74 THE SCOTTISH ANGLER. 



with salt water that it is absolutely a river fish, ac- 

 quiring its size entirely from its feeding. Why then fix 

 the venerable name of bull-trout upon another variety 

 of fish which possesses not even one of its character- 

 istics ? 



Now, as to the common trout, to which we opine 

 the above sort properly belongs. This species, as be- 

 fore stated, admits of many varieties, according to the 

 food and haunts of the fish. The best are those which 

 resist the touch, are yellow or cream-coloured on the 

 sides, have the back curved and the head small. Such 

 as are grey, flabby, and large in the upper part, are ge- 

 nerally poor fish at table, and give little play to the 

 angler. Loch trout are superior to those caught in 

 rivers ; the latter seldom acquire the fine salmon colour 

 which often characterises the former ; they want their 

 rich curdiness and flavour, are leaner and less beauti- 

 ful. A slow stream also affords better fed fish than 

 one that is clear and rapid. 



And here we would venture to assert, concerning 

 most fishes, and trout in particular (seeing that we 

 now intend to discourse a little upon their various phy- 

 sical perceptions), that they possess no sense of hearing 

 whatsoever. This theory may appear a bold one, but 

 it proceeds upon good and incontrovertible grounds. 

 The organ of hearing, it is well known, is primarily in- 

 tended by nature to receive those impressions produced 

 by another organ, that of speech, or the faculty of mak- 

 ing sounds through the mouth, which, be it noticed, is 

 competent to almost all animals except fishes. Of 

 what use, then, to them is the sense of hearing, if it 

 cannot be exercised in reciprocal communications, such 

 as even birds and dogs hold ? But we further main- 

 tain, that fishes have no ears of any kind, and that 

 such indications are not to be discovered upon them 



