SOURCES OF ERRORS OF NAMES. 85 



next, that is, in the following year, forked-tails, 

 and not till the year after, salmon. 



AMICUS. Great, indeed, is the obscurity : the 

 subject of the names, the specific ones, from 

 what you say, I presume is an almost hopeless 

 one ; fortunately, it is of little importance. 



PISCATOR. Excepting in connexion with facts. 

 The subject is unquestionably obscure in itself, 

 but that is not a reason it should be given up 

 in despair. The provincial names we have 

 been speaking of, I have no doubt have been 

 assigned with little care, and may be, many 

 of them, incorrect, whilst given to distinguish 

 ages confounding species, or vice versa, as in 

 the well known instances of the parr and smolt. 

 Let us hope, as in these instances, the exact re- 

 searches of the naturalist will make clear what 

 is uncertain and obscure. 



AMICUS. You have made mention of Pliny 

 and Aristotle ; since I have become addicted to 

 angling, I have at spare hours been consulting 

 these authors, those main authorities in the 

 ancient world on natural history, relative to 

 fishes, but I cannot say with adequate return 

 for the trouble of turning over the pages. The 

 Roman seems to be the echo of the Greek, and 

 o 3 



