THE SALMON. 243 



first termed a grilse ? and what is the fish termed at the 

 intermediate stage between a smolt and a grilse ? 



" These questions suggest themselves to me by the 

 statements in Seeley's book of the ' Fresh- Water Fishes of 

 Europe.' Speaking of Salmo salar, at p. 274, he says the 

 young ' parr ' are hatched in February or March ; by the 

 middle of May they are an inch long. In a year they 

 increase to 3^ inches, and in two years they are 6^ inches 

 long, when they become smolts, and flit from their native 

 river to the sea. ' They revel in the sea, and when they 

 come back in a few months it is as grilse, with boisterous 

 energy.' 



" Now, this description does not accord with my experi- 

 ence, and I have now been eighteen years connected with 

 the Board of Conservators for the Dart District. 



" I have never heard the term grilse applied to young, 

 fresh-run salmon under 2^- Ibs. in weight, and I certainly 

 cannot believe the young smolts can increase from about 

 2 oz. in weight to 2^ Ibs. in the one short season of their 

 first going to sea ' a few months/ not more than three, as 

 grilse are taken in August. 



" My experience is, that the young are hatched from 

 January to March, and some even much later. The great 

 majority of these put on the silvery coat when they are 

 about fifteen months old, and go down to the sea from 

 March to June, as the freshets occur to help them. These 

 little ones are then only about 2 oz. in weight. They 

 return again from the sea in July and August, but cer- 

 tainly not as grilse. We then term them here peel, 

 and they vary in weight from -J- Ib. to i^ lb., the greater 

 number being about I lb. each. The following season 

 they increase to about 3 Ibs. to 6 Ibs. each, and are then 

 what is usually termed grilse, or in this district harvest 

 salmon. 



" I believe that the young salmon return to all rivers 

 in the stage of peel, but that they are then mixed 

 up with other breeds of the genus salmon, and all are 

 termed alike ' sea- trout ; ' they are, however, easily dis- 



