16 THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 



exit to the upper water are begun. When the yolk- 

 sac has entirely disappeared the little fish is 

 practically an inch long, and is ready to roam over 

 the quiet shallows and to explore the sanctuaries 

 where such small fry congregate. Great numbers of 

 such tiny creatures may sometimes be discovered 

 in unexpected places. On one occasion I found an 

 undermined slope of a weir which I was examining 

 crowded with them ; on another occasion an isolated 

 pool round the pier of a viaduct was similarly 

 peopled. 



At the commencement of their lives more than at 

 any other time the salmon move in shoals. They 

 are, of course, unable to withstand strong currents, 

 and are on emerging from the redds no doubt 

 washed down stream to the first quiet localities 

 where they can assemble, their instinct apparently 

 being to take up positions where they are not easily 

 reached by trout and other predatory fishes. In 

 such places it is to be feared, however, that certain 

 birds are most apt to find them, in spite of their 

 strong protective colouration. The black-headed 

 gull, which nests inland, and does not disperse 

 its young to the coast for several months, is a 

 pretty bird, which salmon fishers may freely regard 

 with pleasure in a lady's hat. He is an expert fisher 

 of shallow streams, and far outnumbers all other 

 birds which in my opinion must be regarded as 

 enemies of the salmon. He might well be excepted 

 from the protective list of many a County Council. 



The inch-long salmon takes up its free-swimming 

 life towards the end of April, and has two years of 



