ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 77 



with eggs. The section of the body taken just 

 behind the dorsal fin would be an oval, 0- Her 

 movements are slow and sluggish. In the male, 

 however, the reverse is the case. The colors, espe- 

 cially of the fins and abdomen, are far more bril- 

 liant than at any time ; in flesh he has sensibly 

 diminished in weight, and from this cause his jaws, 

 especially the lower one, appear to be unusually 

 prominent, and frequently a curved knob-like pro- 

 jection appears at the point. This has been noticed 

 and commented on by an English writer as a won- 

 drous adaptation of means to ends, enabling the 

 fish to excavate the nest and cover the impregnated 

 spawn with more facility, but as the tail is the 

 only organ used for this purpose, some other use 

 for this appendage must be found. There is no 

 difficulty in distinguishing the sexes ; a cock and 

 hen are no more unlike than a male and female 

 trout during the spawning season ; at other times 

 they assimilate more in shape and hue. 



To properly remove the fish from the race that 

 they may be manipulated, is a matter of great mo- 

 ment. They should be touched by hand as little 

 as possible. And here let me mention that there 

 are but two portions of the body of the trout where 

 pressure even of a moderate character can be ap- 

 plied without injury. The first is directly behind 

 the gills, on the strong, bony arches which are 



