888 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
in the central and southern parts of this gulf it is 
o 
rarer, occurring down to Aland and the islands oft' 
o 
Abo. In Denmark, where the Grayling is called Stal- 
ling, it occurs in a number of rivers from the south 
to the middle of Jutland. According to Feddersen, 
however, its numbers are there rapidly decreasing, an 
observation which has also been made in other coun- 
tries, for example in North Germany. 
In European Russia, according to Grimm®, the 
Grayling is met with in the small rivers, and the upper 
parts of the large rivers, that flow into the Arctic Ocean, 
the White Sea, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Cas- 
pian. In Central Europe, where the Grayling has the 
centre of its geographical extension in the Alps, it oc- 
curs, according to E. Sciiultze 6 , in the basins of the 
Danube, Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, Vistula, and Pregel. 
Westward its true range extends over Switzerland to 
the mountainous tracts of Eastern and South-eastern 
France. Ausonius (about 400 A. D.) knew the Gray- 
ling from the Moselle 0 ; and according to Selys-Long- 
CH amps d it is common, at least in some of the small 
streams, in the mountainous interior of Belgium. On 
one or two occasions it is said to have been found in 
Holland 0 . Southward the Grayling goes to Lombardy, 
Venetia, Piedmont, and Istria (Canestrini, 1 . c.). In 
England the Grayling probably has its original home 
to the west/ and north and in Wales; but at the pre- 
sent time, according to Day, it is commonest in the 
more southern rivers, the Avon, lichen, and Test. It 
has been introduced in recent times into several Scotch 
waters. In Ireland it is wanting. 
Even old writers, at least from Gesner’s time, were 
fairly well acquainted with the habits ot' the Grayling, 
and had learnt to compare them to those of the Trout. 
At most times it lies stationary and alone, in the shelter 
of some jutting stone or in the shade of an overhanging 
tree; but it darts oft' like an arrow, t\4i enlightened, 
and is as speedy to seize any victim that comes its 
way, often leaping out of the water to caj^Gjre an in- 
sect. But sometimes it shows sociable tendencies, and 
in Juckasjarvi, according to Fjellner, it assembles in 
shoals during June and July. Small cascades it easily 
surmounts by leaping, but it is deficient in the Salmons’ 
power of passing high falls. Large Grayling keep to the 
deepest part of the water, the smaller ones stay nearer 
shore. 
The spawning-season usually occurs soon after the 
breaking up of the ice, and may thus vary in Sweden 
between April and June. In the lakes of Lapland, how- 
ever, it sometimes happens, according to Trybom 8 ’, that 
the breeding Graylings repair to the mouths of brooks, 
where there is open water some time before the ice 
breaks up. In southern countries the spawning begins 
earlier: in Italy, according to Canestrini, from January 
to April, v. Si e bold describes in the breeding fish a 
firm, but smooth, dermal eruption on the scales, whose 
limits, however, remain distinct. This eruption is want- 
ing in the sterile individuals, which are further di- 
stinguished by a paler coloration. The Grayling too 
discards its ordinary caution during the spawning-season. 
According to Heckel and Inner the fish swim in pairs 
to the spawning-place, where they scoop a hollow for 
the eggs with their caudal fin, the eggs being covered 
after impregnation with gravel or pebbles; and where 
the spawning has taken place in March, the ova are 
hatched in June 7 '. According to Fjellner live roe is 
found between the stones in the rapids of the Torne 
Elf in July, and in August the fry swim about in the 
river. The diameter of ripe eggs, lying loose in the 
abdominal cavity, ready to be deposited, we have found 
to be 2 V 4 — 2 Va mm. But Benf.cke assigns to them a 
size of about 4 mm., presumably when they have swell- 
ed after impregnation. According to Norback the living 
female contains 5,000—13,000 ova to every pound of 
her own weight. The fry grow rapidly; in England, 
according to Day, they are 4 or 5 inches long at the 
end of July or the beginning of August. But the 
Grayling, it is stated, does not attain maturity until 
three or four years old. 
In spite of its feeble dentition the Grayling is di- 
vstinctly a fish-of-prey; and it is no dainty feeder. 
Worms and the larva; of insects, mollusks, crustaceans, 
“ Fishing and Hunting on Russian Waters, p. 12. 
h Geogr. Verbr. Biisswasserfisch. Mitteleur., Stuttgart 1890, 
c Mosella, 1. 90. 
'' Faune Beige, p. 22. 
e In the little river Geul, according to v. d. Ende, Versl. Werkz. Vereenig. Bevord. Fill. Iehthyol., Deel. I, p. 39. 
■ T “The very best stream in the world for Grayling is the Teme” (a tributary of the Severn), according to Bullock, see Buckland, 
Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., p. 331. 
,J Nordisk Aarsskrift for Fiskeri, l:ste Aarg. (1883), p. 303. 
h According to Day the fry are excluded in 12 — 25 days. 
