278 Transactions,— Zoology. 
fish already mentioned. This agrees with tho opinion expressed by Bir 
Humphrey Davy, as mentioned in Dr. Hamilton's British Fishes, which is, 
that when trout “feed much on hard substances, such as larvae and their 
cases, and the ova of other fish, they have more red spots and redder fins, 
and that when they feed most on small fish and on flies, they have more 
tendency to be spotted with small black spots and are generally more 
silvery." 
In the Water of Leith, when first opened for fishing, the trout were ofa 
fine appearance, colours being bright and the red spots large, but there is a 
falling off in this respect, at least as regards average-sized fish, and during 
spawning they all assume a darker or greyish hue. This water flows 
through bush, and its bed is one mass of trap rock, boulders, and small 
stones. No doubt a large amount of the feed is in flies, caterpillars, and 
slugs, and also, in the lower pools, smelts. 
The trout in the Lee Stream also, when it was opened for fishing in 1875, 
were, as a rule, of a handsomer shape and colour than they now are. The 
females, of 2 Ibs. and upwards, were silvery on their sides, very fat, and 
had small well-formed heads, a few red spots also along the sides. The 
males were dark olive brown on the back, golden yellow on the sides, and 
pure white on the belly. They had, and still have, numerous black spots, 
and large red or crimson spots on the sides and below the lateral line. The 
adipose fin in these and the trout in the other rivers is tinged with 
red, and is distinguished by two or three dark brown spots. The tail 
also has a few dark spots, generally confined to the upper margin. The 
males in this stream, when in good condition, are very handsome fish, the 
head though large is not unusually so. The bed of this river is mostly rocky, 
but in the upper water it is more gravelly than below the Accommodation 
House. Some of the pools towards the end of summer get very much over- 
grown with water plants. The feed consists of the native life from the tussock- 
covered banks, flies, beetles, spiders, and numerous grasshoppers, while the 
bed of the stream contains small shell-fish, larve, and crayfish. The 
native minnows and small fish are not plentiful. The Lee rises near the 
Lammerlaws, at a height of about 1,500 feet above the sea, and joins the 
Taieri River at about 40 feet. 
The Deep Stream trout have a tendency to be more silvery in colour than 
those of the Lee. Still, the males are very much alike, with numerous. 
large black spots, the usual number of large red ones, and a rich golden 
tinge over their sides. In February of this year I saw three very fine trout 
caught by Mr. Pillans in the Deep Stream, with minnow. In weight they 
were from 2Hbs. to 23lbs.; they were females. Two of them were olive 
_ brown on back, silvery on sides and belly, the spots large and dark, but not 
