ON THE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY OF ICELAND. 249 
the fishermen who rent these salmon streams is, of course, 
variable in different seasons, and in different rivers. This 
year the greatest success was obtained by Mr. Murphy, who 
rented the so-called Thomson’s river, from the fact of its 
belonging to a thriving merchant in Reykjavik. About 
sixty salmon and salmon trout were captured by his rod in 
this river, which is on the road to Thingvellir, and about 
four miles distant from the capital, and he kept our dinner 
table at Hotel Reykjavik well supplied by this means. 
Fish abound likewise in some of the lakes, and in the 
rivers, more especially near their point of contact with the 
lakes, and trout and char therefore are frequently obtainable 
at Thinevellir parsonage, and at the farm houses between 
that place and the Geysir. I was anxious to fulfil my 
promise to Dr. Gunther, of the British Museum, to bring him 
back, if possible, an Icelandic char in spirits, as believed to 
be a different variety from that of other countrics of Europe, 
but failed to do so, although I communicated with the 
minister at Thingvellir on the subject; I believe he would 
have done all in his power to help me, but the fish in 
question were more abundant a few weeks later in the 
season, in August instead of the middle of July, and likewise 
more plentiful at the southern end of the lake and its 
adjacent stream ten miles away from its northern boundary, 
close to which we were lodged for two or three days. I saw, 
however, some large ones rise towards evening, probably 
at the Phryganide, one species of which, Limnephilus 
picturatus, is very abundant near the confluence of the river 
with the lake. In the neighbourhood of Stykhisholm on 
July 28th, and in that of Patreksfjord on the following day, 
dolphins were seen to leap repeatedly out of the water, 
projecting themselves several feet into the air, with their 
silvery underside uppermost. 
If I recollect rightly, it was at Arnarfjordur that I first 
experienced the very disagreeable scent of train oil and 
shark oil, which is stored up in barrels on the beach and 
along the landing places of so many northern Icelandic 
fjords. On some occasions the stench seems to permeate 
one’s cabin, and almost to be tasted at meal time, and I 
narrowly escaped being thoroughly upset in consequence. 
Stacked up in one place at the said Aruarfjordur, as well as 
lying about on either side of its factory of Biloudalr, might 
be seen the huge and massive bones of a whale, somewhat 
odoriferous, it must be owned. Further along the coast [ 
hear we shall come across two whaling companies, by whom 
