218 SALMONIA. 



yet they often attain a considerable size. 

 There are few small fish in these streams, and 

 I suppose the grayling, which are most nume- 

 rous, deprive the trout of their proper share 

 of the food, depending upon larvae and flies. 



PHYS. As we are walking through these 

 meadows, pray give us some information as to 

 the habits of the grayling, and its localities in 

 England: I have been so much pleased with 

 my sport, that I shall become, with St. Am- 

 brose, a patron of the fish. 



HAL. The habits of the grayling, like 

 those of most other fish, are very simple. He 

 is, I believe, to a certain extent, gregarious 

 more so than the trout, and less so than the 

 perch, and the usual varieties of the carp spe- 

 cies known in England. His form and appear- 

 ance you have seen. He is as yet scarcely in 

 his highest or most perfect season, which is 

 in the end of November or beginning of De- 

 cember, when his back is very dark, almost 

 black, and his belly and lower fins are nearly 

 gold-coloured ; but his brightness, like that 

 of most other fishes, depends a good deal 

 upon the nature of the water : and on the 



