228 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



many years before Yarrell and Jardine had pronounced them 

 authoritatively to be a distinct species, Scrope had urged upon 

 the Legislature the futility of preserving smolts unless parr re- 

 ceived protection also. His view, and the unanswerable grounds 

 whereon it rested, were communicated to Mr. Kennedy, who 

 had introduced a Salmon-Fishery Bill to the House of Commons 

 early in 1825. 



Well, the parr and smolt dispute was decided long ago, 

 and there is no need to stir it afresh. The only justification 

 for recalling it at this time of day is by way of warning against 

 accepting either a priori theories or mere circumstantial evidence 

 upon any phase of the life and habits of the salmon, and as 

 showing the necessity of checking the results of scientific 

 research by the observation of practical fishermen, and vice versa. 



I must now revert to a point whereon the riverside men 

 have been proved by men of science to be in serious error. It 

 is a belief commonly entertained among anglers and fishermen 

 that kelts i.e., salmon descending to the sea in an emaciated 

 condition after spawning are ravenous creatures, devouring 

 quantities of the young of their own species. This has given 

 rise to a cry for repeal of the clauses in the Salmon Acts which 

 make it illegal to kill kelts. At one time, and that not so very 

 long ago, men of science were on the side of the calumniators 

 of kelts. Writing as recently as 1886, Professor Seeley 

 expressed himself as follows : " After spawning, salmon 

 develop cannibal propensities, and the old feeble kelts which 

 remain in the river grow voracious, and consume immense 

 quantities of salmon fry, before they recover strength enough 

 to go down to the sea."* 



It might be supposed that an ichthyologist of Professor 

 Seeley's standing and experience would not have made such a 

 serious charge against kelt salmon without ample evidence to 

 support it. But there is none, or next to none, and a great 

 deal of evidence against it. In the first place, nobody ever has 

 * The Fresh-water Fishes of Europe, p. 269. 



