PLATE LXXXV. 
The Trout is one of the most beautiful of the fresh water tribe of 
fishes. It is a native of Europe and Siberia, inhabiting rivers that 
communicate with the sea, the waters of which are pure and cold, 
with a pebbly, or rocky bottom, and is therefore found in the greatest 
numbers as well as perfection in the rapid streams among mountains. 
The frout is found in most other clear waters, and is the principal in- 
habitant of lakes in alpine situations throughout Europe. 
Like the salmon, the Trout swims with much velocity. The ac- 
tivity and strength of this fish is astonishing : at the commencement of 
the spawning season it rushes up rivers difficult of access in defiance 
of numberless obstacles, in search of the most retired places to depo- 
sit its spawn, and in its progress will leap over stones or other impedi- 
ments in the course of the river to the height of four or five feet. The 
food of the 1 rout consists of small fishes, testaceous animals, and flies 
which they catch by leaping out of the water, such as the Ephemera, 
and Phryganece, which hover near the surface. The spawning sea- 
son is from September to October or later ; the eggs are about the 
size of a pea, and of a bright orange colour. 
This fish is subject to many varieties, differing in appearance ac- 
cording to the nature of the waters it inhabits, or the seasons of the 
year. In general when small, or of a moderate size, they are yellow- 
ish, or olivaceous, with a dusky back, the belly white and silvery, and 
the sides and back marked with a greater or less number of distinct 
red spots encircled with white, or blueish. The varieties spoken of 
by writers with regard to their form, colour, and dimensions are nu- 
merous, some of which may probably on further investigation proveto 
be distinct species, rather than varieties. The variety taken accord- 
