THE GILLARROO. 33 



so neither will the finny tribe, be the stream ever so 

 pure and abundant, acquire size and condition, unless 

 sufficiently sheltered and amply and regularly provi- 

 sioned. On the other hand, possessed of these advan- 

 tages, they have all that is required in order to do them 

 justice ; while breeds or varieties of fish, hitherto pro- 

 nounced shapeless and impracticable, will, when trans- 

 ferred to such favoured localities, become seemly in their 

 proportions, active in their dispositions, and relishable, 

 if not rich-tasted, as food. 



Besides the Salmo fario and its countless varieties, 

 there are three other species of fresh-water trout, held 

 by naturalists to inhabit our Scottish lakes and rivers. 

 These are the Gillarroo or Gizzard trout, the Salmo 

 ccecifer or Levenensis, and the Salmo ferox. 



THE GILLARROO, I have every reason to believe, is 

 nothing more than the common fario, and that the 

 gizzard or indurated portion of stomach which distin- 

 guishes it, is entirely the result and not the occasion of 

 its peculiar feeding. This is true, at least, that all fresh- 

 water trout engross some measure of testaceous food, 

 and, when the opportunity offers, will greedily devour, 

 and abundantly thrive upon small shell-fish and horny 

 substances. These, as well as grains or pellets of gravel, 

 I have frequently taken out of the stomachs of common 

 river trout, mixed with their ordinary fly sustenance ; 

 and I have reason to believe they can digest them with- 

 out difficulty. 



Of the strong digestive powers possessed by the river 

 trout, I recently met with a singular illustration. Last 

 year, while taking a cast with the fly, for the amusement 

 of my children, in Maxwheel pool, below Kelso Bridge, 

 among other trout, I caught one not exceeding six inches 

 in length, which, from the circumstance of its being 



c3 



