VIEW OF THE PRESENT STATE 



OF THE 



SALMON AND CHANNEL 



FISHERIES. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 



I o give a description of a fish so well known as 

 the salmon would be as absurd as it would be un- 

 necessary, but in attempting its natural history 

 I may occasionally touch upon points which may 

 have a tendency to further the objects of this in- 

 quiry. In Sturt's Elements of Linnseus it is said, 

 that the common salmon, or salmo salar, " grows 

 very quickly ; it is sometimes six feet long, and 

 weighs upwards of seventy pounds. It is much 

 coveted for the table, and forms in many countries 

 a very considerable articje of commerce. Sal- 

 mon begin to quit the sea and ascend the rivers 

 in the month of November; the impulse which 

 urges them to this progress is irresistible ; they 

 ascend the most rapid rivers for hundreds of miles, 

 and spring over cataracts several feet in height. 

 When they have attained a place fit for their pur- 



B 



