THE HABITS OF THE SALMON. 7 



Dr. Francis Day ^ states, "That early ascending 

 salmon cannot be those fish from which we have 

 to expect ova for replenishing the stock of our 

 rivers, and that these early fish cannot develop 

 eggs without another journey to the sea." With 

 all due respect to the opinion of such a high 

 authority, I am of opinion that early ascending 

 salmon are as often as not bred from ova of fish 

 which enter fresh water at any time of year, and 

 I shall be glad to know upon what evidence we 

 can arrive at any other conclusion. Even if it 

 were proved that a certain number of them re-visit 

 the sea before the spawning season, we know that 

 most early-ascending fish stay at home. Take, for 

 example, the River Tay, and what do we find ? 

 We find salmon making for Loch Tay all through 

 the autumn, winter, and spring months. In May 

 there is a generiil exodus of fish from the Loch 

 into the Dochart, a tributary flowing into Loch Tay 

 at Killin, and these remain in the Dochart until the 



' Since these pages were written, we have had to lament the 

 death of this eminent ichthyologist. 



