102 SA^LMONID^ OF BRITAIN. 



Ill December, 1880, Sir James Maitland obtained some salmon in the Teith, 

 from -which he personally took eggs and milt, and in March, 1881, the ova were 

 hatched. In due course the young were transferred to pond No. 7 at Howietoun. 

 This pond is lined witli wood, and its extent 100 ft. long by 15 ft. broad, 8 ft. 

 deep in the centre, and 6| ft. on either side, while the average supply of water 

 passing through it is 1,000,000 gallons a day. 



In July, 1883, in the presence of several of the foreign commissioners to the 

 " Great International Fisheries Exhibition," and other invited guests, this pond was 

 netted, when it was seen that some of the young salmon, then two years and four 

 months old, were of a general golden colour, spotted, and in the livery of the 

 banded par stage, while others were beautiful silvery smolts, similar to such as 

 we generally find descending to the sea, and which, in certain lights, showed par 

 bands. Although, as a general rule, the smolts were the larger, still a few of the 

 pars exceeded the smolts in size. 



October 10, 1883, one of these fish, which was under 1 lb. in weight, in the 

 smolt livery,* but still showing par bands, jumped out f of the pond, and was 

 found dead on the path. On being opened it proved to be a female, with com- 

 paratively large ova, which were of a deep reddish colour, thus almost disposing 

 of the statement that "no par has ever been found with a mature ova." I say 

 almost, because as yet the ova were not quite mature, although they would have 

 become so had not the fish met with an untimely fate. Also the objection might 

 be raised that it was a smolt, not a par, and although the par bands were present, 

 certainly the golden tinge seen in the young of the salmon was absent. 



At the end of November, 1883, several of these fish during the night and 

 early morning were fonnd to have jumped out of the pond, and it was surmised 

 that more might have been carried off by rats or birds. On November 29th two 

 more, one being 11| in. in length, were found dead ; this latter was a silvery smolt, 

 with par bands, and on being opened proved to be full of ripe milt. A net having 

 been employed, three fish were removed for examination. The first was a silvery 

 smolt, 10'8 in. in length, which in certain lights distinctly showed the par bands ; 

 the generative organs were not developed. The second, 9 in. long, was more 

 distinctly par-marked, but otherwise very similar. The third was 6'3 in. in 

 length, in the par dress, and was a male full of milt.:j: As a rule the females 

 were silvery, although the ova was not rij^c, but the males, on the contrary, when 

 pressed, gave ripe milt. Generally the smolts appeared to be more spotted than 

 such as are taken in a state of nature in the rivers ; the largest was 13^ in. long. 

 Those in th.e golden par livery seemed to be males, most of which were ripe, 

 while the silvery smolts were mostly females. These fish rendered it very evident 

 that the relative growth of the fry does not depend on the size of the pond, 

 quantity, quality, or variety of food, or amount of water, as all had been treated 

 alike, yet they varied in length from 4 in. to 13| in. 



During the month of May, 1884, sixteen of these fishes jumped out of the 

 pond and were found dead, and the breeding organs in all were found to be 

 developing in a satisfactory manner. August 28th, 1884, an examination was 

 made of pond No. 7, and a smolt Ij lb. in weight and 14-1 in. long was removed ; 

 it proved to be a female with the ova well forward, the largest being O'l of an 



^^ The beautiful illnstralions of grilse in Sir W. Jarcliue's magnificent Sabiionidic do not 

 resemble in colour the Howietoun lish, which latter are more spotted than his 2 lb. 13 oz. 

 specimen from the Solway Firth, taken in July, and even more so than his 3A lb. fish captured in 

 August. 



t Brown (Stormontjidds Experiments) observed that "in the month of February, 1836, caught 

 a dozen and a half par in the Tay, and kept them confined in a stream of running water, and by 

 the month of May the whole of them had become smolts ; but some had leaped out of their 

 confinement in their struggle to find their way to the sea, and were found dead on the side of the 

 pond " (pp. 7 and 8). 



% The teeth in the vomer of a par were as follows :— Three on the hind edge of the head of 

 that bone, behind that a pair, then two placed one at an angle to the other, and subsequently 

 eight in a single row, but with their points somewhat divergent. There was very little change 

 seen in those of the smolt, while in one 13 in. long, that spawned in 188-i, the same dentition 

 prevailed. 



