GILBERT AND GOLDEN TROUT 193 



Theodore Roosevelt, were instrumental in saving 

 these living relics of the past for generations of 

 mankind yet to come. 



In writing of the rainbow trout it may be advis- 

 able to go cautiously, for the ground is dangerous 

 with an uncertainty, due to the many and confus- 

 ing varieties of the species, as well as to the conditions 

 under which they are found. In the strictly tech- 

 nical sense, the typical rainbow trout, Salmo iridens, 

 is a distinct species which is found only in the 

 small brooks of the coast ranges in California, from 

 the Klamath River to the San Louis Bay in San 

 Diego County. Throughout much of the rest of 

 the western country many of the various species of 

 trout are close relations of the true rainbow. In 

 fact, many of them show differences so slight that 

 they puzzle the experts, with the result that a 

 wonderful state of confusion exists. Even the 

 icthyologists are undecided about several of the 

 rainbow trout and question whether the differences 

 in coloration, habits, etc., are due solely to the 

 geographical conditions, or whether they constitute 

 separate species. As the points of variation merge 

 one into the other, it seems impossible to give 

 very definite descriptions of these fish. Indeed, so 

 greatly are they affected by natural conditions that 

 different parts of a river will produce fish which 

 show distinction of colour, size and habits ; and two 

 streams scarcely more than a few hundred yards 

 apart will each have what is apparently an entirely 

 distinct species of rainbow trout. 



The gameness of the rainbows shows as much 

 variation as do their colour and markings. In some 



W.L.C. o 



