84 MARVELS OF FISH LIFE 



markings, for on his sides, back, and head are seen 

 numerous black dots and cross markings. If the trout 

 were merely silvery all over, he would only be completely 

 inconspicuous when the background against which he 

 was seen was of the same uniform shade as the water 

 around, but the trout in the sea moves among stones, 

 weeds and the numerous forms of animal and vegetable 

 life floating in the sea. The silvery sides reflect the tone 

 of the surrounding water, and the black dots just suffi- 

 ciently break up the uniformly shaded body of the fish 

 to give it a mottled appearance as he rapidly swims 

 about. I have noticed both rainbows and Loch Levens 

 swimming in the pond amongst roach and dace, and 

 there is no doubt that the rainbow and the Loch Leven, 

 with their black spots and marks, are less conspicuous 

 than the roach and dace, except when seen against a 

 perfectly uniformly shaded background, which is a con- 

 dition seldom, if ever, met with in the sea. 



Though I would not say that the sea-trout is a brown 

 trout that has gone to sea, it is certainly more closely 

 related to the trout than to the salmon, and for this 

 reason I consider the name of sea-trout more applicable 

 to this fish than salmon trout. 



Next, let us turn our attention to the bull trout. 

 One is frequently asked, what is a bull trout ? A bull 

 trout would appear to be nothing but a large sea-trout. 

 At the same time, I am convinced that many a brown 

 trout that has acquired the habit of going to sea, on its 

 return to fresh water has been described as a bull trout. 



