CLASS y. PISCES: ORDER 3. TELEOSTEA. 
469 
being found in nearly all tlie clear running streams of the United States north of Yirginia, and is 
familiarly knOAvn to all American masters of the rod. There are many other A^arieties, passing by 
the name of Silver Trout, Black Trout., Sea Trotit^ Hucho Trout, <fec. ; all, hoAvever, are of the 
same species. The diversities in the appearance of tliese fish, are mostly confined to color, and 
are caused by the different qualities of the streams in Avhich they are bred. 
The Red-bellied Trout — >S'. erytkrogaster of De Kay — resembles the preceding, and is prob- 
ably only a variety of it ; found in the lakes of Western Ncav York. 
The Lake-Trout, S. confiiiis, is tAvo to four feet long, and is common in Lake Ontario and 
the lakes of Western Ncav York and Northern Ncav England. It bears the popular names of 
Lake-Salmon and Salmon-Trout ; it is caught in considerable numbers, and in some places is 
so abundant, that one man has taken, Avith the hook, five hundred pounds in a Aveek. Cured in 
salt, it is sold in the Atlantic markets ; it is also brought fresh to the city of Ncav York. The flesh 
is generally of secondary rank; in some of the smaller Ncav York lakes it is said to be excellent. 
The Northern Charr, S. umhla, is a European species, and inhabits the northei'n lakes of 
England and those of Scotland; it is 
from one to tAvo feet long, and is usually 
caught by hooks trailing after a boat. 
It is believed to feed principally at 
tiigbt. There is another species called 
the Welsh Charr, S. salvel'mus. 
The Masamagush or Hood's Charr, 
S. Hoodii, Avcighs two to eight pounds, 
THE NORTHERN CHARE. Is Tcd flcshed, aud of delicious flaA'or ; 
found in the Mingan River, AAdiich empties into the estuary of the St. LaAA-rence, about latitude 50°. 
Genus OSMERUS : Osmerus., includes the Smelt, 0. ejm'lanus, common in Europe, called 
Spirling and Sparling in Scotland; it 
inhabits the rivers the gi-eater part of the 
year, that is, from August to May. It 
spaAvns about March or April, and soon 
after visits the sea for about three months. 
It is extensively taken in nets, and is in 
great request on account of its peculiar 
flavor. It can be propagated in fresh 
■water ponds, and do not suff'er by the freezing of the Avater. The average length is seven inches. 
The American Smelt, 0. viridescens, is greenish above, silvery below; length six to twelve 
inches. De Kay says its popular name is derived from its smell, resembling that of cucumbers. 
It abounds in streams connected Avith the sea, from the Hudson to Labrador. It appears to 
migrate along the coast, from north to south, in November and December. The New York 
market is chiefly supplied from the creeks emptying into Long Island Sound, and from the Hack- 
ensack and Passaic Rivers in Ncav Jersey. Many are also brought from Massachusetts. They 
are taken Avith hand-nets, but bite well at the hook. Multitudes are caught in Avinter, through 
holes cut in the ice, as well by nets as 
hooks. 
THE SMELT. 
Genus TimiALLTJS : Thymallus, 
includes the Grayling, T, vulgaris^ 
found in the rivers of Northern Eu- 
rope having rocky or gravelly bottoms. 
It resembles the trout in its habits and 
haunts ; it weighs one to five pounds. 
Its flesh is highly esteemed. 
Back's Grayling, T. signifer, is a very fine species, weighing five or six pounds ; found in the 
waters of British America, flowing into the Arctic Ocean. Its specific name, Signifer — "the 
standard-bearer" — refers to the unusual size of the dorsal fin. 
THE GRAYLING. 
