162 ON THE YOUNG OF THE SALMON. 



Davy : few believe them to be of the same species as their 

 namesakes of the spring, that is, the salmon-fiy ; but with these 

 latter, however, I think I shall be able to identify them. 



I have taken samlets at the foot of several considerable 

 waterfalls in Wales, whereas above those places, being be- 

 yond the ascending power of the salmon, great as it is known 

 to be, small trout of the same size may be taken, but not one 

 samlet : were the former a distinct species, inhabiting those 

 rivers the whole year, I presume they would, like the trout, 

 be found above as well as below the falls ; and I will venture 

 to assert, from my experience, that the autumn samlet, called 

 by whatever name it may, will be met with in all rivers fre- 

 quented by salmon, and in no others ; that they will be found 

 as far up those rivers as the salmon go, and no farther, which 

 is strong presumptive evidence of the one being the produce 

 of the other. 



With regard to the milt, or soft roe, contained in samlets 

 in the autumn months, this appears to be the mere germs of 

 spawn not come to maturity ; and the same appearance is to 

 be seen in small salmon of half-a-pound and upwards, at that 

 season of the year. Indeed, the absence of the ova, or per- 

 fected spawn, at any time of the year (and I have examined 

 samlets in almost every month), clearly shows that they are 

 not come to their full growth. But what I rely upon more 

 than anything else, is, that the anatomical structure will be 

 found to correspond exactly w^ith the salmon, and the salmon- 

 fry. In addition to this, the bones of the samlets are soft and 

 tender, unlike those of a fish come to maturity, as may be 

 seen on examining the bones of any small fish of full growth, 

 a minnow, for instance. It is true, that salmon generally 

 spawn at one particular time of the year, namely, December 

 and January ; and it does, at first, seem rather strange, why 

 the produce should appear at difierent times of the year ; — 

 but the trout furnishes us with a similar instance ; this fish 

 is known to spawn about the same time as the salmon, yet 

 very small trout will be met with at all times of the year, 

 without surprise to the angler : I have myself seen them less 

 than minnow^s, in September, and also the same size in April, 

 though it is clear that the young trout of September, and 

 those of April, could not have been spawned at the same 

 time, and I call attention to this, in reference to the spring 

 and autumn samlet. Another circumstance w^hich I will 

 here mention, is, that so late as December I have taken with 

 a fly, small salmon of half-a-pound each (and I trust I am 

 sufficiently acquainted with these fish, to say that they be- 

 longed to no other species), which, according to the rate they 



