192 A SPRING AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND. 



aided by whatever contributions we could levy 

 from a peasant's house in the neighbourhood. It 

 took us nearly four hours to get up the line. The 

 fish had evidently been well on the feed, for nearly 

 every worm was gone ; but owing to our having 

 left the line in the water a day too long, we lost a 

 great many fish. As it was, we caught about 

 seventy charr in all ; and a more splendid lot of 

 fish, when we laid them out on the grass, I never 

 beheld. Seven or eight weighed about 3 Ib. each, 

 and I remarked that these were all male fish, and 

 in splendid condition. The rest were of all sizes, 

 but the majority of them about 1 Ib. They were 

 all ready for spawning, and full of roe or milt. 

 The colours of the male fish, when just taken out 

 of the water, were brilliant in the extreme : nearly 

 black on the back, the belly and fins vermillion red, 

 the sides yellow spotted. But the colour quickly 

 fades after the fish dies. I did not observe in a 

 single specimen the crook in the under jaw peculiar 

 to the male salmon or trout in the spawning season. 

 I do not believe the charr spawn in the same 

 manner as the salmon, for, a few nights after, 

 when fishing by torchlight, I took up by the side 

 of the lake many branches covered with their 

 spawn. On referring to Thompson's " Natural 

 History of Ireland," as good a description as I 

 know of the charr will be found, and I can cor- 



