90 THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 



waiting they can, I presume, secure passage in a much 

 more agreeable fluid. But in the normal early river 

 the early fish have already advanced well up stream 

 before winter descends upon the hills. If they 

 encounter floods of cold, snowy water they may drop 

 back to the warmer estuary if they have not ascended 

 to upper waters, but in Scotland we have not evi- 

 dence that clean fish are in any sense temporary 

 visitors to fresh water or habitually drop back into 

 the sea. In Ireland the evidence secured by mark- 

 ing clean fish seems to point to a rather different 

 conclusion, as described by Mr. Holt.* Out of 

 thirteen recaptured Irish clean fish there is evidence 

 that three were in the sea in the interval. These 

 fish were numbered 433 d, 858 d, and 861 d, and 

 the last two were presumably feeding in the sea, 

 since each on recapture showed an increase in weight, 

 858 of 2|- lb. with an interval of thirty-seven days, 

 861 an estimated increase of 1 or 2 lb. and an 

 interval of thirty-nine days. Mr. Holt further states 

 that this is in conformity with the belief held at Lis- 

 more that these winter fish make only a temporary 

 stay in fresh water, and are by those who catch them 

 commonly called " droppers," from their habit of 

 dropping down stream. This view is moreover 

 strengthened by the fact that 858 Dwas recaptured 

 in the sea, in Youghal harbour, about eighteen miles 

 below Lismore weir in the Blackwater, where the 

 fish was marked. I am not aware that anywhere in 

 Scotland the view is held that clean winter fish are 

 only temporary visitors to fresh water. 



* Report for 1901, Part II., "Scientific Investigations," p. 195. 



