326 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 
pounds in weight; this was a rara avis. However, three 
and four pound fish are abundant in large rivers; in in- 
ferior streams, of course, they run much smaller. 
The brilliancy of their scales is really marvelous, far out- 
rivaling the most exaggerated conceptions; for their backs 
are a beautiful clear tortoise-shell, gradually approaching 
a pale green to the lateral line, where a deep orange color 
commences, deepening in richness over the stomach, while 
longitudinally they are traversed by lines of spots of the 
brightest vermilion. The States of Maine, New Hampshire, 
and Vermont possess them in abundance; the tributaries 
flowing from the North into the great lakes and the rivers 
and streams of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota fairly 
swarm with them. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia fresh 
waters are also well supplied. 
The size of fly usually employed in the capture of sea- 
trout are the best for taking this fish, unless the angler be 
following his pursuit on some diminutive brook, when 
smaller should be used. Besides the Salmo fontinalis, in 
American waters are to be found a great number of other 
species of Salmonide—such as the great lake-trout, the 
Glover salmon, and the Jand-locked salmon—the latter sel- 
dom exceeding four pounds, receiving its name from the 
strong resemblance it bears to the Salmo salar, to which it 
is not inferior in any quality save size. 
The exertion of crossing the Atlantic for fly-fishing will 
be amply repaid the sportsman by the quantity and weight 
of the fish he will capture; for there the fish are not trou- 
bled with the fastidiousness of appetite which in Great 
Britain causes it always to be a source of doubt whether 
the water is in proper order, the wind in the east, or thun- 
der overhead—either of which, or all combined, too fre- 
quently cause the most industrious to return, after a long 
and laborious day, with an empty basket. A description 
of an excellent river, and how to get to it, I append. 
