SPECKLED TROUT. 121 



ing period, and just as many brilliant species 

 only possess their gorgeous plumage while 

 they are going through their courtship, and 

 lose the decoration after the young brood is 

 hatched, so the - trout are most brightly 

 coloured at spawning time, and become lank 

 and dingy after the eggs have been safely 

 deposited. The parent fish ascend to the 

 head-waters of their native river during the 

 autumn season to spawn, and then, their glory 

 dimmed, they return down-stream to the deep 

 pools, where they pass the winter sulkily, as 

 if ashamed to show themselves in their dull 

 and dusky suits. But when spring comes 

 round once more, and flies again become 

 abundant, the trout begin to move up-stream 

 afresh, and soon fatten out to their customary 

 size and brilliant colours. It mi^ht seem 



o 



at first sight that creatures so humble as 

 these little fish could hardly have suffi- 

 ciently developed aesthetic tastes to prefer 

 one mate above another on the score of 

 beauty. But we must remember that every 



