62 FISHING WITH THE FLY. 



rent and foam, toward the shining reaches and gravelly 

 beds far up the river, where their ova are to be deposited." 

 They stop for but a short time for rest in certain pools ; 

 one of these resting places was directly in front of our 

 tents. Two, three, or more, could be taken from it in 

 the morning ; sometimes, not always, in the evening ; 

 but assuredly the ensuing morning ; and so on, until 

 the beginning of September. 



When these fish return to "the ocean, that great re- 

 ceptacle of fishes," as Goldsmith styles it, is a problem 

 not yet solved. Some think they remain until winter, 

 or spring. I incline to the opinion that they go back to 

 the sea in the fall soon after their procreative duty is 

 performed. It is well known that the salmo fontinalis 

 gives no care or thought to its offspring ; and evinces 

 no love or affection for it after it passes the embryo-tic 

 or ova-otic stage ; and that during that stage their pa- 

 rental fondness is akin to that of the cannibal for the 

 conventional " fat missionary." The voraciousness that 

 prompts the parent trout to eat all the eggs they can 

 find as soon as deposited and fertilized, would also 

 prompt them to return to the estuaries so well stocked 

 with food suited to their taste and wants. 



AVhat becomes of the young fry during early fishliood 

 is another problem. From the fact that no small trout 

 are caught or seen in the rivers, at the source and in 

 the tributaries of which millions are hatched, it is fair 

 to assume that the young remain where they were incu- 

 bated until they attain age, size, and strength that ena- 



