CLASS V. PISCES: ORDER 3. TELEOSTEA, 



469 



being: found in nearly all tlie clear running streams of the United States north of Virginia, and is 

 familiarly known to all American masters of the rod. There are many other varieties, passing by 

 the name of Silver Trout, Black Trout, Sea Trout, Hucho Trout, &c. ; all, however, are of the 

 same species. The diversities in the appearance of these fish, are mostly confined to color, and 

 are caused by the difterent qualities of the streams in which they are bred. 



The Red-bellied Trout — S. erythroriaster of De Kay-^resembles the preceding, and is prob- 

 ably only a variety of it ; found in the lakes of Western New York. 



The Lake-Trout, S. confinis, is two to four feet long, and is common in Lake Ontario and 

 the lakes of Western New York and Northern New England. It bears the popular names of 

 Lake-Salmon and Salmon-Trout ; it is caught in considerable numbers, and in some places is 

 so abundant, that one man has taken, with the hook, five hundred pounds in a week. Cured in 

 salt, it is sold in the Atlantic markets; it is also brought fresh to the city of New York. The flesh 

 is generally of secondary rank ; in some of the smaller New York lakes it is said to be excellent. 

 The Northern Charr, S. umbla, is a European species, and inhabits the northern lakes of 



England and those of Scotland ; it is 

 from one to two feet long, and is usually 

 caught by hooks trailing after a boat. 

 It is believed to feed principally at 

 night. There is another species called 

 the Welsh Charr, S. salvcUnus. 

 The Masamacush or Hood's Charr, 

 ^^ >S'. Hoodii, weighs two to eight pounds, 



THE NORTHERN cuARR. is Tcd flcshed, aud of delicious flavor ; 



found in the Mingan River, which empties into the estuary of the St. Lawrence, about latitude 50°. 

 Genus OSMERUS : Osjnerus, includes the Smelt, 0. eperlanus, common in Europe, called 



Spirlhig and Sparling in Scotland; it 

 inhabits the rivers the gi-eater part of the 

 vear, that is, from August to May. It 

 spawns about March or April, and soon 

 after visits the sea for about three months. 

 %0^^ ^^ It is extensively taken in nets, and is in 



great request on account of its peculiar 

 flavor. It can be ' propagated in fresh 

 water ponds, and do not suffer by the freezing of the water. The average length is seven inches. 

 The American Smelt, 0. viridescens, is greenish above, silvery below ; length six to twelve 

 inches. De Kay says its popular name is derived from its smell, resembling that of cucumbers. 

 It abounds in streams connected wdth the sea, from the Hudson to Labrador. It appears to 

 migrate along the coast, from north to south, in November and December. The New York 

 market is chiefly supplied from the creeks emptying into Long Island Sound, and from the Hack- 

 ensack and Passaic Rivers in New Jersey. Many are also brought from Massachusetts. They 

 are taken with hand-nets, but bite well at the hook. Multitudes are caught in winter, through 



holes cut in the ice, as well by nets as 

 hooks. 



Genus TIIYMALLUS : Thymallus, 

 includes the- Grayling, T. vulgaris, 

 found in tlic rivers of Northern Eu- 

 rope having rocky or gravelly bottoms. 

 It resembles the trout in its habits and 

 haunts ; it weighs one to five pounds. 

 Its flesh is highly esteemed. 

 Back's Grayling, T.signifer, is a very fine species, weighing five or six pounds; found in the 

 waters of British America, flowing into the Arctic Ocean. Its specific name, Siyuifer — "the 

 standard-bearer" — refers to the unusual size of the dorsal fin. 



THE aUAYLING. 



