204 Natural History and Political Impropriation 



It is a beautiful fish, of 6 oz. or 8 oz. in weight, and has more 

 of the appearance of the sahnon than the mort has. It seldom 

 ascends the river before July, and, like the mort, is far more 

 abundant in the Hodder than in the Ribble. This fish some- 

 times rises pretty freely at the fly, and, when it does so, makes 

 a very handsome addition to the angler's basket ; but at other 

 times it is shy and difficult to hook. It disappears, in a great 

 measure, about September. 



Fourthly, We have the pink, or par, which is found of two 

 or three sizes in the Ribble : the largest are all males, and, 

 in October, the milt in them is large. They are small fishes ; 

 varying in weight from 1 oz. to 3 oz. each ; and, as it is well 

 remarked by the author of that delightful book. Wild Sports 

 of the West, they have very much the appearance of hybrids 

 between the salmon and the trout. They rise, very freely, at 

 the fly and maggot, from July to October, and afford good 

 sport to the angler who is satisfied with catching small fish. 

 I trust I shall be able, in the following pages, to give some 

 information respecting this fish, which will assist in dispelling 

 the mystery in which its natural history has been enveloped. 



I will now mention a few of the opinions respecting the 

 various species of salmon, and also my own, where they are 

 at variance with the generally received ones, and give the 

 facts and reasonings which have induced me to form those 

 opinions ; and I shall be very glad, if 1 be in error on any of 

 these points, if some one of your readers, better acquainted 

 with the subject than I am, will take the trouble to set me 

 right. 



It seems to be the opinion of many, indeed of most, per- 

 sons, that the salmon spawns from November to February, 

 and that the young fry, or smelts, go down to the sea in the 

 April or May following. My own opinion is, that they stay 

 in the rivers very much longer. The grilse is, by many, be- 

 lieved to be a distinct species, whilst others stoutly maintain 

 that it is a young salmon. 



The testimony of the witnesses from the Severn, the Wye, 

 the Lee (near Cork), and the Ness (see the evidence given 

 before the Select Committees of the House of Commons in 

 1824 and 1825), would lead one to suppose that the fish were 

 in the best season from November to March ; whilst the evi- 

 dence of the witnesses from the other parts of the kingdom 

 goes to prove that this is the very worst period for catching 

 them. One maintains that each river has its own variety of 

 fish, which can be distinguished from the fish of any other 

 river; another contends that there is no such difference: a 

 third states that stake nets are exceedingly injurious to the 



