172 SALMON AND TROUT. 



this species, they seldom pass the main ' hang or throat ' of 

 the river or one or two streams in connection with it. 



I beheve Great Lake trout to be essentially night feeders, 

 and that during the day they lie hidden under rocks and in 

 holes in the deepest water, only venturing into spots that are 

 * fishable ' at the approach of evening. This is, perhaps, more 

 an act of necessity than of voluntaryism on the part of the lake 

 trout. Its food — or at any rate a not unimportant part — con- 

 sists of small fish ; these are not to be found at any great depth 

 of water, but, on the contrary, on the sloping shores, up which, 

 therefore, the trout comes in search of them, stopping short of 

 the shallows. Its appetite is prodigious — the stomachs of the 

 specimens that I have caught having been constantly found 

 literally gorged with food — indeed, the specific name, /^/'<9.r, has 

 been given to it in consequence of its fierceness and voracity, 

 which are such that, having once seized a bait, it will, like the 

 pike, allow itself to be dragged merely by its ' holding on ' for 

 forty or fifty yards, and when accidentally shaken off will im- 

 mediately seize it again. 



I cannot forbear quoting here some observations on the 

 habits of this fish from the pen of an old friend of mine, now 

 no more, but whose delightful articles on fishing, under the 

 signature of ' Autochthon,' will, doubtless, be remembered with 

 pleasure by many readers of these pages. After alluding to the 

 question which ichthyologists have raised as to the distinct 

 species of the Great Lake trout, he continues : 



Till the exigencies of an exact science are adequately worked 

 out, it must suffice to assume here that there is such a being as 

 the Great Lake trout, distinct from the other species and varieties 

 oi\\\& genus. . . . 



Ferox is quite an epicure in his diet, and playful as a kitten on 

 his own domestic hearth. In no stage of his existence can he well 

 be confounded with his cousins of the river. Even in his infancy 

 there is a breadth and freedom of outline in his configuration, 

 which distinguish him at once from relatives of the same age in 

 brook or streamlet. When viewed playing at their favourite game 



