no BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



kinds of trout ; and in the former is a species of fish 

 called charrs, about 2 feet long — the male grey, the 

 female yellow bellied ; when boiled the flesh of these 

 charrs is as red and curdy as a salmon, and eats 

 more delicious than any trout." In 1839 Thompson 

 was informed that in the lakes at the source of the 

 River Lee in Cork, formerly celebrated for their fine 

 Char, which were abundant, these could not be pro- 

 cured, and had become nearly if not quite extinct, 

 their destruction being attributed by people in the 

 neighbourhood to the increased numbers of Pike. 



One other Char, certainly extinct, completes our 

 account of the Irish fishes of this group, and this is 

 the so-called " Whiting " of Lough Neagh, described 

 and figured in 181 2 in Dubourdieu's History of the 

 County of Antrim. There can be no question that 

 this fish was a Char, as its appearance, habits, 

 season for capture, etc., were well described. In 

 1837 Thompson offered a handsome reward for a 

 Lough Neagh Whiting, but in vain. He was told 

 that none had been taken for ten years, but that 

 ten years before that they were abundant ; as 

 many as five hundred had been taken in a draught 

 of the net, and this not in the breeding season. A 

 deep part of the lake, 36 fathoms, was called the 

 Whiting-hole, from being the chief haunt of the 

 species. The causes of its extinction were unknown, 

 although overfishing had been suggested. 



To conclude the account of the Char, mention 

 must be made of the so-called Brook Trout {^Sahe- 

 linus fontinalis) of Canada and the Northern United 

 States, which has been introduced into some English 

 streams. This species is easily recognized by its 

 coloration, the back, with the dorsal and caudal 



