THE TROUT. 75 



as are necessary for the conveyance of sounds ; nay, 

 it is known to all anglers, that no precautions or 

 mufflings are required by the wader, who splashes on 

 among rocks and stones in the midst of one of the most 

 accurate conductors of noises, namely, water, without 

 alarming the fish in any degree, provided he is not ob- 

 served with the eye. 



And, as to the sight of trout, it is not over perfect ; 

 they are a remarkably near-sighted fish, and cannot 

 behold any object distinctly, however large, unless 

 within the range of eight or ten yards. The human 

 eye placed in the same situation as theirs, and through 

 the medium of clear water, could easily discern the 

 clumsy imitations of flies used by anglers, at which they 

 leap so freely and greedily. One perception, however, 

 trout have to a nicety, and that is smell ; through this 

 they discern their food at a singular distance, and will 

 track it, like the sleuth, for many yards. Their sense 

 of taste, also, is excellent, for they immediately endea- 

 vour to spit out what is false and artificial, when seized 

 inadvertently. 



So much for the perceptions of trout ; and here we 

 may observe, how, of all fishes, they are the most sub- 

 ject to disease and deformity. We have caught them 

 humpbacked and covered with sores, blind of one eye, 

 wanting a gill or a fin, and crooked up in all shapes. 

 On the Tay we once took an individual with a short 

 round upper head, like that of a bull-dog, and the 

 lower lip projecting beyond it. We understand that 

 a variety of this kind is to be found in Loch Dow, in 

 Inverness-shire. On the Water of Leith, we saw a 

 friend capture three successively, out of one stream, 

 during spring, all of which wanted the tail ; this defect 

 was most probably occasioned in winter, the water 

 from which they were taken happening to be extremely 



