XV. 



WHAT IS A 'FEROX 1 ? 



IN the reports from our angling centres which 

 appear every season in the columns of the 

 Press, we are constantly meeting with an old 

 familiar friend, the ferox, or the salmo ferox 

 on one occasion even the silver ferox ; and 

 should the question arise, let us say in the 

 smoking-room of some Highland hotel, as to 

 what a Ferox is, the reply will usually be 

 something to the effect that it is a peculiar 

 species of trout found only in certain large 

 and deep lochs, growing to a great size, and 

 of such innate ferocity as to deserve the specific 

 title that has been affixed to it. Are there any 

 grounds for this wide-spread belief in the exis- 

 tence of a distinct species the so-called Ferox ? 

 The extremely plastic nature of the whole 

 family of Salmonidae is well known to all 

 anglers and naturalists who have made any 

 study of the question. It is doubtful whether 

 any other family of vertebrates is so easily 



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