Fishes. 4787 



which in Fiance is called tacon, in Scotland parr, in England finger- 

 ling, a fish of doubtful character, and whose real nature has not yet 

 been clearly determined. I do not mean that these arrangements in- 

 clude all the species of the three subfamilies of the Salmonidae ; but 

 the arrangement is of unobjectionable accuracy, in so far as it goes. 

 There are many foreign species, no doubt, filling up all the gaps 

 in each subfamily, but these have not been, as yet, sufficiently 

 described. 



Such is the specific coloration of the three great subfamilies generally. 

 What is the generic coloration, that, namely, which includes all these ? 

 What is the coloration of the young, the generic type of the entire 

 family ? To describe it, we have only to examine the young of any 

 of the species of any of the subfamilies, and we shall find that its 

 coloration embraces all, — red spots, dark spots, of various hues, parr- 

 markings, silvery scales. The generic animal then is perfect, and 

 represents Nature's scheme ; as it grows towards maturity it gradually 

 lays aside its generic characters, retaining the special ; if it is to 

 become ariver trout it retains the red spots, losing the others ; one spe- 

 cies, the parr trout, retains, with the red spots, the parr-markings ; if a 

 lake trout it loses the red spots, and retains the purplish and dark ones; 

 if a sea trout or forelle it retains the dark spots only ; if a salmon it 

 loses all, saving a very few; the fewer it has, the more is it considered 

 as of pure breed. A salmon showing five or six dark spots below the 

 lateral line is looked on with suspicion by the salesmen, as if it had 

 something of the forelle or trout about it ; when puzzled, he turns 

 the doubtful fish over and looks at it from several points of view ; he 

 is at that moment endeavouring to elicit a correct idea of its propor- 

 tions, to which he appeals in the last instance. Scientific men would 

 do well occasionally to observe the interested, for wherever self- 

 interest is concerned the senses become exceedingly acute and the 

 powers of observation infinitely refined. As nothing, I imagine, of the 

 nature of gold could escape the eye of the experienced gold-seeker, 

 so nothing that is eatable escapes the notice of the savage Bosjeman: 

 poisonous serpents they distinguish from the innocuous at a glance, 

 and from a drove of ten thousand oxen they will select and claim 

 for their master, after a year's absence, a single animal of a team 

 they once knew. The salesman, then, seldom errs in his dis- 

 crimination of the fish submitted to his inspection : he knows nothing 

 of Science, but trusts to his tact and instincts. It is the same with 

 woman ; she never bewilders herself with Science, but, trusting to 



