SMELT—Sahno Eperlanus. The derivation of the 31L1111-, 9l this fish, like other etymological disputes, has given rise to vat ious opinions and assertions. It has been said to smell like green rushes, like the cucumber, like the violet, and hence it has been named by several authors violacca. The Latin specific name, as adopted by Linmeus and other naturalists, is from the French Eperlan,t and from which the Scotch Spirling, and Welsh sparling. The skull is transparent, and the skin so thin, that the lobes of the brain are plainly and dis tinctly seen, and indeed, with a microscope, the blood may be observed to circulate. In handling, or with the slightest touch, the scales come easily and immediately off. They inhabit the seas around Britain, but are never far remote from land. They only ascend our rivers for the purpose of spawning, and remain there but for a short time. They are very abundant in all the northern parts of America. The smelt of the Seine in France, as described by Brookes, seems to differ almost in every particular from ours, except in the smell. We have somewhere read, that the only rivers in Scotland where they arc found, are the Forth and the Cree. Whether this is the case or not we cannot determine ; but that they abound in the first is evident from the great num bers that are brought to the Edinburgh market. They seldom appear in the Forth earlier than the middle of March ; they come much sooner to the Thames, the Dee, and the Mersey. Their fry have not yet been ascertained. The people about Blackwall and Green wich believe the white bails to be their young. This, however, we very much doubt, and are rather inclined to think they are that of the shad. In Scotland we sel dom angle for them, but take them in nets, with small meshes. It is needless to try the rod where there is any snow water, as they are so delicate, as never to enter any torrent where the smallest particle of it remains. The baits, if you are to angle for them, are cadis, small red worms, and shrimps ; use a paternoster line, and take the advantage of the flowing tide.
MuLLET—Mugi/ CeJihalus. Is very often confound ed with the mullus of Horace and Juvenal, the so much valued fish of the luxurious Romans ; but it is so very distinct from this mullet, that it does not even belong to the same order in the Linn2ean system. What we call the mullet, is the mugil of Ovid, Artedi and Berkenhout. There is a very accurate drawing of it by Eleazar Albin, in North's History of Esculent Fish. From its roes, the botargo (a kind of sausage) is made. They are in habitants of some of our sandy coasts, where there are influxes of fresh water ; they often run up the Ex, in Devonshire, and the Arun, in Sussex, with the flowing, and return with the ebbing tides. The mullets of the latter county are in high estimation for the table as they are said to possess a very delicate flavour, from some particular plant peculiar to the Arun, and on which it is alleged they partly feed. With us, in Scotland, they arc very scarce ; the only place where we suppose they have been seen is in Mussclburgh bay. There, a few have been sometimes caught in the seine nets, when they were fishing for sea-trout, at the mouth of the river Esk. They take almost the same baits as the trout, and also rise to an artificial fly.
CosiMox or YELLOW TROUT.—Salmo Fario. Next to salmon the most manly and interesting is undoubtedly that of trout angling. All our rivers, brooks, and many of our lakes, produce this fish in the greatest abundance. It, however, must be allowed, that their numbers, with in these last thirty years, have very much decreased. This has been attributed to the various manufactures and distilleries that have been since erected on all such of our waters* as were found fit for these purposes. The
deleterious and noxious qualities of the trash and dregs, "that from the vexed abyss of fermentation spring," are well known. Another poison, although not quite so de structive as that from the distilleries, has also had a considerable share in the thinning of the breed of both salmon and trout ; that is, the lime laid upon our lands for manure, a considerable portion of which is always washed off, and carried away by every flood into the ad joining brooks and rivers. The varieties of the fario, in respect of shape, colour, and size, are very numerous ; in southern or warm countries, they are long and lank ; in northern cold countries, short and broad. They are covered with small narrow scales, and variegated with many black spots on the back ; but below the lateral line, upon a faint light golden ground, they are of a vermillion, and upon some of a crimson dye. Indeed, throughout the whole animal creation, nature has not, in all her prodigality, bestowed more beautiful colours, than upon the common yellow trout. The honourable Roger North says, that in Llyn-divi, a lake in South Wales, there are trouts called Cock-y-dail, marked with black and red spots, about the size of a sixpence. In some of our Highland burns, where the sun-beams are intercepted by woods or rocks, they are black, slimy, and faintly spotted. They differ in size according to the waters in which they are bred, varying from eight to twenty inches. Trouts delight in cool and rapid streams. In their habits they very much resemble sal mon, especially in their season and manner of spawn ing, in the choice of their waters, and in their never ceasing propensity to gain the head of the streams in which they were spawned. In one circumstance they differ, however, very materially has been already observed, that the salmon, when opened, was seldom or ever found to contain any food ; on the contrary, the trout, but more particularly during, or immediately after a flood, is fully gorged with all, or some of the following animals, minnows, slugs, caterpillars, beetles, grass hoppers, cadews, worms, and flies of every kind. It is almost needless to mention, that all these are excellent halts in fishing for them. In the early part of the sea son, that is until the end of April, they haunt the tails of streams, mill-pools, or deep still water. As it advances, they gradually move farther up, and in July or August are to be found in the neck or head of the strongest cur rents. The rod for trout angling should be shorter and more slender than that for salmon ; it ought to have two tops, one supple, for the artificial fly, and the other stiff, for minnow and worm-fishing ;—the but-end, or stock, should be bored, so as to have a hollow for hold ing one of these, and a screwed cap attached, in order to put it in, and take it out at pleasure. The wheel and all the tackle may be much the same with that for sal mon angling, only proportionably smaller, and with the few additional articles which follow : For the bodies of the artificial flies, hair from the skins of the water-rat, the mole, and hare, especially that from the ear of the last, which makes one of the most killing flies in trout angling. For the wings—the feathers of the ousel, starling, common and missel thrush, lark, partridge, land-rail, and field-fare. For hackles—besides those of the domestic cock, the crest or top of the lap-wing and pea-fowl ; but these two last, although very often used, arc not much to be depended upon.