4i8 Reminiscences of 



the Salvelinus fontinalis, are the true speckled, car- 

 mine-spotted, and of the highest type in game quahties 

 and flavor of any which inhabit any waters, excepting 

 those of a kindred character, and it is very difficult to 

 find any other waters of equally favorable characteris- 

 tics. I say without prejudice, having taken trout from 

 some forty different localities in the State of Maine and 

 in many other States in the Union, as well as in foreign 

 countries, that the Rangeley Lakes trout altogether are 

 of finer form, color, and flavor than those of any other 

 waters I know of, while for average size they surpass 

 any of their class. Take them at any month of the 

 year, they are fat and deliciously flavored. There 

 wUl not be one in a hundred which from age or disease 

 is out of condition for food, although I will except 

 the spendthrift milter, in the late autumn ; for, though 

 arrayed in his most brilliant intensified suit of scarlet 

 waistcoat with dark trimmings, mottled coat, spangled 

 sides, and white and black leggings, he has a sin- 

 uousness and a lacking of flavor which should give 

 him liberty and an opportunity for recuperation. I 

 wUl not, however, except the full spawner, which, 

 owing to high feed, remains in good condition, deteri- 

 orating somewhat at the tennination of the spawning 

 period, from which, however, a speedy recovery is 

 made. 



The opinion that pure water of crystal clearness is 

 essential to the perfect existence of trout is not sus- 

 tained by the condition at the Rangeley waters. Owing 

 to the densely wooded country about, and the ex- 

 cessive precipitations of moisture, and the constant 

 forest leaching which occiirs, all the waters with a 

 very few limited exceptions are somewhat opaque. 



