Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-30
NEW FISH ON EXHIBITION.
A Large Collection of Cravings ct the
Fish Commission.
They Are Carney a. . Trout and
Have Never Been Seen
Alive Here.

! There are now in one Of the large aquaris
| fine representatives of a fish about which
nearly every person has heard or read, but
which few persons living in Washington
have seen. This is the grayling. The fish
in question were brought to Washington
! from Chicago after the close of the world 8
Columbian exposition. where. with other
examples. they attracted much attention in
the large aquarial rotunda Of the fish COM
mission.
The grayling is one of the most interest
! ing fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the
United States. The interest arises from the
comparatively local areas in which 1t is
found, from its beauty and grace and from
its gameness. The restricted habitat of the
grayling Is known to include only the cold,
/ clear streams of the southern peninsula of
Michigan and the headwaters Of the Mis-
souri, river in Montana. 1t is a member OF
the salmon family and Is chiefly distin-
guished from most of the other fishes of the
same group-the trouts. salmons and White
hshes-by it's small mouth and greatly de-
veloped dorsal fin, by which features IL
may be readily recognized.
On the elevated plateau in the center
of the lower peninsular OF Michigan sew
erai large. cold streams arise ana HOW
through immense tracts of pine-coVered
land into Lake Michigan on one sioe anu
Lake Huron on the other. Here the gray
ling abound. and here. in the very MIDST
of this district is the town OF CRAVING
the Headquarters Of the grayling fisher
men.
The grayling takes its name from the
general color of its body, which Is pc
culiar purplish or silvery gray, with bronze
and blush reflections; small, Irregular black
spots exist on the anterior part Of the sides
of the body. The large dorsal nm SHOWS
one Of the most extraordinary displays or
color markings known to occur In nsnes
outside of the tropics. Running along the
base of the fin Is a black line. then comes
rose colored one, then another biackish
line and another rose-colored one, the last
stripe being Continued as row of dots;
above these alternating lines Of black and
rose is a row of beautiful green spots, sue
spots and broad dusky band; finally. the
middle part of the free edge Of the fin Is
tipped with rose. Some of the other fms
are also finely colored. but much less no.
ticeable than the one described.
The grayling is not a large fish. The
maximum length attained is about sixteen
inches, while the average Is ten or twelve
inches The specimens now at the hsh
commission vary IN length from eight to
thirteen inches, the weight Of the largest
being a little less than pound.
When taken at the proper season. the
the soul of the angler The differences of
opinion which exist as to the rank of the
grayling among noble fishes are probably
due to the particular times when it has
been caught. In the warmer months II Is
a dull. almost stupid fish, affording no
sport. In September October and Novem-
Der ii is bold, earnest creature. rising to
the fly with force and rapidity fully equal
to the trout. But the gameness of the
gray1ng Is different from that Of the trout.
The trout feeds close to the surface and
takes with little effort the fly floating over
him. The graylng lies close to the bottom,
rises with great rapidity and sieEes the
lure after ii has passed him. When the
fish Is caught, the use OF the large dorsal
nm Is seen. This Is spread to its full ex-
tent, and Is employed to good purpose in
the attempts made by the fish to get to
the bottom, while heading up stream or
down stream in his tenacious efforts to es-
cape.
In food value the grayling compares IA
Vorably with the trout. BY many anglers
IL Is preferred to the latter, and it is said
10 nave this important advantage over the
trout, that "one can eat Ii every day dur
ing long outing, and the last meal is as
.earty as the first
Another species of grayiing found in
Alaska and the British possessions is sim
liar to the Michigan grayling, but has a
much larger dorsal fin. Cravings are also
met with in the northern parts Of the old
world. The fish referred to by Tennyson
in the well-known couplet from the "Song
of the Brook
with here and there a lusty trout
And here and there q grayling''-
very closely resembles our own fish in form
color and habits.