SALMO SALAR. ^75 



the Lake o£ Lucerne by the Reuss. They were formerly taken in the Main, 

 at Bamberg", and in the Neckar, at Heilbronn. Ascending the Elbe and its 

 tributaries, Salmon reach the Fichtelgebirge. They reach Moravia by the 

 Oder, and the Carpathians, in Galicia, by the Vistula. Their abundance is 

 sometimes incredible. Von Siebold states that one thousand fishes, averaging 

 thirty pounds each, have been captured in a day at one fisheiy on the Memel, 

 by nets spread across the river, and taken up eveiy two hours. They do 

 not, however, go up the river in a mass, but in small troops. Fishermen 

 state that females lead the way, followed by the old males, while the young 

 come up last. This is confirmed by the Scottish fisheries taking- most Salmon 

 in July, and more Grilse in August. Benecke tells us that sterile fishes 

 do not ascend rivers, but are taken in g-reat numbers on the Baltic coast. 

 In Britain, Salmon enter the northern rivers earlier than rivers farther south. 

 Buckland states that a female full of eggs, a fresh run fish, and a Kelt, have 

 sometimes been taken in one haul of the net, and other evidence points to 

 the conclusion that there is sometimes a spring-, as well as an autumn, 

 migration ; but fishes are always later in going up rivers which become muddy 

 and swollen in spring by the melting* of mountain snows; and streams which 

 intercept the sediment by lakes receive the earliest supply of Salmon. 



The fishes ascend when the river is full. In Sutherlandshire, the two 

 rivers Oykill and Shin enter the sea by a common mouth five miles long. 

 In early spring all the fishes which enter the stream diverge into the Shin, 

 which is clearer and warmer, while later in the season they ascend the Oykill. 

 Similarly in Cumberland, Salmon prefer the Eden to the Esk. 



The perseverance of the fishes in surmounting- obstacles is a remarkable 

 sight. Their efforts are renewed again and again until the bound made by 

 straightening the bent tail enables them to leap over the obstruction. 



The limit of their perpendicular spring is about twelve or fourteen feet, 

 and when they attempt greater leaps they are frequently killed by the violence of 

 their exertions. Hence, as Salmon are a valuable property, and a single large 

 fish may sometimes be worth as much as three sheep, ladders and stair- 

 cases have been invented and erected in Salmon rivers to enable the fishes to 

 surmount difficult waterfalls. 



The value of Salmon fisheries is not inconsiderable to the landed pro- 

 prietors, though much of the Irish fishing ground is of the nature of commons. 

 Alexander Russel stated the rental value of the Salmon fisheries in the Spey, Tay, 

 and Aberdeen rivers at £40,000 per annum, of which the Duke of Richmond 

 received £18,000 a year for his fisheries in the Spey. Expenses, however, are not 

 inconsiderable, and when Russel wrote, in 1864, seven hundred men employed 

 on the Tay fisheries received about £9,000 a year; but the Tav fui-nishes 



