332 DR DAVY’S OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARR. 
hardly requires any comment. Whilst they shew how easily it may be introduced 
into any lake or body of water, they are of no significancy in relation to the 
establishing it for a permanency in such water. What appears to be most requi- 
site for the purpose is deep and pure water. In no body of water in the Lake 
District is the charr found, which is not of this character. The attempts to esta- 
blish it in some not possessed of the qualities named, have repeatedly failed ; and 
in others, in which the fish once abounded, it has become either entirely or almost 
extinct, since mines have been opened in their vicinity, by which the purity of 
the water, it may be inferred, has been impaired. Whether the quality of the 
food is of much importance, seems to be doubtful in relation to this its main- 
tenance. There are circumstances that seem to warrant the conclusion, that, 
like the trout, its condition rather than its existence depends on the kind of food, 
and the quantity it can obtain. This we know, that it is taken with the same 
baits as the trout, and also that it exhibits varieties like the trout, though hardly 
so strongly marked, according to, asis believed, its manner of feeding; for in- 
stance, the charr of Hawes Water, which is known to feed a good deal on insects, 
is a small and slender fish in comparison with the charr of Windermere, which 
feeds more at the bottom, and has a less precarious supply, especially of squillee, 
which abound in that lake.* These remarks are offered with hesitation. The 
subject is one that is not without obscurity, and in need, for the better under- 
standing of it, of further and minute inquiry specially directed to it. 
LesketuH Howe, AMBLESIDE, 
February 28, 1852. 
P.S. Reflecting on the effects of sea-water on the ova of the charr and its 
young, shortly after quitting the egg, as described in this paper, I venture to offer 
the conjecture, that the action of sea-water may be similar on the impregnated 
egg of the salmon and its fry; and that it is on this account (looking to the final 
cause), rather than for the purpose of seeking water cooler and more aerated, that 
the salmon, impelled by instinct, quits the sea for the river, preparatory to breed- 
ing; and also, that the young remain in fresh water till they have acquired not 
only a certain size and strength, but also additional scales, fitting them, in their 
smolt stage, to endure without injury the contact of the saline medium. 
* The charr of the Lake District, though occasionally taken with the artificial fly and minnow, 
like the trout, on the whole, I believe, may be considered a more delicate feeder, and, in consequence, 
of superior quality for the table; its organization is in accordance with this, viz., its smaller teeth, 
and smaller stomach and intestines. The charr of Upper Austria is said to have a thick stomach, 
approaching in its character to that of the Gillaroo trout. (See Salmonia, p. 55, ed. 4th.) In most 
instances that I have examined this organ in the charr of the Lake District, I have found it as thin, 
and often even thinner in its coats than that of the trout inhabiting the same water. 


