of the Salmon Fish, 203 



weight from 5 lbs. to 30 lbs. We never see the fresh fish 

 here before May, and then very rarely : a few come in 

 June, July, and August, if there are high floods in the river ; 

 and in about the latter end of September they become tolerably 

 abundant (the fisheries near the mouth of the river have then 

 ceased for the season), and the salmon run very freely up the 

 river from that time to the middle or end of December. They 

 begin to spawn at the latter end of October ; but the greater 

 part of those that spawn here, do so in December (I believe 

 nearer the source of the river they are earlier) ; but many fish 

 are seen on the spawning beds in January, and I have even 

 seen a pair so late as March ; but this last is a very rare 

 occurrence. Some of the male kippers (kelts) come down in 

 December and January, but the greater part of the females 

 remain in the river until April, and they are occasionally seen, 

 herding with shoals of smelts, in May. In this state they 

 will take a worm very greedily, and are, many of them, caught 

 with the fly in the deeps ; but they are unfit to eat, the flesh 

 being white, loose, and insipid, although they have lost the 

 red dingy appearance which they had when about to spawn, 

 and are almost as bright as the fresh fish : their large heads 

 and lank bodies, however, render it sufficiently easy to dis- 

 tinguish them from fish which are only ascending the river, 

 even if the latter were plentiful at this season ; but this is, un- 

 fortunately, not the case. 



Secondly, We have the mort, I am not sure whether this 

 fish is what is called the grilse in Scotland, or whether it is 

 the sea trout of that country. It is a handsome fish, weighing 

 from 1^ lb. to 3 lbs. We first see the morts in June, and from 

 that time to the end of September they are plentiful, in favour- 

 able seasons, in the Hodder (a tributary stream of the Ribble), 

 although they are never numerous in the Ribble above the 

 mouth of that river. It is the opinion of the fishermen here 

 that this is a distinct species. My own opinion is that it 

 is a young salmon ; and yet, if I were called upon to give 

 reasons for thinking so, I could not offer any very conclusive 

 ones : the best I have is, that there is no perceptible differ- 

 ence in the fry when going down to the sea. It may be said, 

 " How do you know that one of the three or four varieties of 

 smelts, which you describe farther on, is not the fry of the 

 mort ? " To this objection, if made, I say, that these varieties 

 exist in the Wharfe, where, owing either to natural or to 

 artificial causes, there is never either a mort or a sprod 

 (whitling?) seen. 



Thirdly, We have the sprod, which is, I believe, syno- 

 nymous with the whitling, whiting, or berling of Scotland. 



