ME. F. DAY ON THE LOCH-LEYEN TKOUT. 
89 
shows the same dentition as in the form under discussion : burn- 
trout, c? 11 inches long, 2 teeth at the bind edge of the head 
of the vomer, 10 in almost a single line along the body of that bone, 
turning alternately right and left at their points, but in only one 
instance are they in a pair. Further south, as in the Windrush 
in Gloucestershire, the maxillae are stronger and the vomerine 
teeth are more nearly in a double line than in more northern 
specimens ; but an entire series, showing all these grades of 
variation, may be traced in freshwater trout in most localities 
where I have searched for it. 
The colour of the flesh of the Loch-Leven trout is said to be 
deep red, and it is reputed to be very good eating. Whether 
the flavour of these fish has or has not deteriorated since 
the partial draining of the lake, as asserted by some and con- 
tradicted by others, must ever remain unsolved, because how 
the fish were cooked, the degree of hunger in the partakers 
of the food, and many other circumstances would have also to 
be taken into account ; wdtile deciding such a question from 
recollection would be a rather doubtful proceeding. There is a 
legend that in olden times these fish never took a fly ; and an 
anonymous writer in 1886, commenting upon the bad luck which 
had attended an angling competition, observed that fly-fishing on 
Loch Leven had been in existence for about 25 years, but 
previous to that time these fish showed no disposition for winged 
prey. Granting the general accuracy of this statement would 
seem to partially confirm the opinion of Parnell and some 
others, that the local food has diminished in amount, and therefore 
these fish will now take the fly. Why the charr has disappeared 
from this lake is not material to the present inquiry. 
As food Parnell held that at Loch Leven the flesh of this form 
of trout is of a dark red, but in the common loch or burn-trout 
pinkish or often white. This, however, cannot be held as distinctive 
of species, for some trout captured on the same day at Loch 
Assynt, in Sutherlandshire, showed all variations in the colour of 
their flesh, from white to red, and were all equally well tasted. 
Parnell also observed that “ James Stuart Monteith, Esq., of 
Closeburn, caught a number of small river-trout, and transferred 
them to a lake (Loch Ettrick), where they grew rapidly ; their 
flesh, which previously exhibited a white chalky appearance, 
became in a short time of a deep red, while their external 
appearance remained the same from the time they were first put 
in ” (op. cit. p. 307). 
