189 



caught near Shrewsbury. However fastidious 

 in the quality of the water or the choice of 

 situation in the stream the grayling is known 

 to be, experiment has proved, that this fish will 

 live in ponds that have been newly made in 

 hard soil ; or in such as have been very recent- 

 ly and carefully cleaned out; but in these 

 situations the grayling does not breed, and 

 they will not continue to live in old muddy 

 ponds. The ova of this fish are numerous, 

 large, and of a deep-orange colour ; the spawn- 

 ing season is in April, or the beginning of 

 May ; in this respect differing from the other 

 Salmonidae, most, if not all, of which spawn 

 towards the end of the year, and generally in 

 cold weather. The grayling, however, is in 

 the finest condition in October and Novem- 

 ber,* when trout are out of season, not having 

 then recovered the effects of their recent 

 spawning, while the young grayling of that 

 year are about seven inches in length. 



The food of the grayling, as ascertained by 

 examination, besides the various flies imi- 

 tations of which are successfully used by 

 anglers consists also of the larvae of Phry- 

 ganea. Ephemera, and Libellula ; the remains 

 of the cases of the former, and the tough 



*The only reason why the " with-well-capon-lined" 

 monks should have imported them. 



