260 ANGLING. 



at certain seasons, and, as every angler knows who 

 fishes with his eyes open, is of frequent occurrence 

 in the common trout. At the same time, although 



blackish-brown. The nose and front part of the head are marked by 

 a black spot. The dorsal fin is of the same pale-brown colour as the 

 back, slightly inclining to blue." This seemed a male. " No. 2. is a 

 smaller fish, brown upon the back, and becoming gradually paler 

 beneath ; the abdomen and lower parts are dingy white, tinged with 

 bluish colour. The ventral and anal fins are margined with white, 

 their other parts margined with flesh colour ; the pectoral fins are 

 reddish brown ; the dorsal fin and tail blackish brown. The sides of 

 this specimen are indistinctly marked with yellowish-red spots." 

 This was a male red char, which appeared to have spawned. " No. 

 3. is of a blackish-brown colour, somewhat silvery, paler beneath the 

 lateral line, and passing into yellowish-white on the belly. The pec- 

 toral, ventral, and anal fins are brown, tinged with red. The dorsal 

 fin and tail are brownish-black. The upper part of the head is also 

 black. The sides of this specimen are also distinctly marked with 

 numerous very pale, almost colourless spots. No. 4. resembles the 

 last described, but is smaller." These the fishermen called two geld 

 fish, full-grown and half-grown. " No. 5. is a very dark fish, brownish- 

 black upon the back and sides, becoming, as usual, gradually paler 

 beneath the lateral line. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins are dis- 

 tinctly margined anteriorly, with opaque white ; the central portion of 

 these fins is brownish-black, and their interior margins flesh colour. 

 The upper part of the head is dark ; the belly of a dingy red. No. 6. 

 resembles the preceding, except that the under surface, instead of 

 being dingy red, is pale reddish-white. The ventral and anal fins are 

 reddish-brown, margined anteriorly with white. The pectoral fins are 

 reddish-brown, the dorsal fins are brownish-black. Both these speci- 

 mens are marked on the sides with obscure pale-reddish spots." 

 These two fish were what the fisherman called case char, (Salmo 

 alpinus?) male and female; yet the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins of 

 the former, and the ventral and anal fins of the latter sex, were con- 

 spicuously margined with white, although that character is usually 

 regarded as distinctive of the torgoch or red char. Perhaps the fact 

 of the male having the pectorals so margined, while those of the 

 female were of uniform colour, may be regarded as of some import- 

 ance, as tending to show that the character itself is in some measure 

 variable, and therefore insufficient to constitute a specific distinction. 

 Every angler knows that the under fins of the common trout are fre- 

 quently margined on one edge with an opaque line of milky white. 



