perfect from liis grub state — and dies in an hour, or at most, in a 

 few days. "Why then argue against nature's decree ? why stamp 

 this little fish as an aberration of the Creative Power ? Again, 

 every fish in our waters can be detected brooding, if they do 

 breed there. But though the parr has been watched and examined, 

 with the most scrupulous care and industry, it is universally 

 admitted " that its breeding is unknown." It has been noticed, 

 by all who have studied this part of the subject, that when the 

 male parr has perfected his milt, the female presents only the 

 rudiments of ova. Had they arrived at maturity — were they 

 indeed a distinct species — both males and females must necessarily 

 be complete in their organization ; the one, as well as the other, 

 would show a corresponding breeding condition. No more 

 appropriate instance of this need be desired, than is shown in one 

 of their own genus — the smallest of the migratory salmonidas — 

 the smelt. I have, at different times, examined considerable 

 numbers of these little fish ; and invariably found the milt and 

 ova in an equally advanced stage, in every specimen. "When 

 near the spawning time — toward the end of March — the milt of 

 the male, and the ova of the female, are advanced, simultaneously, 

 to that state, when either can be made to flow by slight abdominal 

 pressure with the fingers. Here we have a distinct species of the 

 genus salmo, perfect, and scarcely larger than the parr, at his 

 migratory stage ; and were that parr an equally small, distinct, 

 and perfect species, it is incredible to suppose, that the male could 

 breed, and the female could not ; that in short, the history of its 

 breeding should be altogether unknown. Every experiment, too, 

 has invariably ended in proving the parr to be the young of the 

 salmon. Those now extensively carried on by the two Frenchmen, 

 Gehin and Kcmy, but confirm the experiments of Shaw and 

 others. The French government has had the wisdom and patriot- 

 ism to orant a sum of 30,000 francs, to these two men, for an 

 extensive artificial production of fish ; for the joint purposes of 

 scientific objects, and an increase of the national resources. 



In a scientific point of view, as well as in political economy, 

 the breeding of fish is of some importance ; and as many may not 



