^ SALMONID.E. 



in length, and at the end of six months it had attained the 

 length of three inches and three quarters. 



From these experiments Mr. Shaw infers, that the growth 

 of the young of the Salmon has been much overrated ; that 

 as the young Salmon in its progress assumes at a certain age 

 the markings and colour of the Parr ; that the Parr, as a dis- 

 tinct species, does not exist ; and finally, that the young of 

 the Salmon do not go down to the sea till they are more than 

 twelve months old at the least, that is sometime during their 

 second year, if not still later than that. 



That the young of the Salmon, from their particular ap- 

 pearance at a certain age, have been constantly called Parrs, I 

 readily admit ; but so have also the young of two other 

 migratory species, S. trutta and S. eriox ; T think, there- 

 fore, that this is not conclusive evidence of the non-existence 

 of a distinct small fish, to which the name of Parr ought to 

 be exclusively applied ; it rather shows the want of power 

 among general observers to distinguish between the young of 

 closely allied species, three or four of which are indiscrimi- 

 nately called Parrs. 



That the rate of growth in the young of the Salmon has 

 been exaggerated may be very true ; but the rate of the 

 growth of the fry in Mr. Shaw*'s ponds cannot be expected to 

 equal that which would have taken place in the open river. 

 Circumscribed in space over which to roam, and limited in 

 food, as to variety at least, if not in quantity, in small ponds, 

 the growth would be retarded in proportion ; and this cir- 

 cumstance seems proved by Mr. Shaw''s own remark, in which 

 he states that the fish in the third pond (the largest pond of 

 the three) " were considerably larger than those in the first 

 pond, the difference in length at the age of six months 

 amounting to an inch, or more than one fifth. 



That the young fish do not go down to the sea till their 

 second year, I am willing to believe on Mr. Shaw''s authority. 



