NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 65 



fish," and the grilse " a summer fish/' but, roundly speak- 

 ing, that salmon come at all seasons, and grilse at only 

 one season. The assumption that salmon cease to ascend 

 in summer, is utterly inadmissible, though there are 

 some rivers where, owing to temperature and other 

 natural conditions, the statement is, in a loose sense, 

 partially true ; and we shall bring that, and some even 

 more important statements, to the test of the only au- 

 thentic figures we know of, showing the capture of the 

 different kinds of migratory Salmonidce in each month 

 of the year. The following shows the proportions of 

 salmon, of grilse, and of trout (almost entirely the Salmo 

 eriox), to every 1000 of each kind caught, on an average 

 of years, in the net-fisheries of the river Tweed : 



Salmon. Grilse. Trout. 



February (2d half of), . 22 8 



March, .... 56 7 



April, .... 89 23 



May, .... 128 1 56 



June, . . . . 138 13 173 



July, .... 233 371 254 



August, . . . . 151 408 164 



September, . - . . : 113 154 129 



October (1st half of), . . 71 53 186 



There is here, in the first place, sufficient refutation of 



the statement that the " salmon is peculiarly a spring 



fish," and peculiarly not " a summer fish ;" for we see 



that, on the Tweed at least, the months showing the 



smallest proportions of salmon to the whole take of 



^almon, are February, March, and April ; and the months 



showing the largest proportion, June, July, and August. 



But the point to which we direct attention is the 



E 



