THE TALE OF THE FISHES 



inhabits several lakes in North Wales. It seldom ex- 

 ceeds 12 inches in length; while its congener, the 

 Alpine charr of Scandinavia and the Orkneys (A 9) , 

 in some localities attains a length of three feet. 



And finally, to me one of the most beautiful of 

 all, the charr of Loch Killin, (Plate No. 8), Inverness- 

 shire, 2,000 ft. above sea level (A 13). The exces- 

 sively developed fins are noticeable. 



All these charrs were formerly taken when spawn- 

 ing, as they were inaccessible at other times. They are 

 described as coming on to their beds in "cart loads." 

 In common with the salmon and trout, they are thought 

 to be of marine ancestry, the remoteness of their habi- 

 tats from the ocean sufficiently explaining why many 

 modern derivatives have lost their sea-running instinct. 



The chief American representative of the forked- 

 tailed charrs is our Lake Trout (Nama\^cush, an In- 

 dian name, togue or longe) also a deep water fish but 

 a surface-frequenter when the water is cold just after 

 the ice goes out in the spring and in the late fall 

 spawning season. It is nearer to the Alpine charr than 

 to the fontinalis, having teeth on the basi-branchials or 

 so miscalled hyoid bones. 



47 



