THE HABITS AND HAUNTS OF FISH. 19 



to those of colder regions. In Norway these fish are 

 capable of attaining a prodigious size and weight, eighty 

 to ninety pounds occasionally, whilst in the waters of 

 Britain, the adult fish very rarely attain to one half that 

 weight. 



THE COMMON TROUT* (Salmo fario). For variety 

 of size, color, and disposition, the brown or common trout 

 may be said to eclipse all other species. Every loch and 

 river, and almost every tributary, has its variety. The 

 geological formation of the bed of the river, the aquatic 

 vegetation, and the quality and description of the food 

 obtained by the fish, have much to do with this varia- 

 tion. No fish can be said to be so widely distributed, or 

 so capable of affording more variety of sport, from the 

 lordly Thames fish to the game little denizens of the 

 Devon streams. Trout will flourish in almost all waters 

 capable of sustaining fish, but their chosen resorts are 

 rapid, clear mountain streams, the jostling waters of 

 which, foaming amidst fragments of rock, whirling and 

 surging in their rapid course, form numerous cascades 

 and caverned banks. Such are the favorite haunts of 

 the trout. The merest rill of clear and rapid water will 

 often contain vast quantities of these fish, when from its 

 appearance it would be deemed incapable of sustaining a 

 single fin. Under shelving banks and submerged sub- 

 stances, amongst roots of trees bordering the banks of 



* The common brown trout of English waters is described by Ronalds 

 as follows : " The back fin has a pale brown color, with dark spots upon 

 it; the other fins, including the tail, have a red tint. The color of the 

 back, when in perfect condition, is usually a dark olive-green, studded 

 with a mixture of black and brownish spots. The sides are shaded off 

 from the olive to a greenish-yellow, studded with red spots, the black 

 spots gradually vanishing. Lower down the yellow tint approaches a 

 salmon color, and the belly is nearly white, without any spots." It 

 will be seen at once that the English congener of our own brook trout 

 wears quite a sober livery in comparison with that of the American 

 mountain beauty ; their habits, however, are closely allied to those of 

 our native fish.. 



