S A L M O. 589 
body, except the belly, on a light ground, and the 6 dots on 
each pectoral fin. There are 12 rays in the membrane of the 
gills, 14 in the pectoral fins, 10 in the ventrals and anal, 20 
in the tail, and 14 in the dorsal, which last is nearer to the 
head than the ventrals, and above them there is an ap¬ 
pendage. 
The head is small and wedge-shaped; jaws of equal 
length, furnished with sharp teeth, a little bent, which knit 
into each other when the mouth is shut; besides these, there 
are three rows of teeth hi the roof of the mouth, and the 
tongue has ten or twelve in two rows. The nose and front 
are black; the eyes small, pupil black, iris silvery, a little 
mixed with yellow; the cheeks are yellow and violet. The 
back, which is a little bent, and the lateral line, which is 
almost straight, are both black; the sides are black, inclining 
to violet The belly and breast are white. The scales are 
small, especially those on the pectoral fins. The rays of the 
fins are branched, and of a grey colour, except the tail and 
adipous fins, which are black. The first is also broader 
than in the salmon, and has only one small furrow. The 
dorsal and adipous fins, as well as the body, are ornamented 
with little round black spots, with this difference, that those 
spots are not on a light ground, like those on the body ; in 
some varieties, these spots are angular. 
This fish is well named salmon-trout, since it partakes 
of the nature both of the trout and the salmon. It attains 
to the bigness of a middle-sized salmon ; it is spotted like a 
trout, and spawns in winter like them. Like the salmon, it 
haunts sometimes the sea, and sometimes rivers, going into 
the last to deposit its eggs; but it does not quit the sea so 
early as the salmon; they seldom appear till May. Like the 
salmon, it spawns not till November or December; but, as 
the rivers freeze at that time, it does not return to the sea till 
after the thaw. It feeds, like others of the genus, on aquatic 
insects, worms, and young fry; and loves, like them, brisk 
running streams with a sandy or flinty bottom. The flesh 
is red and well-tasted, especially before spawning-time; but, 
like the salmon, the taste differs according to the waters it 
lives in; for instance, the salmon-trout of the Oder has the 
flesh pale, tough, and lean ; but, after passing from thence 
into the Trago through the Warte and the Netze, it becomes 
fat and well-tasted; and moreover those which are caught in 
their return are always ill-tasted.—The colour and the spots 
change also according to the purity of the water wherein 
they have passed the winter. It is not very tenacious of life, 
but dies soon after it is out of the water. 
The salmon-trout attains a considerable growth, even to 
the weight of eight or ten pounds. This fish possesses in a 
very high degree the property of emitting light in the dark, 
as do many other fish, especially those of the sea: the palate, 
tongue, gills, and eyes, throw out a great deal of light; by 
touching one of these parts with the finger, it will emit 
light also; and, by touching one of these parts and then 
rubbing another, the same quality is communicated. Hence 
it appears, that the luminous matter is contained in the mucus 
which covers those parts; for the flesh of the hind part of 
the neck does not emit the least particle of light. Now, as 
the fish is covered with a viscous matter, it is probable that 
the whole surface of its body is thereby enlightened, and 
that this luminosity is lost where the fish is washed and this 
viscous substance taken away; for, when kept out of the 
water the luminosity leaves it by degrees as it grows dry. 
The salmon-trout is taken about Hamburgh, in the Elbe 
in the beginning of May, later in the Oder; but most are 
taken between Michaelmas and Christmas. It is caught in 
Lombardy; and in Russia in the Kama and Viaetka. In 
those places where they are caught most plentifully, they are 
salted, pickled, or dried. In Scotland they are salted like 
herrings, and make a considerable branch of the trade of 
that country. 
The salmon-trout is excellent food; it is tender and 
well-tasted, especially when fat; it is moreover easy of 
digestion, and may therefore be recommended to weak and 
sickly persons. 
Vol.'XXII. No. 1524. 
