54 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CII. IV. 



long experience, coincided much with mine founded 

 on mere casual and unscientific observation, namely, 

 that the sea trout and river trout sometimes breed 

 with each other, thus forming a great variety of 

 shade and colour. He also states that the female 

 salmon will breed with a male trout, which he says 

 has been clearly proved by close observation, in the 

 following manner : — A pair of salmon, male and 

 female, being seen forming their spawning-bed to- 

 gether, the male salmon was killed with a spear and 

 taken out of the water. The female immediately 

 dropped down the stream to the next pool, and 

 after a certain interval returned with another male. 

 He having shared the same fate as his predecessor, 

 the female again went down to the pool, and 

 brought up another male. The same process was 

 gone on with of spearing the male, till the widowed 

 fish, finding no more of her own kind remaining 

 in the pool, returned at last accompanied by a large 

 river trout, who assisted her in forming the spawn- 

 ing-bed, &c. with the same assiduity that he would 

 have used had she been a trout instead of a salmon ; 

 the female appearing to be determined that her ova 

 should not be left in the gravel without being fer- 

 tilized by the male, thus taking the trout as a pis 

 aller, and carrying out the proverb — " si on n'a 

 pas ce qu'on aime, il faut aimer ce qu'on a." 



