540 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



The decrease in numbers of bluebacks was synchronous with the increase in number 

 of salmon, and coincidently the last blueback was taken in the year following the largest 

 catch of salmon up to that date. There can be no doubt that the blueback entered largely 

 into the food of the salmon, especially prior to the introduction of the smelt, living as it 

 did in the deep waters to which salmon resorted during the summer months, and the 

 introduction of smelt and later legislative action were both too late to save it. On the 

 other hand, the large size of the few surviving bluebacks was very probably due to the 

 smelt. Although the food of the blueback was formerly the smaller animal life of the 

 lake, probably largely consisting of entomostracans, insect larvae, and worms, the smelt 

 afforded it an abundant additional supply of food, owing to the fact that while almost 

 in a larval stage young smelts frequent deep water after leaving their birthplaces in the 

 brooks. (See Tables VII, VIII, p. 593.) 



WHITE TROUT (Salvelinus aureolus). 



To the fish culturists this char is known as the golden trout or aureolus and some- 

 times as Sunapee trout or Sunapee Lake trout, these latter names due to its having been 

 first discovered in Sunapee Lake, N. H. The name golden trout is derived from its 



Fio. 18.— White trout {Salvditms aureolus). 



technical name, aureolus, which was g^ven to it in reference to the golden sheen of the 

 living fish in the water. The local name, white trout, is more appropriate to its summer 

 coloration, when the brilliant orange of the males is absent. It is known as white trout 

 at Sunapee Lake and is thus distinguished from the common trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) 

 which at Sunapee Lake is called native trout, due to the popular impression, doubtless, 

 that the white trout was introduced. 



About the time the fish was discovered at Sunapee Lake there was an animated 

 discussion regarding its identity, some claiming that it was the result of introduction of 

 the saibling {Salvelinus alpinus) from Europe. But it was pretty conclusively shown 

 that none of the lot brought from Europe was placed in Sunapee Lake or into any waters 

 from which it could gain access to that lake. Others claimed, with more basis for their 

 claim, that it was a blueback which there is no doubt was introduced about five years 

 before the so-called discovery of this fish, which had attained a large size owing to 

 favorable conditions in the lake. Some individuals were not wanting who averred that 

 they had known the fish for many years prior to the introduction of bluebacks. The 

 blueback advocates would have rejoiced had they foreseen that this fish in its native 

 waters would reach the size of an average Sunapee white trout, as the main argument 

 against the blueback theory was the small size attained by the blueback. As a matter of 



