Obi, Lena, and other 

 northern rivers ; but as yet little is definitely known 

 of them. 



The Grayling {ThymalliLs), termed by Saint Am- 

 brose ** the flower of fishes," is likewise interme- 

 diate between the white-fish and the trout, havins: 

 larger scales and feebler teeth than the latter. 

 The teeth on the tongue, found in all the trout and 

 salmon, are obsolete in grayling. The chief dis- 

 tinctive peculiarity of the genus TJiymalbis is the 

 great development of the dorsal fin, which has 

 more rays (20 to 24) than are found in any other 

 of the Salmonidce, and the fin is also higher. All 

 the species are gayly colored, the dorsal fin es- 

 pecially being marked with purplish or greenish 

 bands and bright rose-colored spots ; while the 

 body is mostly purplish-gray, often with spots of 

 black. Most of the species rarely exceed a foot in 

 length, but northward they grow larger. Grayling 

 weighing five pounds have been taken in England ; 

 and according to Dr. Day, they are said in Lap- 

 land to reach a weight of eight or nine pounds. 

 The grayling in all countries frequent clear, cold 

 brooks, and rarely, if ever, enter the sea, or even 

 the larger lakes. They are said to congregate in 

 small shoals in the streams, and to prefer those 

 which have a succession of pools and shallows, 

 with a sandy or gravelly rather than rocky bottom. 

 The grayling spawns on the shallows in April or 

 May (in England). It is said to be non-migratory 



