356 THE ANGLER-NATURALIST. 



what might be done with the gentle and artificial grass- 

 hopper in the deep, quiet swims towards October and 

 November. 



It has been asserted that the Grayling is not, like the 

 Trout, indigenous to this country, but was introduced by 

 the monks on account of its edible qualities a supposition 

 to which the peculiarity of the local distribution doubtless 

 gave rise; and it is certainly clear that its gastronomic 

 attractions were fully appreciated by the luxurious cleri- 

 cals. Father Sanctus calls it a " Queen of delight"; and 

 Walton tells us that " St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, who 

 lived when the Church kept fasting-days, names him as 

 the ' flower-fish ' or ' flower of fishes/ and that he was so 

 far in love with him that he would not let him pass with- 

 out the honour of a long discourse." Two circumstances, 

 however, appear to militate against the conclusion that 

 the Grayling was introduced by the monks : first, that 

 it would be exceedingly difficult to bring the fish over 

 alive from the Continent; and secondly, that it is not 

 found in the streams of Kent, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, or 

 Cornwall, where monastic establishments were formerly 

 most numerous. 



In Hampshire and Wiltshire the Grayling is found in 

 the Test, the Wharf, and in both the Avons ; in Hereford- 

 shire, in the Dove, the Lug, the Wye, and the Irvon ; in 

 Shropshire, in the Teme and Clun ; in Staffordshire, in the 

 Hodder, the Trent, the Dove, and the Wye ; in Derby- 

 shire, in the Dove ; in Merionethshire, in the Dee, between 



