THE SALMON FAMILY. 43 
more, and in the far north is a food fish of good 
quality. Little is recorded of its habits, and few 
specimens exist in museums. Species of Stexodus 
are said to inhabit the Volga, Obi, Lena, and other 
northern rivers; but as yet little is definitely known 
of them. 
The Grayling (7iymallus), termed by Saint Am- 
brose “the flower of fishes,” is likewise interme- 
diate between the white-fish and the trout, having 
larger scales and feebler teeth than the latter. 
The teeth on the tongue, found in all the trout and 
salmon, are obsolete in grayling. The chief dis- 
tinctive peculiarity of the genus Zhymadlus is the 
great development of the dorsal fin, which has 
more rays (20 to 24) than are found in any other 
of the Sa/monide, and the fin is also higher. All 
the species are gayly colored, the dorsal fin es- 
pecially being marked with purplish or greenish 
bands and bright rose-colored spots; while the 
body is mostly purplish-gray, often with spots of 
black. Most of the species rarely exceed a foot in 
length, but northward they grow larger. Grayling 
weighing five pounds have been taken in England; 
and according to Dr. Day, they are said in Lap- 
land to reach a weight of eight or nine pounds. 
The grayling in all countries frequent clear, cold 
brooks, and rarely, if ever, enter the sea, or even 
the larger lakes. They are said to congregate in 
small shoals in the streams, and to prefer those 
which have a succession of pools and shallows, 
with a sandy or gravelly rather than rocky bottom. 
The grayling spawns on the shallows in April or 
May (in England). It is said to be non-migratory 
