156 CHAR 



vary from each other more than a Wycombe trout does 

 from a little black fish from a peaty tarn on the Moor 

 of Rannoch; and although Gtinther did invent a 

 multitude of species out of our native Sahno fario, 

 his arrangement has been rejected as untenable by 

 present-day ichthyologists. It is true that, while char 

 of one lake may differ considerably in appearance from 

 those of another lake, the char population of any lake 

 do much more closely resemble each other than do 

 trout taken from any one lake or stream. This 

 characteristic strengthens the hypothesis of distinct 

 species, but it is owing merely to the fact that char 

 habitually swim at a great depth, where the dim light 

 takes uniform effect upon the skin; whereas trout 

 frequenting shallower water have their colouring altered 

 and adapted to a variable environment. To follow 

 Gtinther in setting up specific distinction between the 

 torgoch of Llyn Quellyn, the char of Windermere, the 

 gally-trough of Lochleven (now extinct), the ' red-wame ' 

 of Loch Grannoch, the tarrdhearg of the Scottish 

 Highlands, and the murnin of the loughs of Mayo, is 

 to plunge into interminable confusion. Whether they 

 be classed as Salvelinus umhla or S. aVplnus matters 

 no whit, provided we keep them in mind as one of the 

 most conspicuous survivals of the reign of ice in our 

 islands; a slowly vanishing race, still maintaining 

 existence in a few scattered and profound meres 

 and lakes. 



As noted above, char no longer exist in Lochleven. 

 The level of the lake was lowered 4^ feet about 1830, 

 which no doubt affected the mean temperature. This 



