1862.] DR. A. GUNTHER ON THE BRITISH CHARRS. 41 



1 776. Pennant knows that the Charr occurs not only m England 

 and Wales, but also in Scotland, whilst he had not received anj' evi- 

 dence of its existence in Ireland. He first mentions the fact, which is 

 repeated in all other works, that the Charrs of the Lake of Llanber- 

 ris were entirely destroyed by noxious waters flowing from copper- 

 mines in the neighbourhood*. He has examined the Red or Case- 

 Charr and the Gilt Charr, but considers both as the same species, 

 although the former spawns about Michaelmas, ascending the River 

 Brathay, whilst the spawning-season of' the latter extends from the 

 month of January to that of March, the fishes remaining in the 

 sandy parts of the lake. If this Gilt Charr (Peimant's) is identical 

 with that of Willoughby, and if the observations of both these natu- 

 ralists really refer to the Gilt Charr of the present day, it is clear 

 that it is not a variety of the common Charr, but a species widely 

 different from it. 



1802. The knowledge of those fishes is considerably advanced by 

 Donovan, who well perceives the differences between the Torgoch 

 and Charr, but is unable to fix the distinctive characters in specific 

 terms, resorting for the purpose of diagnosis to the differences in 

 colour, which in his figures are much exaggerated and untrue. In 

 his description, he is quite right in directing particular attention to 

 the slender form of the Torgoch, and he might have added another 

 important character which is indicated in the figures, namely, that 

 whilst in the Charr the root of the pectoral is quite free, and not 

 overlapped by a prolonged suboperculum, the latter is produced 

 backwards and downwards in the Torgoch. The physiognomy of 

 the fishes has lost much by representing the eye too small ; whilst 

 the difi'erences in the structure of the nostrils apparently have been 

 noticed by him. He employs for the Charr the Linnean name of S. 

 alpinus (pi. 61), and for the Torgoch that of ♦S'. salvelinus (pi. 1 12). 



1807. TuRTON follows Donovan, and evidently has examined the 

 Torgoch, as he gives the correct number of the dorsal rays, viz. 

 thirteen. The statements of the different authors, especially of the 

 earlier, with regard to the fin-rays, can be used only with great cau- 

 tion, — first, because they had only partly recognized the value of that 

 character ; and secondly, because they counted them in different 

 ways, frequently omitting the small rays in front of the fins. 



1812. The first definite notice of the occurreme of a Charr-like fish 

 in Ireland appears to be due to Dubourdieu, who, in his ' History 



* This fact is doubted by Mr. S. P. W. Ellis, who writes, in answer to my inquiry 

 on this subject, " Llanberris Lake is three and a quarter or four miles long ; the 

 width varies, the greatest width being about three-fourths of a mile ; the greatest 

 depth is said to be 40 fathoms. The quantity of water coming from copper-works 

 is not more than one-tenth part of the whole volume, and this portion flows about 

 five miles before falling into the lake, and, besides, passes through a mountain 

 lake after having left the mine. Below this mountain-pool the water is not poi- 

 sonous to fish. The quantity of water from copper-mines has decreased in this 

 valley, owing to the stoppage of works. I cannot think there ever were mines 

 ■worked to any such extent as seriously to injure fishes. The chief works are 

 slate-quarries." J. Petherick, Esq., who has a thorough knowledge of these 

 mines, a part of which are worked by himself, also is of the same opinion. 



