110 Mr Shaw'^s E.i'pervnents and Observations C7i the Parr. 



in their successive arrivals. They had all the appearance of the 

 former, averaging from six to seven inches. 



It must be admitted that my experiments and observations on 

 what I consider the young salmon have been confined to a par- 

 ticular locality, and therefore may not be entitled to the same 

 consideration as the opinions of a person of more extensive op- 

 portunity of research ; yet, as the parr is allowed to be the same 

 in all rivers, and, as it is universally admitted to frequent 

 those streams only to which the salmon has access, there can 

 be little objection to my facts on the score of confined locality. 

 That the small parr of one inch in length, found in April 

 amongst the loose gravel on the edge of the streams where the 

 salmon had spawned the previous winter, is the young of the 

 salmon, cannot, in my opinion, admit of a doubt. The facts 

 which I have related in the foregoing pages will supply the 

 deficiency of information so much complained of by most au- 

 thors in treating of the early history of the salmon, that is, the 

 progress of the fish from the egg up to the period of its migra- 

 tion ; and when it is recollected that the vertebrae of the parr 

 and those of the adult salmon correspond, and also that the parr 

 in its new dress cannot be distinguished in any respect from the 

 salmon fry, it may fairly be concluded that they are identical. 

 That the parr is not the produce of the common trout must be 

 evident to every one, from the circumstance of its changing its 

 appearance at a stated season, and then migrating to the sea, 

 a thing the common trout is never known to do. The diversity 

 of species is also corroborated by the fact, that the common 

 trout has never been observed to spawn in the stream where my 

 observations were made. Unless the trout be of large size, 

 which is not the case in the Nitb, it uniformly prefers the 

 tributary burns for depositing its spawn. Neither am I aware 

 of an instance of the sea-trout or the herling spawning on the 

 stream alluded to, these fish having generally proceeded early 

 in the autumn either towards the source or into some of the 

 tributaries. 



A series of specimens illustrative of Mr Shaw's interesting 

 observations on the natural history of the parr has been pre- 

 sented by him to the Royal Museum of the University.— Ed. 



