182 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS.— CLASS IV. PISCES. 
to aitord wholesome food to mankind. These fish, when taken out of their 
natural element, very soon die; to preserve their flavor, they must be killed 
as soon as they are taken out of the water. The fishermen usually pierce 
them near the tail with a knife, when they soon die with loss of blood. The 
Seotch Commissaries of Fisheries, some years since, adopted an ingenious 
device for learning the migrations of the salmon. They marked a large 
number of fish, hatched from the spawn deposited the last year in the Tweed, 
by placing around them a belt or ring of India rubber, numbered and dated. 
One of the fish was caught, two days after being thus marked, and let go, 
a bundred miles from the mouth of the Tweed. All fishermen, taking such 
marked fish, were desired to take note of the weight, the place and date of 
capture, and various other particulars named in the directions. The idea is 
decidedly a novel and very amusing one, and may lead to valuable scientific 
discovery in regard to the habits of the salmon. 
This valuable fish is not so abundant in the Eastern States of the Union 
as formerly, yet the rivers of Maine keep the markets pretty well supplied. 
Civilization, with the industrial enterprises which accompany it, is as de- 
structive to many of our most valuable river fishes as to the aborigines, 
and the wild beasts of the forests. The manufaectories and numerous dams, 
which interrupt their progress up the rivers, have greatly diminished their 
numbers. It is interesting to observe the efforts they make to overcome these 
obstructions, and the surprising leaps they sometimes make. I have seen 
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them shoot like arrows over dams of a considerable height, and against a 
strong current. 
S. Trutta. —The Salmon Trout. This species varies considerably in 
color. It is generally bluish-black above, pale on the sides, silvery on the 
belly, with cross-shaped spots towards the upper part. ; 
The Sea Trout, or Salmon Trout, migrates, like the salmon, up several 
of our rivers, spawns, and returns to the sea. The shape is thicker than 
the common trout. The head and back are dusky, with a gloss of blue and 
ereen, and the sides, as far as the lateral line, are marked with large, irreg- 
ular spots of black. The flesh, when boiled, is red, and resembles that of 
the salmon in taste. . 
Trout-fishing affords excellent diversion for the angler, and the passion 
for this pastime is very great. It is a matter of surprise that this common 
fish has eseaped the notice of all the ancients, except Ausonius. It is also 
singular, that so delicate a species should be neglected, at a time when the 
folly of the table was at its height; and that the epicures should overlook a 
fish that is found in such quantities in the lakes of their neighborhood, when 
they ransacked the universe for dainties. The milts of murance were 
brought from one place ; the Ivers of scar?’ from another; and oysters even 
