of 



589 



two are evidently unlike, if it be true, aa is 

 asserted, that the malma never congregates 

 in shoals. 



SALMO ALBUS. This fish, which bears 

 the name of Attihawmcg by the native 

 Indians, many of whom mainly subsist upon 

 it, is an inhabitant of all the interior lakes 

 of America, from Erie to the Arctic Sea. It 

 belongs to the sub-genus Coregonus, family 

 Salmonidece. The Attihawmeg has some 

 resemblance to the Herring in the structure 

 of its jaws and gill-covers, and, like that 

 fish, it dies speedily when taken out of the 

 water. It measures about twenty inches in 

 length ; its usual weight is from two to three 

 pounds, and when very fat it attains to seven 

 or eight pounds, and occasionally more ; but 

 these large fish are confined to particular 

 localities. The form of the Attihawmeg is 

 ovate, more or less gibbous before the dorsal 

 fin, with a slightly-tapering tail inclining 

 a little upwards. The body is compressed ; 

 the upper surface of the head is smooth and 

 even ; the eyes are large, and situated a little 

 more than a diameter of the orbit from the 

 tip of the snout, which projects a little from 

 the shut mouth. The jaws and tongue are 

 furnished with a few teeth, which are too 

 minute to be readily seen by the naked eye, 

 and too slender to be very perceptible to the 

 finger : the palate and vomer are quite 

 smooth. The scales are about half an inch 

 in diameter ; they have a bright pearly 

 lustre, and are thin and very deciduous. The 

 caudal fin is forked, and spreads widely. 

 The colour of the Attihawmeg, in the shade, 

 is a bluish-gray on the back, lighter on the 

 sides, and white on the belly ; but when 

 in a full light, it assumes a nacry and iri- 

 descent pearly lustre. 



In certain lakes, and in some seasons, this 

 fish is loaded with fat, particularly about 

 the shoulders, where it produces a hump ; 

 but though it is rich and fat, instead of pro- 

 ducing satiety it daily becomes more agree- 

 able to the palate ; and it is confidently 

 asserted, that, though deprived of bread and 

 vegetables, one may live wholly upon this 

 fish for months, or even years, without tiring. 

 After the spawning season its flesh becomes 

 lean and rather watery, but not unwhole- 

 some, and it may be improved by being 

 hung in the open air for a month or six 

 weeks ; at least it is allowed by the ichthyo- 

 phagists of the fur countries to be richer, 

 firmer, and altogether more agreeable to 

 their palates. It is a gregarious fish, and 

 resorts to different parts of a lake according 

 to the season of the year, its movements 

 being in all probability regulated by its 

 supply of food. In winter the fisheries are 

 generally established in deep water, remote 

 from the shore ; after the spawning period, 

 the full-fishery, as it is termed, is more pro- 

 ductive in shallow bays and on banks near 

 the shore. The Attihawmeg feeds on soft 

 insects and small shelly mollusca ; and it is 

 worthy of observation that it differs from 

 the other known Coregoni in the extraordi- 

 nary thickness of its stomach, which has 

 been thought to bear some resemblance to 

 the gizzard of a fowl. 



SALMON TROUT. (Salmo Triitta.) This 

 fish, which in Scotland is called the Sea 

 Trout, is next in value to the Salmon, and 

 in its habits exceedingly similar. It has a 

 large smooth head, of a dusky colour, with 

 a gloss of blue and green ; the back is of the 

 same colour, except that it becomes fainter 

 towards the lateral line : the sides, as far as 

 the lateral line, are marked with large, ir- 

 regular-shaped spots of black ; and the ab- 

 domen is white. Like the Salmon, this fish 

 migrates to and from the sea, and conse- 

 quently, when it has entered the rivers in 

 order to deposit its roe, it is occasionally 

 found in lakes and streams at a great distance 

 from the sea. They continue in season du- 

 ring the whole summer; and may be angled 

 for either in the mornings or evenings. 

 They are usually from about two to four 

 pounds weight ; and great quantities are 

 sent from Scotland to the London market. 

 The flesh is much esteemed, but it ought to 

 be dressed as soon aa possible. 



The ' Fordwich Trout ' of Izaak Walton, 

 as we are informed by Mr. Yarrell, W the 

 Salmon Trout ; " and its character for af- 

 fording ' rare good meat,' besides the cir- 

 cumstance of its being really an excellent 

 fish, second only to the Salmon, was greatly 

 enhanced, no doubt, by the opportunity of 

 eating it very fresh. Fordwich is about two 

 miles east-north-east of Canterbury. The 

 stream called the Stour was formerly very 

 considerable ; it communicates with the sea 

 opposite the back of the Isle of Sheppy, and 

 from Fordwich, one branch, going eastward, 

 again enters the sea at Sandwich. The an- 

 cient right to the fishery at Fordwich was 

 enjoyed jointly by two religious establish- 

 ments : it is now vested in six or seven in- 

 dividuals, who receive a consideration for 

 their several interests. It was formerly the 

 custom to visit the nets at Fordwich every 

 morning to purchase the fish caught during 

 the night. I have seen specimens of the 

 Salmon Trout from the Sandwich river ex- 

 posed for sale in the fishmongers' shops at 

 Ramsgate, during the season for visiting that 

 watering-place ; and the Salmon Trout is 

 also occasionally taken in the Medway by 

 fishermen who work long nets for smelts 

 during the autumn and winter." The same 

 writer also says, " This fish is the White 

 Trout of Devonshire, Wales, and Ireland ; 

 it is found in the Severn, in the rivers of 

 Cornwall, and is plentiful in the Esk and 

 the Eden, which communicate with the Sol- 

 way, where it is called Sea Trout." " Great 

 quantities of it are sent to the London 

 market ; those from Perth, Dundee, Mon- 

 trose, and Aberdeen appear, from their com- 

 parative depth of body, to be better fed, 

 are higher in colour, and are considered to 

 be finer in flavour than from some other lo- 

 calities." 



SALPINGnXE. A family of Coleopterous 

 insects, small in extent, distinguished by 

 having the head produced in front into a 

 flattened rostrum ; the antennae inserted in 

 front of the eyes ; the body generally oval, 

 or oblong and depressed. The species are of 

 small size, sometimes brightly coloured, and 



