90 GILPIN ON THE TROUT AND SALMON. 



heads are a dark greenish horn colour, the backs black, sides yellow- 

 ish with spots and belly white. These colours are varied and 

 heightened by the thick nacre and reflected lights of the scales. As 

 the fish becomes stale, the nacre dries, and a light purplish or ame- 

 thystine colour pervades the whole. The tip of caudal and lower fins 

 faint orange or yellov.dsh. Tlie tliird roiv of feeth on the tongue so 

 peculiar to this salmon alone, is not always to be found, even some 

 adult fish have it not. Dekay and Perley give them, Frank Forres- 

 ter not, yet each from actual inspection. I have examined specimens 

 both with and without them. They are taken with a whole line, as 

 fishermen call thirty fathoms. Our alpine lake basins havmg this 

 great depth. The flesh is coarse. They are usually bottom feeders, 

 though the Indians assert they ^^dll rise to a red rag, and perhaps 

 never exceed twenty- two pounds, although there are many accounts 

 of theii' huge size attained in lakes where there are no weighing 

 scales. 



In concluding, all what I could procure either personally or from 

 reliable sources of this very interesting genus, a very few general 

 remarks 's^dll suffice. In regard to teeth, we find as typical marks 

 they are not so reliable as in the Mammalia. It is all but certam 

 that S. Salar renews his teeth in the male twice a year. One species 

 has a triple row on the tongue, and that not constant, the others 

 havinsr a double row. As res^ards vomerine teeth or rather teeth 

 down the roof of the mouth, two, FontinaUs and Canadensis have 

 none, or at best one tooth and that not constant, the Salar has two 

 or three, and Gloverii and Coiifinis a strong row. I say teeth down 

 the roof of mouth, for strictly speaking they all have vomerine teeth, 

 for the palatine bones being each side of an arch of which the vomer 

 is the keystone, and the palatine teeth being an uninterrupted cii'cle 

 round the arch, it follows that the head of th^ vomer always has 

 teeth but not always clown the bone. The author of that very 

 pleasant book, " Game Fish of the North," should remember this 

 Avhen he asserts that FontinaUs has no vomerine teeth. When he 

 indulges in sneers against naturalists, and smart writing about marine 

 dentists, he should at least be correct, especially as only a scholar, 

 a naturalist and sportsman combined, could have written as he has 

 done of rock and flood. We have one species common to both 

 Avorlds, another FontinaUs, in its teeth, red spots, rose belly, and 



