66 



trufta) wliicli had been hatched from an English ovum, and 

 which had spawned in this colony, after being unnaturally- 

 detained in fresh water, and Dr. Giinther wrote to Mr. Youl 

 in reference to this fish as follows : — 



" (1.) The larger specimen is very interesting ; it is a female fish, 

 with the ovaries well developed. With regard to the external 

 characters, it agrees perfectly with the migratory sea-trout ; it has 

 the dentition and scales, caudal fin, and praeoperculum of that 

 species ; it shows also ten parr makes, a number met with only in 

 migratory species. 



"On the other hand, it has only thirty-six pyloric appendages, a 

 number which I have never met with in purely bred migratory 

 Balraonidre, but very commonly found in the river-trout and hybrids 

 between river and sea-trout. (See my Catalogue of Fishes, &c., 

 p. 27.) I think that this specimen does not serve to convince the 

 sceptical that one species of migratory salmon will thrive in fresh 

 water. The coloration of this specimen is altogether peculiar, and 

 J have never seen a fish marked with spots so deeply black, so large, 

 and so numerous as in this specimen. In ordinary sea-troufc of the 

 same size the parr marks would have disappeared, but here they 

 are present, and their co-existence with the black spots gives to this 

 specimen quite a pecuhar appearance." 



On the 1st August, 1871, 1 wrote Dr. Giinther the following 

 letter : — 



" Mr. Youl kindly sent me a copy of your remarks on the sal- 

 monoids, last sent to the Zool. Soc. I feel personally greatly 

 obliged to you for the trouble you took in examining them, and see 

 no difficulty in reconciling the peculiarities of colour in the large 

 specimen with the fact of its being a salmon trout, the presence of 

 parr marks is due entirely to the unnatural detention in fresh 

 water. Here we detained a few smolts of the salmon {S. solar) in 

 the same way, and the parr marks returned after the season for 

 migration was past, but the fish never arrived at the plump healthy 

 appearance exhibited by the salmon trout under the same circum- 

 stances. I cannot at all account for the deficiency in the number 

 of pyloric appendages, but have found the number exceedingly 

 variable in specimens of S.fario. Do the number vary at difierent 

 ages ? Would the detention in fresh water cause the normal 

 number to diminish ? 



" One of the parent fish, a male, died 12 months before that sent 

 to England. I carefully coimted the pyloric appendages, and 

 found 47." 



It will thus be seen that I had myself arrived at much the same 

 conclusion as Dr. Murie, as to the doubtful value of the number of 

 pyloric appendages as a specific test. As Dr. Murie specially 

 Bohcits information from pisciculturists at home or abroad, I 

 purpose sending the specimen of salmon smolt which died after the 

 long detention in fresh water, for his inspection. 



