THE COMMON TROUT DESCRIBED. 273 



THE COMMON TBOUT. Salmofario. 



THE common trout in its prime is unquestionably 

 the handsomest and most delicately flavoured of 

 our river fish, and, after the salmon, the best 

 game the angler can pursue. It grows large or 

 small, differently marked, coloured, and shaped, 

 according to the qualities of the water it inhabits, 

 whether those qualities be inherent or contingent. 

 The Thames trout is often caught as large as the 

 middle-sized salmon, and is held, by the palates 

 of some, superior in flavour. In the small streams 

 of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the common 

 trout is remarkably small. In the rivers of the 

 English midland counties, the trout averages a 

 pound in weight, but throughout the trout streams 

 of the empire, more trout are caught under that 

 weight than above it. A common trout in full 

 season, weighing four pounds, is a royal fish ; and 

 a trout caught in the Dove during the drake- 

 season, and weighing from one pound to two, is a 

 princely one. If you want to see a very handsome 



