Ogilby — On some Irish Fishes. 527 



may induce fish to become annual or biennial breeders, according 

 to circumstances. On the 30th April, 1883, I caught a small 

 female salmon in Lough Ashe, county Tyrone, in which the ova 

 were ready for extrusion. This Lough has no outlet to the sea, up 

 which fish cordd make their way, and the individual in question 

 was undoubtedly one of the number of fry put in from the adjacent 

 stream just two years previously. There can be no doubt that this 

 fish would have shed its spawn in the feeder of the Lough — at the 

 very mouth of which it was taken — and it would seem to show that 

 a small non-migratory race might be propagated in this and many 

 other loughs, where there is sufficient space and food. The fish 

 was in good condition, and as silvery as if fresh run from the sea ; 

 it is now in the British Museum, and has been examined by 

 Dr. Day, During the spring of 1875 I saw three salmon in the 

 Dublin market, weighing respectively 58, 55, and 53 lbs., and 

 all three were said to have been taken at one haul of a net in the 

 Shannon. 



Salmo trutta. — Known in the north of Ireland as " white 

 trout " only. The variety camhricus is alone found in our north- 

 ern rivers, and of this we also have a long-headed and short-headed 

 form — a difference, however, which will be found on dissection to 

 be greatly attributable to sex, the short-headed being, as a rule, 

 females, and of the two much the handsomer fish. Once only have 

 I captured a "sewin " in the open sea, on a sand-iaunce, while whip- 

 ping for poUook at night outside the Skerries, off Portrush, Of the 

 fry placed in Lough Ashe, as mentioned above, in. the spring of 

 1881, 1 took several in 1883, which proved to be "sewin"; they had 

 increased in size to nearly 1 lb. average weight, had retained a 

 more or less silvery colour, but had gained a few dark-edged red 

 spots above the lateral line ; they were, in May, in magnificent 

 condition, and of flavour superior to the fresh-run autumn trout ; 

 two of them contained ova about the size of turnip-seed. The 

 largest "sewin" which I have handled weighed 8| lbs. 



Salino fario. — The " estuary trout " of the northern rivers, which 

 is here known as a " dolachan," is, I believe, a large brook trout, 

 which lives for the most part on small fishes, and resides during 

 the greater portion of the year in the tidal reaches, making its way 

 into the upper waters of our streams about October, where they 

 feed principally upon the fry and eggs of their congeners, of which 



SCIEN. PliOC. ll.D.S. — VOL. IV. PT. IX. 2 T 



