GRAYLING. 213 



more like the most exquisively tasted of all 

 our fish the red mullet. 



PHYS. Out of the water, this is a hand- 

 some fish, broader round the middle, and 

 more hog-backed than the trout, but grace- 

 fully tapering towards the tail. The belly, 

 I see, is silvery with yellow; and the pec- 

 toral, ventral, and anal fins are almost gold- 

 coloured; the back gray, with small black 

 spots, and the back fin of a beautiful bright 

 purple, with black and blue spots. It has 

 likewise an agreeable odour; so that both 

 from its colour and smell it does not seem 

 undeserving the title given it by St. Ambrose, 

 of the Jlower of fishes. It measures, I find, 

 14 inches in length; in girth 7i. It weighs 

 17 ounces. It has 10 spines in the pectoral 

 fin, 23 in the dorsal, 16 in the ventral, 14 in 

 the anal, and 18 in the caudal. 

 . HAL. Now for its anatomy. Its stomach 

 is very thick, not unlike that of a char or 

 ^illaroo trout, and contains flies, gravel, and 

 larvae, with their cases. The liver and bowels 

 do not differ much from those of a trout ; and 

 the ovaria or roe, with eggs as large as mus- 

 p 3 



