172 SALMON AND TROUT. 
this species, they seldom pass the main ‘hang or throat’ of 
the river or one or two streams in connection with it. 
I believe Great Lake trout to be essentially night feeders, 
and that during the day they lie hidden under rocks and in 
holes in the deepest water, only venturing into spots that are 
‘fishable’ at the approach of evening. This is, perhaps, more 
an act of necessity than of voluntaryism on the part of the lake 
trout. Its food—or at any rate a not unimportant part—con- 
sists of small fish ; these are not to be found at any great depth 
of water, but, on the contrary, on the sloping shores, up which, 
therefore, the trout comes in search of them, stopping short of 
the shallows. Its appetite is prodigious—the stomachs of the 
specimens that I have caught having been constantly found 
literally gorged with food—indeed, the specific name, fevox, has 
been given to it in consequence of its fierceness and voracity, 
which are such that, having once seized a bait, it will, like the 
pike, allow itself to be dragged merely by its ‘holding on’ for 
forty or fifty yards, and when accidentally shaken off will im- 
mediately seize it again. 
I cannot forbear quoting here some observations on the 
habits of this fish from the pen of an old friend of mine, now 
no more, but whose delightful articles on fishing, under the 
signature of ‘ Autochthon,’ will, doubtless, be remembered with 
pleasure by many readers of these pages. After alluding to the 
question which ichthyologists have raised as to the distinct 
species of the Great Lake trout, he continues : 
Till the exigencies of an exact science are adequately worked 
out, it must suffice to assume here that there is such a being as 
the Great Lake trout, distinct from the other species and varieties 
of the genus... . 
Ferox is quite an epicure in his diet, and playful as a kitten on 
his own domestic hearth. In no stage of his existence can he well 
be confounded with his cousins of the river. Even in his infancy 
there is a breadth and freedom of outline in his configuration, 
which distinguish him at once from relatives of the same age in 
brook or streamlet. When viewed playing at their favourite game 
