THE GRAYLING. 371 



does not seem as if this green could be represented by the 

 painter's art ; it is that changeable shade seen in the tail 

 of the peacock. 



44 In shape the fish is like a trout, a trifle slimmer, perhaps, 

 and not so thick near the tail, but the fin on the back of a 

 trout looks so small and square, so deficient in outline and 

 color, after beholding the graceful curve of a grayling's dor- 

 sal ! The scale is large, silvery, with sometimes a copper 

 tinge ; near the shoulders there are black spots, sometimes 

 triangular, and at others V-shaped ; in some fish these ex- 

 tend nearly to the tail near the back ; they are in lines, 

 which gradually shorten toward the belly ; the mouth is 

 small (nearly square when opened), and the teeth are merely 

 a slight roughness on the lips, none on the tongue. But you 

 want to see him come in on a line, with his fins all standing, 

 and your eye will then give you a better idea than all the 

 cold-blooded descriptions could eyer do." And, again, he 

 says : " I wish to add a little to the description given in my 

 former article, as a little longer acquaintance has developed 

 ne\v beauties. 



" The eye of the grayling is large and full, with a beautiful 

 yellow iris, and when I wrote ' the tail is forked and plain,' I 

 had not observed its pinkish edge, nor the changeable metallic 

 green lustre that it shows in some lights, which is more like 

 that seen in silk. A glint of the same is also observable on 

 the second dorsal. Many letters have asked the question, Is 

 this fish as handsome as the trout?' And in answer I will 

 say, to some eyes, while to others it may not be. Seen from 

 above it does not appear so, as the pink and white of the 

 trout-fins are more showy. The form of the grayling is more 

 graceful than the trout's, and tlie head is beautiful, while the -.-cc,_ 



side of the trout and its lower fins are more gorgeous than 



