COLOUR VARIATION 59 



almost continually lay under the hides, which were 

 constructed in the stream and covered with boards 

 being, in fact, large troughs open at the lower 

 end so as to admit the fish, and staked within so as 

 to preserve them from being poached out were of 

 a very black colour : this arose, no doubt, from the 

 privation of light. Sometimes I have seen them 

 lying on the shallows within a few yards of the 

 hide, where they still retained their black hue. I 

 caught with a minnow one of these dirty-looking 

 animals in the month of June last. He was not 

 only black in the back, so that he could be seen at 

 a considerable distance in the water, but was also 

 of a granulated inky cast on his sides and under- 

 neath : his resort was under a hide in comparative 

 darkness. He was not wasted, but of the same 

 proportions with his brighter companions. I con- 

 cluded, however, that from his African appearance 

 he would cut but a sorry figure at the table ; but 

 being about three-quarters of a pound, with no 

 promise of amendment, I bagged him notwith- 

 standing. As this was the first trout I took that 

 morning, he lay at the bottom of my basket. After 

 catching a few more lower down in the river, I 

 thought I would have another look at my swarthy 

 captive. I found him more praiseworthy than at 

 first; for the upper side, which came in contact 

 with the other fish, became also bright, and of a 

 colour exactly similar to them, whilst the lower 

 side that touched the dry basket retained its 

 original dark hue ; but by turning that part of the 

 fish also towards the others, the whole trout after 

 a time became of a uniform bright colour, and was 



