FOREST, LAKE, AND RIVER 



place to a silvery coat like the adult salmon. In this 

 stage it is known as a " smolt," and goes to the sea, 

 where it rapidly increases in size. It returns from 

 the sea when it has attained a weight of two to six 

 pounds, and is then called a " grilse " ; these are 

 taken by anglers in Canadian waters, in propor- 

 tion of three to one of the adult salmon ; in the 

 American rivers, particularly in the Penobscot and 

 Kennebec waters, this condition is said to be 

 reversed. 



Much difference of opinion prevails among those 

 who have observed the habits of the salmon. In 

 Scotland, many years ago, it seemed to be estab- 

 lished that a portion, at least, of the young salmon 

 put on the silvery coat and went to sea at the age 

 of one year ; but that others of the same brood did 

 not do so until two years old. American observa- 

 tions, however, tend strongly to the habits of the 

 smolt as given above. 



The next stage of the salmon is that of the adult, 

 four or five years having passed since its birth. 

 This estimate of age is based upon extended obser- 

 vations by the Commission of Fisheries of Maine as 

 to the return of salmon to the Merrimac River, with 

 the following qualification by the United States Fish 

 Commission : " Whether the same rule holds good 

 in other New England rivers cannot as yet be 



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