NATURAL HISTORY 19 



of smell and hearing in fish, I take leave of Izaak 

 Walton, protesting that Mr. Andrew Lang, in his 

 preface to the edition of 1896, does scant justice to 

 his author when he writes ' that as to salmon Walton 

 scarcely speaks a true word about their habits, except 

 by accident.' His comments are probably not the 

 result of original observation, but I should think they 

 fairly epitomised the contemporary gossip on the 

 subject. I would rather urge that few treatises on 

 natural history of so early a date contain so much 

 that is confirmed by later and more scientific obser- 

 vation. 



Much of the life history of the salmon still 

 remains obscure, notwithstanding our boasted advance 

 in knowledge. We know that the smolt goes down 

 to the sea a few inches long, and returns a grilse 

 weighing many pounds, but cannot ascertain how far 

 they go from the estuary or how they contrive to 

 attain such large dimensions so rapidly. They are 

 voracious feeders, and consume large quantities of 

 herrings, pilchards, and other fish and Crustacea when 

 mature ; but it is not known where or how far they 

 go in the salt water, nor are they ever captured in the 

 intermediate stage of their existence, between their 

 start as smolts and their return to the estuaries as 

 grilse. Their path on their return journey is unfor- 



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