230 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



enough ground upon which to base the theory that salmon 

 devour salmon. It is quite true that certain fish, such as pike, 

 trout, and others very low in the scale of vertebrate animals, 

 are at times pressed so hard by hunger as to transgress the 

 law which the fiercest mammals respect, and the stronger 

 individuals make prey of the weaker of their own kind ; but it 

 is tolerably certain that, so soon as a kelt feels the seasonal 

 return of appetite, he makes off to the sea to satisfy it. The 

 only circumstance which might make him turn cannibal would 

 arise in the event of his being imprisoned in the river by 

 drought, in which case no doubt the kelt would not be 

 particular about his diet ; he would stay his stomach with 

 whatever edible objects he could find. 



Nobody, I suppose, has ever accused fresh-run salmon of 

 cannibal propensities, and anglers often receive the impression 

 that kelts are far more ravenous than fish which have just 

 entered the river from the sea. The fact is that, in the spring 

 months, when kelts are descending to the sea, and clean fish are 

 beginning to run from it, probably more kelts will be landed 

 by fly or spinning bait than clean fish ; the reason being, not 

 that the kelts are more hungry, but that they are far more 

 numerous than the clean fish. 



My own belief, founded on prolonged observation, is that 

 the clean-run fish takes the bait far more readily than the spent 

 fish, not because he is the hungrier of the two, but because his 

 vitality is higher and his predaceous instinct more alert. 



There are good grounds for believing that, from the time the 

 salmon leaves the sea until after the operation of spawning, it 

 takes no nourishment. Instances may occur of salmon in fresh 

 water swallowing edible objects, but the fact remains that such 

 objects have never been detected in their stomachs, nor the 

 d&bris of them in their intestines. That salmon in rivers and 

 lakes seize moving objects, which may or may not be edible, 

 such as minnows, worms, and artificial flies, has been cited as 

 proof that they feed in fresh water, and the uniform emptiness 



