﻿FISHES 
  OF 
  THE 
  EAST 
  COAST 
  OF 
  SCOTLAND, 
  

   FROM 
  WICK 
  TO 
  EDINBURGH. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  list 
  has 
  been 
  compiled 
  by 
  the 
  author 
  from 
  

   the 
  lists 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  preceded 
  him, 
  and 
  from 
  his 
  

   own 
  observations 
  ; 
  and 
  he 
  has 
  preserved, 
  and 
  now 
  possesses, 
  

   nearly 
  every 
  species 
  that 
  has 
  come 
  under 
  his 
  notice. 
  

  

  As 
  already 
  mentioned, 
  the 
  arrangement 
  followed 
  is 
  pretty 
  

   much 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  late 
  Dr. 
  Day 
  in 
  his 
  work 
  

   on 
  the 
  Fishes 
  of 
  Great 
  Britain 
  and 
  Ireland, 
  although 
  in 
  some 
  

   cases 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  struck 
  out 
  in 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  to 
  himself 
  

   seems 
  best. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Salmonidce, 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   deemed 
  necessary 
  to 
  take 
  this 
  course, 
  for, 
  although 
  more 
  

   attention 
  has 
  been 
  given 
  to 
  this 
  group 
  of 
  fishes 
  than 
  to 
  

   any 
  other 
  of 
  our 
  indigenous 
  species, 
  there 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  

   moment, 
  perhaps, 
  less 
  real 
  knowledge 
  available 
  concerning 
  

   it 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  form 
  of 
  fishes 
  we 
  possess. 
  Volumes 
  

   have 
  been 
  written, 
  each 
  professing 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  true 
  state 
  

   of 
  affairs, 
  and 
  each 
  almost 
  in 
  direct 
  opposition 
  to 
  all 
  

   that 
  had 
  preceded 
  it. 
  Year 
  after 
  year 
  we 
  have 
  been 
  

   flooded 
  with 
  literature 
  upon 
  the 
  various 
  forms 
  of 
  trout, 
  

   some 
  building 
  up 
  the 
  species 
  from 
  external 
  form 
  and 
  

   colour, 
  while 
  others 
  have 
  as 
  confidently 
  proclaimed 
  that 
  

   they 
  can 
  show 
  from 
  external 
  examination 
  what 
  numbers 
  of 
  

   species 
  exist 
  in 
  our 
  waters. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  vertebrae 
  has 
  

   been 
  held 
  as 
  an 
  unfailing 
  rule 
  by 
  which 
  species 
  can 
  be 
  

   determined 
  ; 
  while 
  yet 
  another 
  class 
  of 
  writers 
  take 
  the 
  

   number 
  of 
  caecal 
  appendages 
  as 
  the 
  true 
  specific 
  distinc- 
  

   tion, 
  each 
  writer 
  never 
  failing 
  to 
  give 
  names 
  to 
  his 
  several 
  

   " 
  species," 
  so 
  that 
  now 
  the 
  names 
  and 
  synonyms 
  are 
  of 
  

   such 
  magnitude 
  as 
  to 
  stagger 
  the 
  most 
  determined 
  student 
  

  

  