FISH IN ENGLAND A J^ D WALES. 43 



dure the extreme frigidity of the fresh river wa- 

 ter, by reason of its tenuity, especially being so 

 lately weakened by spawning; and, therefore, 

 by instinct, they make the sea their winter habi- 

 tation, the sea being naturally warm. But if 

 they spawn in the mean time, from thence 

 proceeds a small salmon, called a Skegger, which 

 never grows large. The female salmon is distin- 

 guished from the male because its nose is longer 

 and more hooked, its scales not so bright, and 

 its body speckled over witli dark brown spots; 

 its belly flatter, and its flesh not so red ; more 

 dry, and less delicious to the taste. 



The growth of this fish is so extraordinary^ 

 that a young salmon being taken at IVarrington, 

 and which weighed seven pounds on the 7ih of 

 February, being marked with scissars on the back 

 fin, was again taken on the 17th of March fol- 

 lowing, and was then found to weigh seventeen 

 pounds and a half. 



The principal rivers in England for salmon, are^ 

 1st, The ThameSj whose salmen be;its all others 

 for taste and flavour; the Severn and the Trent ; 

 the Lon at Lancaster, about Cockersand jobber/; 

 at Workington in Cuuiberland ; Di/roell in North- 

 ufnberland; Durhamyhiid Newcastle on Tyne; the 

 Dee in Cheshire ; aad the rivers Usk and IVye in 

 Monmouthshire. Besides the salmon-leap m 

 Pembrokeshire, there is another in the river Ban 

 in Ireland: this river is in the mountains of 

 Mourn in the county of Doxvn, and it passes 

 through Lough Laugh, or Lough Sidncif, a large 

 lake in the county of Colraine. Mr. Cambden, 

 says it breeds salmons in abundance, above all 

 other rivers in Europe, because it is thought to 

 exceed ail others for clearness, in which sort of 

 ■water salmons deiigat. lie bites best about three 



