43 PHILOLOGY OF THE OUANANICHE 



It has been already pointed out in the opening 

 chapter that " ouananiche " is not to be found in 

 any of the dictionaries. In all future editions, how- 

 ever, it is bound to find a place. Throughout the 

 entire realm of the best modern angling literature 

 it has superseded all other forms of the word. So 

 far only the Century Dictionary and the 1892 edi- 

 tion of Webster's have given any form of the fish's 

 name, and they both agree upon " winninish," though 

 they differ in its definition. To Dr. Elliott Coues 

 a most eminent authority was intrusted the super- 

 vision of the zoological terms in the Century, and he 

 was assisted in ichthyology by the very capable Pro- 

 fessor Theodore N. Gill. Yet in this instance there 

 is no justification for either their orthography or defi- 

 nition. The " winninish " is called " the Schoodic 

 trout," and upon turning up the word " trout," with 

 its Various qualifying terms, I am amazed to find that 

 the Schoodic trout is declared to be identical with 

 " the great lake trout." This is about equivalent to 

 defining " winninish " as Salvelinus namaycush / That 

 eminent philological authority, Webster's Dictionary, 

 one at least of whose proprietors, Mr. A. G. Merriam, 

 of Springfield, is an accomplished angler who has cul- 

 tivated the acquaintance of the ouananiche in the 

 Grande Decharge of Lake St. John, gives the defi- 

 nition of "winninish" as follows: "The landlocked 

 variety of the common salmon (Canada)." It may 

 at first sight appear presumptuous to criticise the 

 professional work of so justly recognized an author- 

 ity upon his favorite branch of science as Professor 

 Addison E. Yerrill, of Yale University, who con- 