In its internal conformation it resembles the salmon, except 
that its vertebrae and ribs are rather more in number. The 
solitary worm found in the intestinal canal is smaller than in 
the salmon. According to Pontopidan, this species is often 
subject to a consumption; then the head is large, the body 
lean, and the intestines covered with little pustules. 
The white, trout is a variety, with the dorsal fin spotted; 
the tail black, and much forked. In the dorsal fin 11 rays, 
13 in the pectorals, 9 in the ventrals and anal. It migrates 
out of the sea into the Esk, in Cumberland ; seldom exceeds 
a foot long; body above mixed black, dusky and silvery, 
beneath the lateral line of an exquisite silvery whiteness ■ 
first dorsal fin spotted with black. Upper-jaw a little long¬ 
est, with two rows of teeth, lower with one; tongue with 
six teeth; lateral line straight. 
5. Salmo fario, or the common trout.—This is distinguished 
by the whole body as far as the belly being covered with 
round spots, red within a light circle, and the lower jaw rather 
longest. Ten rays in the membrane of the gills, 14 in the 
dorsal and pectoral fins, 10 in the ventrals and anal, 20 in 
the tail. 
The head is large when compared with other trouts. It is 
known moreover by the jaws being furnished with large 
teeth bent inwards, and the under jaw protrudes a little when 
the mouth is shut; on each side of the palate, or roof of .the 
mouth, there are three rows of teeth, the middle ones are the 
largest; the tongue is also armed with six or eight teeth. 
The nose and front are of a deep brown ; the cheeks yellow, 
mixed with green. The eye is middle-sized; the pupil 
black, edged with red; the iris white, with a blackish 
crescent-shaped border. The body is narrow; the back 
round, ornamented with black spots. The lateral line is 
strait, narrow, and black : below which line, the sides are 
of a yellowish green; above, they are of a golden yellow. 
The belly and throat are white. The body is covered with 
very small scales and round spots which contribute to its 
beauty : these spots, at the head and back, are blackish and 
not edged; on the sides they are red on a bluish ground. 
The pectoral fins are of a clear brown colour ; the ventrals 
red, with an appendage above; the anal has the first and 
longest ray purple, the rest a mixture of grey with yellow; 
the tail is a deep green, rounded at the end, with a small 
furrow in the middle; the adipous fin is yellow, bordered 
with brown; the dorsal grey, and has several little round 
purple spots. 
The trout is a very handsome fish ; the females particularly 
are distinguished by their beauty. It is remarkable that this 
fish, which is found in all parts of the world, and is dis¬ 
tinguished as well by its beauty as its use, should have been 
unknown to the ancients: neither the Greeks nor Pliny 
speak of it; the poet Ausonius, who lived at the be¬ 
ginning of the fifth century, is the first who has mentioned it. 
This fish has a long narrow body, like the pike; it is 
commonly a foot long, and weighs half a pound; some 
are, however, found in ponds which w’eigh 31bs.; one was 
caught in Saxony which weighed 81bs. and was sent to 
George I. as a curiosity. The trout delights in clear cold 
water which runs from the mountains, a rapid stream, and 
stony bottom; and hence they are commonly found in 
rivulets which have their source among hills. It swims with 
celerity, and leaps like the salmon five or six feet to surmount 
any obstacles in its progress. It feeds on worms, small fish, 
snails, aquatic insects, &c. Their time of spawning differs 
in different countries: in Geneva and Switzerland, as in the 
lakes of Leman and of Neufchatel, they spawn in the spring; 
but in Germany and Prussia, where Bloch made his obser¬ 
vations, the spawning-time was September or October. 
During that time they dig among the roots of trees, and large 
stones to lay their eggs: they multiply greatly, though they 
lay much fewer eggs than other river-fish; the reason of 
which is, that the rapacious fishes do not haunt those cold 
waters wherein the trout delights to breed : and they would 
increase still more, but that they devour one another, for, 
small trout have been often found in the throats of the 
7 L larger 
