140 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I, 



THE SAJ.MON. 



THE NAMAYCDSH TROUT. 



18 inches; from the snout to the pectoral 

 2^ ; to the first dorsal 4h ; width of the 

 head 2.4, longest cirri 4.3. 



Rays, B. 8, P. l|7, V. d, D. I'lG— 0, A. 

 25, C. 18. 



IIisTouv. — When I prepared niy list of 

 fishes at the beginninij of this chapter, 1 

 supposed our Cat Fish to be the P. ccciw- 

 siis of Richardson. Upon rc-exaniination, 

 since that list was printed, I Hnd our fish 

 does not a^rce with his description, and 

 I am now satisfied tliat it dots not belong 

 to that species. It is probably one of the 

 eight species described by Le Sueur in 

 the jMemoircs iJu Museum u'His/i/irc Nalu- 

 reUe, at Paris, but not having access to 

 that work, I am unable to designate the 

 species, or to say witli certainty that it is 

 embraced among those there described. 

 This species is only occasionally taken in 

 the vicinity of Rurlington, but is regarded 

 as very good fish for the table. In some 

 parts of lake Champlain it is said to be 

 quite plentiful. 



IV.-SALMONID.E— SALMON FAMILY. 

 Genl's Salmo. 

 Generic Characters. — Head smooili ; hoiiy 

 covered willi scales ; Iwo dor-sal tins, liic first sii[i- 

 ported by rays, ihe second fleshy, without rays ; 

 mouth large ; shar|) toedi on ihe jaws and longue ; 

 branchial rays usually about ten ; ventral tins op- 

 l>osile the cciilre of ihe first dorsal one. 



THE SALMON. 

 Salmo salar. — Linn.iius. 

 Description. — Color bluish silvery 

 above, lifrhter on the sides and white be- 

 neath ; bl.ick blotches upon the sides, 

 much more numerous above the lateral 

 line, for the most part surrounding the 

 outline of the scales, leaving the color of 

 the body unchanged ; the spots upon the 

 scaleless head are unbroken, and of a 

 deeper color. Length of the head equal 

 to one fifth tiie length of the fish ; head 

 sloping, darker colored above than the 

 back of the specimen. Gill covers light 

 silvery colored. Eyes small, pupil black, 

 irides silvery ; diameter of the eye equal 

 to one fourth tiie distance between the 

 eyes. Nostrils nearer the eyes than the 

 extremit}' of the snout. Upper jaw long- 

 est, receiving into a notch at its middle 

 the prominent tip of the lower jaw ; both 

 jaws, the palatine bones, vomer and 

 tongue armed with sharp incurved teeth ; 

 lateral line nearly straight. The first 

 dorsal fin commences on the anterior half 

 of the bod}% height of its first rays equals 

 its length ; dark colored, with longitudi- 

 nal rows of blank blotches upon its base ; 

 length of the adipose fin equals one third 

 its height; pectorals arise in front of the 



posterior angle of the gill covers ; length 

 equals one fourth their height ; ventrals 

 on a line opposite the middle of the dor- 

 sal, having on their sides a large axillary 

 scale ; anal fin white, higher than long ; 

 caudal dark brown, forked. 



Rays, D. 12, P. 1.5, V. 9, A. 10, C. 19. 

 —Siom-. 



History. — The Salmon, formerly very 

 plentiful in nearly all the large streams in 

 this state, is now so exceedingly rare a 

 visitant that 1 have not been able to ob- 

 tain a specimen taken in our waters, from 

 which to make a description for this work. 

 They have entirely ceased to ascend our 

 rivers, and only straggling individuals 

 are now met with in lake Champlain. 1 

 have heard of only one being taken here 

 during the past summer, and that I did 

 not see. The causes which have been 

 principally operative in driving these fish- 

 es from our waters have already been 

 mentioned. When the country was new, 

 according to Dr. Williams, there was a 

 regular and abundant migration of these 

 fishes to and from our waters, in spring 

 and autumn.* They came up Connecti- 

 cut river about the 2.'3th of April, and 

 jiroceeded to the highest branches. Short- 

 ly after they appeared in lake Champlain 

 and the large streams which fall into it. 

 So strong is their instinct for migration, 

 that, in ascending the streams, they 

 forced their passage over cataracts of sev- 

 eral feet in height, and in opposition to 

 the most rapid currents. They were 

 sometimes seen to make six or seven at- 

 tempts before they succeeded in ascend- 

 ing the falls. When thus going up in the 

 spring they were plump and fat, and of 

 an excellent flavor ; and from the begin- 

 ning of May to the middle of June they 

 were taken in great numbers. When 

 they arrived in the upper parts of the 

 streams they deposited their spawn. To- 

 wards the end of September they returned 

 to the ocean, but so emaciated and lean 

 as to be of little account as an article of 

 food. In the spring, salmon were often 

 taken weighing from 30 to 40 pounds. 



.A 



THE NAMAYCUSH, OR LONGE. 



Salmo namaycush.'—P EttHAKT 

 Description. — Form resemblinir the 



* Hi.story of Vermont, vol. 1, page 147. 



