THE TROUT. 



67 



Common Trout, * (Salmo Fontinalus — Mitchill,) " with 

 yellow and red spots on both sides of the lateral line, concave 

 tail, and sides of the belly orange red ; back mottled pale and 

 brown, sides dark brown with yellow and red spots, the yel. 

 low larger than the red surrounding them ; the latter appear 

 like scarlet dots ; lateral line straight, the yellow spots and 

 red dots both above and below that line ; lowest part of the ab- 

 domen whitish with a smutty tinge ; first rays of the pectoral 

 ventral and anal fins white, the second black, the rest pur- 

 plish red ; dorsal fin mottled of a yellowish and black ; tail is 

 rather concave, but not amounting to a fork, and of a reddish 

 purple, with blackish spots above and below ; eyes large and 

 pale, mouth wide, teeth sharp, tongue distinct, skin scaleless. 

 Is reckoned a most dainty fish. He lives in running waters 

 only.t and not in stagnant ponds ; and therefore the lively 

 streams, descending north and south from their sources on 

 Long Island, exactly suit the constitution of this fish. The 

 heaviest Long Island trout that I have heard of weighed four 

 pounds and a half." 



" The common trout of Massachusetts t is from 8 to 12 

 inches long, dotted on the back with brownish spots, shaded 

 by a paler circle. On the gill-covers is a broad spot ; the un- 

 der jaw is the longest ; the soft rayed fins tinged with yellow, 

 and on the sides of the body are red spots." 



The Black Trout is usually found in muddy sluggish 

 streams or large ponds, with clay bottoms, in the roughest and 

 wildest parts of our country. They are not considered as 



* The trout of Long Island. 



t This is not always the case. They are taken in great quantities at 

 Stump Pond, Long Island, of a large size, but not of as fine a flavor and 

 color as in swift running waters. They are also found in various other 

 ponds throughout the country, and are often transferred to artificial ponds 

 supplied from springs. 



J Smith. 





