the Salmon, Herring, and Vendace. 473 



March 23. The ova now changing ; the outer shell cast ; the 

 fry are lying imbedded in the gravel, as fishes somewhat less than 

 an inch in length, being now twenty weeks from the period of 

 their deposition. 



April 1. On reopening the spawning bed, most of the fry had 

 quitted it by ascending through the gravel. During a former se- 

 ries of observations, I have found the ova embedded in the gra- 

 vel unchanged on the 10th April, and as fry or fishes, but still 

 imbedded in the gravel, on the 17th : they were taken that year 

 with fly, as Smolts on the 22d April, about the size of the little 

 finger. 



April 19. Many taken, eight and even nine inches long, in 

 excellent condition ; the rivers now abound with them, and their 

 food is exactly the same as the trout : after death they run 

 rapidly into putrescence ; they will not bear handling, and uni- 

 formly die if an attempt be made to preserve them out of their 

 native element, the pure running streams of rivers. 



May 5. Still abound in the tributary streams, but are not so 

 numerous as before ; they are not increased in size, and are in all 

 probability fry of a later deposit. The extreme of their growth 

 seems to be about nine inches, at least none were taken larger 

 than this. 



The pair of salmon which were watched, were from 14 to 16 

 Ib. weight, and were seemingly the ordinary Tweed salmon. The 

 river (the Whitadder) has its source in a mountainous country, and 

 at an elevation of 900 feet above the level of the sea. At this time 

 (November) the stream abounded in all the different kinds of sal- 

 mon usually taken in the Tweed, with which this stream communi- 

 cates at a short distance from Berwick. They were engaged every- 

 where in spawning, this being the usual time in which that act is 

 carried on. They commence in the latter end of October, and 

 some are found to spawn so late as the middle of January, but no 

 such occurrence has ever been observed later, nor would it be easy 



