70 THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 



of the habit, and show that fish of all weights adopt 

 at one time or other this varied period of marine 

 sojourn. It will be instructive now, however, to 

 refer to a few concrete cases by way of illustration, 

 showing by the actual data collected respecting 

 individual fish the nature of the evidence, for tables 

 such as these often conceal truth as language con- 

 ceals thought. And first we may conveniently 

 take the case of grilse, and see what becomes of them 

 after spawning and descending to the sea. 



Amongst the Tay records we have two marked 

 grilse kelts which may be selected. They were 

 numbered 9402 and 8044. The former adopted the 

 short period in the sea, and the latter the long 

 period. No. 9402 was recaptured after five and a half 

 months (the average period) as a summer fish weigh- 

 ing 10^^ lb. The record of marking and recapture 

 is as follows : — 



9402/ ^ ^^' ^^ " -^^^^ ^^^^^ ^®™* ^^^' ^' ^^^^ "^^y Upper water 

 UO^ „ 30" Clean salmon Fern. July31,1903 Tay Estuary nets 



The other grilse kelt (although we may observe that 

 the length is remarkable for a grilse), after spending 

 fourteen months in the sea, or an autumn and winter 

 longer than the first-mentioned fish, returned as a 

 clean sprmg fish of the large class, a class, be it 

 observed, which is more pronounced and definitely 

 constant in the Tay than in any other river in Scot- 

 land. This record is as follows : — 



8044/ ^^ ^^- ^^" -^^^^ ^^^^® ■^^™- '^^^- ^' ^^"^^ ^^^ Stanley 

 119 „ 36|-" Clean salmon — Mar. 14, 1903 Tay Benchill 



