i6o 



Brown Trout 



the)- teed \'ery little, o\\'ing to the scarcity ot tood at this season. 

 They then hide under stones and banks, anci in deep holes out ot 

 the reach of their enemies. 



When the weather becomes warm, about the beginning ot April, 

 they lea\-e their \'\inter quarters and roam about in search ot tood. 

 Towards the end of April a great change comes over them — a change 



almost as great as that from a parr to a 

 smolt. They now assume a silvery coat, 

 and it is ditlicult to tell them from the 

 smolt ot the sea-trout. During the summer 

 they ieed on worms, tlies, larv:e, beetles, 

 shell-fish, and many different kinds of Hies 

 that are blown on to the loch or stream 

 from the land. By March of the following 

 vear, it the feedino- has been fairlv eood, 

 they will be trom 8 to 9 inches long, and 

 will weigh about 4 oz. I have seen some, 

 which were kept in confinement and 

 regularly led, weigh 2 lbs. in two years. 

 The milder the climate the more food 

 there is and the trout have a longer season to feed in, con- 

 sequently they become larger in a shorter period. In a loch a 

 three-years-old trout is usually about three-quarters of a pound, 

 while in streams they are usually much smaller. 



In quick-running streams containing little food, manv, when 

 three years old, will not weigh more than 3 oz., showing clearly 

 that their size at a certain age depends chiefiy on the feeding. 

 At four years of age they should weigh i to i .V lbs. ; at five years, 



Fk;. 15;.— 2] His. Ldch Le\en. 

 251I) July 1906. 



from I ', to 2^ lbs 



at SIX vears, from 



to 



lbs. 



at seven 



years, trom 3^- to 5 lbs. Only a i'cw of them reach this size, and 

 they soon die oft". It is only when the feeding is good that a 

 weight ot from 3 to 5 lbs. is attained. Trout leave the larger 

 rivers and run up the small ones usually about the ist of October, 

 and spawn, as I have said, about the 15th of October. A little 



