108 THE WONDERFUL TROUT 



dividuals in the same stream is a well-known 

 yet interesting fact. To illustrate this let 

 us offer a few examples. In May 1894 a 

 trout was killed and opened by us at the 

 river- side. It was full of ova in strings 

 about the size of snipe-shot. This trout was 

 about half a pound, and in prime condition. 

 Others were afterwards found in a similar 

 interesting state. In July, from a high-level 

 loch in Sutherland, Loch Gorm, which is 

 much fed by snow-wreaths on the north-east 

 face of Ben More, Assynt, we found many 

 pink-, or almost red-fl.esh.ed trout full of ova 

 the size of seed-pearls, and, notwithstanding 

 the rich colour of the flesh, flabby and 

 ' cotton- woolly ' when cooked. 



Again, on April 8th, 1897, a ' baggit ' salmon 

 was hooked and landed. There were ripe, 

 large handsome ova running from her in our 

 presence. A gentle pressure, however, pro- 

 duced no more. She had dashed at and 

 taken a spinning bait, and she was kelted in 

 shape. She must have deposited the prin- 

 cipal portion of her ova just before she took 

 that Devon minnow. Our landlord, the laird 

 of the water we were fishing, himself an experi- 



