WHITLING 



131 



one of the scales of this fish (Fig. 41) in my opinion puts the fact of its 

 having spawned as a whitUng beyond doubt. 



I think it may fairly be assumed that others of the fish handled, as 

 to which the superficial appearances were not so convincingly charac- 

 teristic of whitling as the one selected, were whitling also. At any rate 

 Mr. Hutton pointed out to me that his reading of the scales of another 

 sea-trout which I had sent him, namely, those of a male fish weighing 

 if lb. and measuring 18^ inches in length, suggested that it too had 

 spawned as a whitling. He interprets the scale (Fig. 42) as showing, 

 subsequent to four years of fresh-water life, a three months' residence 

 in the sea after which a distinct s fawning mark occurs; another period 

 of residence in the sea, with a subsequent spawning mark; still 

 another period of residence in the sea, with the capture of the fish 

 occurring on its again visiting the redds — a comprehensive record for 

 so small a fish, but small, possibly, on account of its comprehensive 

 record. This, of course, was an old fish, but the record of its youthful 

 days was clear, and I think that other scales of younger fish like those 

 in the first instance cited, would often show equally an early spawning 

 record during the whitling stage. As a matter of fact out of the series 

 of 45 scales of Loch Lomond fish examined by Mr. Hutton, 5 show 

 evidence of the fish having spawned as whitling. 



If the reader will further turn to Chapter VHI he will find the 

 record of two fish hatched in the same year, one of which (Fig. 43) 

 .spawned as a whitling, while the other (Fig. 44) remained over winter 

 very probably in the sea. Confirmation is not easily obtained from 

 scale reading of a divided run, but at any rate both fish resided for the 

 same 3 years in fresh water, though one spawned as a whitling while the 

 other did not. I ask the reader to accept such scanty evidence with 

 caution ; but, so far as it goes, it confirms the facts which I have other- 

 wise deduced. 



I confess to thinking that any prolonged period of prior residence 



