342 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Yes, I think the Indian is right, for on careful examination 1 find no 

 deviation from the typical structure of the migrating salmon. One ob- 

 serves the same linear markings, with trivial and transitory differences. 

 The bony structure appears to be identical, and we find in the little fish 

 fifteen rays in the pectoral fin, nine in the ventral, ten in the anal, twelve 

 in the dorsal, nineteen in the caudal, and twelve branchiostegals — the 

 same as in the great salmon of the sea. The formation of the head ! 

 exhibits no radical difference, and the fish are perfect specimens of I 

 grilse. I caught out of the same stream little parr and smoults, perfect 

 fac-similes of the young of the Salmo salur. 



The most singular fact to be considered in connection with this fish is 

 its weight, which in this lake never exceeds four and a half pounds, , 

 while that of the migratory salmon sometimes surpasses even sixty. 



As this fish has excited the curiosity of naturalists and caused much 

 discussion, we will consider the question of its identity at length, mak- 

 ing actual comparison of it with the migrating sea-salmon. 



After cautious dissection and inspection of the fresh-water salmon 

 from the five different systems of lakes in Maine, and after many com- 

 parisons with the migratory salmon, I have arrived at the opinion that 

 it is identical with the sea-salmon known as the Salmo salar, and that 

 radically there is no difference between them, save in the habit of visit- 

 ing the sea. Some maj' ask, Why should there be a departure from na- 

 ture's laws, and how is this variety in particular preserved, when the 

 slightest deviation from the regulations of nature often causes the death 

 of the animal ? Others will exclaim. Why have not other varieties arisen 

 from the effect of similar circumstances ? In reply I will say that we 

 observe great flexibility in nature's stern rules under the molding influ- 

 ences of man; and it is shown that certain effects of strange food, dif- 

 fering localities and temperatures, may give rise to slight deviations in 

 form, color, and habits, without altering decidedly the characteristics of 

 the animal. 



The localities of some of the Salmonidw are strangely circumscribed, 

 and their geographical area or habitat may be very limited. The Salmo 

 hucho is caught only in the streams that emi)ty into the Danube. We 

 do not believe, with Pallas, that it occurs in the rivers of Siberia, or 

 that it may be found in those which empty into the Caspian Sea. In 

 the Tweed, the Salmo eriox, or bull-trout, is caught as frequently as the 

 salmon, and in the two rivers south of the Tweed there are fifty bull- 

 trout to every salmon ; but in the Forth and Tay, which flow into the 

 sea farther north, the species is almost a stranger. The Salmo toma, or 

 togue, is strangely distributed in this State; for instance, it is not found 

 in Sebec Lake, but abounds in most of the little ponds which are tribu- 

 tary, and which are also stocked with salmon. In Reed's Lake it is not 

 found, although large ones are taken in its tributary, Philip's Pond, a 

 mile distant. There are other examples in the State, but I am at a loss 

 to explain this singularity in the distribution of the fish in question. 



