CHAPTER II 



FRESHWATER TROUT 



THE Salmo fario, or common trout, is indigenous 

 to almost every river, burn, and loch in Scotland. 

 When in good condition no tenant of the stream 

 surpasses it in beauty of appearance. The head is 

 small and well shaped, the back finely curved, and 

 the sides are thickly studded with starlike spots of 

 a variety of colours, from bright red to dark brown. 

 It is singular that it is a most unusual occurrence 

 to find two trouts spotted exactly alike, there being 

 generally some difference, however slight. Why it 

 is so is beyond elucidation probably for the same 

 reason that no two human beings are the same in 

 form and face. 



The trout of one stream can sometimes be dis- 

 tinguished from those of another ; but this is more 

 by the complexion and shape, than by any arrange- 

 ment of the spots ; and these are well known to be 

 entirely the result of feeding, and of the distinctive 

 characteristics of each stream. Trout taken from a 

 dark mossy water are dark and ill-coloured, while 

 those taken from a clear stream are of a corre- 





