THE LAMPREYS n 



losing their migratory habits where large areas 

 of fresh water offer abundance of food, as in some 

 lakes of Eastern North America, the Lampern and 

 the Trout resemble each other in that they are 

 the smaller species, including both migratory and 

 permanently fluviatile individuals in our waters. 

 The Lamperns attach themselves to other fishes, 

 sucking the blood and devouring them ; they are 

 also said to feed on worms, insects, etc. In Loch 

 Lomond they have been described as attacking 

 and destroying the Trout and Powan ; the latter 

 especially fall easy victims to their voracity, and 

 may frequently be seen floating on the surface of 

 the water with the Lamperns attached, their jaws 

 and heads buried in the flesh of their victims. In 

 the Baltic they follow the shoals of Herring in the 

 summer-time, but enter the rivers in the autumn. 



Lamperns may often be seen swimming like Eels 

 against the stream, or holding on to stones at 

 the bottom ; the Irish naturalist, Thompson, once 

 observed, on a warm summer's day, a number of 

 Lamperns attached by their mouths to the under 

 surface of the leaves of water-lilies in a pond near 

 Belfast, the wriggling of their dangling- bodies 

 producing a strange effect. 



The Lampern can live out of the water for days, 

 and is thus easily transported alive in baskets; 

 it is said to be excellent food either stewed or 

 potted, but its chief use in this country appears 

 to be as a bait for Eels, Cod, Turbot, etc., its especial 

 virtue being its toughness on the hook. For this 

 purpose it used to be captured in large numbers 

 in the Thames, and still is in the Trent, whence 

 they are sent alive to Grimsby. 



