FISHES OF THE CONNECTICUT LAKES. 49 
It is now well established in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, and several other states. This trout 
has proved to be well adapted to the region east of the Rocky Mountains, which 
has no native black-spotted species, though the western streams and lakes con- 
tain. many forms in a high state of development. 
Size.—Under favorable conditions the brown trout has been credited with a 
weight of 22 pounds and a length of 85 inches. In New Zealand rivers, where 
it was introduced with unusual success, it now approximates equal size; but 
in most localities 10 pounds is about the limit of weight and 5 or 6 pounds is 
a good average, while in some regions the length seldom exceeds 1 foot and the 
weight ranges from one-half to 1 pound. In the United States a wild speci- 
men, 7 years old, weighed about 11 pounds. In a well in Scotland an individual 
aged 15 years measured only about 1 foot in length. These illustrations will 
serve to show how much the growth of a brown trout is affected by its sur- 
roundings and food supply. The species has been known to become sexually 
mature when 2 years old and § inches long. 
Habits.—The brown trout thrives in clear, cold, rapid streams and at the 
mouths of streams tributary to lakes. In its movements it is swift, and it leaps 
over obstructions like the salmon. It feeds usually in the morning and evening, 
is more active during evening and night, and often lies quietly in deep pools 
or in the shadow of overhanging bushes and trees for hours at a time. It 
feeds on insects and their larve, worms, mollusks, and small fishes and like 
its relative, the rainbow trout, it is fond of the eggs of fishes. In Europe it is 
described as rising eagerly to the surface in pursuit of gnats and is said to 
grow more rapidly when fed on insects. 
Reproduction.—Spawning begins in October and continues through December 
and sometimes into January. The eggs are from one-sixth to one-fifth of an 
inch in diameter and yellowish or reddish in color; they are deposited at inter- 
‘yals during a period of many days in crevices between stones, under projecting 
roots of trees, and sometimes in nests excavated by the spawning fishes. The 
parents cover the eggs to some extent with gravel. The hatching period varies 
according to temperature from forty to seventy days. Females aged 3 years 
furnish on the average about 350 eggs each, but individuals of this age have 
yielded as many as 700, and even at the age of 2 years some females produce 
from 400 to 500. When they are 4 or 5 years old, the number of eggs has 
reached 1,500 to 2,000. The young thrive in water with a temperature of about 
50° F. Sterility in the females is common, and the breeding females have been 
observed to cease reproduction when 8 years old. 
Qualities.—The brown trout is in its prime from May to the last of Septem- 
ber. Its flesh is very digestible and nutritious, and deeper red than that of 
the salmon when suitable food is furnished; the flavor and color, however, 
vary with food and locality. Insect food produces the most rapid growth and 
best condition. This species has been so long known as one of the noblest of 
the game fishes and its adaptability for capture with artificial flies because of 
its feeding habits is so well understood that I need not dwell on these familiar 
details. 
This species was introduced into Connecticut Lakes as follows: 
1894, 20,000; 1901, 170,000. Although the precise locality is not 
certain, it was probably in Mud Pond Brook. It is uncertain 
whether all of those collected are the individuals planted or some or 
all of them offspring of the planted fish. The great difference in 
size would seem to indicate that at least the small ones were offspring 
