Salmon.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



155 



♦aste.' Owinj; to the progress of population and 

 the extension ot'manul'actiiies, the sahnon rivers in 

 Ensjliind are far less productive than formerly. A 

 Thames salmon is now rarely seen,* and the rivers of 

 the north of England, as well as those of the west, 

 thouch they have not declined to the same extent 

 as the Thames, or the Avon in Hampshire, are not 

 now of much commercial importance. The case is 

 tlifferent in Scotland, the principal supply of salmon 

 beinff derived from the Tay, the Tweed, the Dee, 

 the Don, and most of the streams along- the coast. 

 The salmon rivers in Ireland are the Erne, the 

 Moy, the Bann, the BlacUwater, the Shannon, and 

 nearly all the principal streams along the northern 

 and western coasts. 



As a general rule, it is in autumn that the sal- 

 mon leaves the sea or mouth of the estuary, and 

 pushes up the rivers and their frihutary streams, 

 whence they do not return till the spring, having 

 in the interval deposited their egffs, -which have 

 become hatched (if the term be allowed), the young 

 fry or smolts being carried down to the sea in the 

 months of April and May : hence the proverb — 



" Tile floods of May 

 Take the smolts away." 



In some rivers the salmon do not make their 

 appearance until the middle of Aprrl or the be- 

 ginning of May, astheEsk, for instance, in Cumber- 

 land ; and this delay is attributed to the lower 

 temperature of the water, compared with that of 

 even adjacent streams. " Rivers," says Mr. Yarrell, 

 "issuing from large lakes, afford early salmon, the 

 waters having been purified by deposition in the 

 lakes; oi\ the other hand, rivers swollen by melting 

 snows in the spring months are later in their season 

 of producing fish, and yield their supply when the 

 lake rivers are beginning to fail." 



" It has been suggested that this variation in the 

 season depended on the warmth of the waters, and 

 that those highland rivers which rose from large 

 lochs were all early, owing to the great mass and 

 warmer temperature of their sources, and that the 

 spawn there was sooner hatched. There are two 

 rivers in Sutherlandshire which show this late and 

 early running under peculiar circumstances. One, 

 the Oikel, borders the county, and springs from a 

 small alpine lake, perhaps about half a mile in 

 breadth; the other, the Shin, is a tributary to the 

 Oikel, joins it about five miles from the mouth, but 

 takes its rise from Loch Shin, a large and deep ex- 

 tent of water, and connected by a chain of other 

 deep lochs. Early in the spring, all the salmon 

 entering the common mouth diverge at the junc- 

 tion, tiu-n up the Shin, and return as it were to their 

 own and warmer stream, while very few keep the 

 main course of the Oikel until a much later period." 

 Artedi states, that in Sweden the salmon .spawn in 

 the middle of summer. 



Whether it be in the autumn or spring that the 

 salmon ascends the river, it does not return to the 

 sea till after the spawn is deposited ; and the fe- 

 males are the first to ascend, the males coming 

 after. The migration does not take place imme- 

 diately on the fish leaving the sea, but they advance 

 up the river or estuary, as far as the tideway is 

 felt, ascending *ith each flood-tide, and descending 

 with the ebb; and thus, remaining partly in salt 

 and partly in fresh water, are better prepared for a 

 long continuance in the latter. Here stake-nets are 

 placed for miles on both sides, and multitudes of 

 fish captured. 



The precise period at which the salmon enters the 

 river does not appear to depend entirely upon the 

 state of the ova, for, while some fish proceed far up 

 the river, the roe of others is in so mature a state 

 that they can advance but half way, and others are 

 compelled to seek out a suitable place in the shal- 

 lows nearer its mouth. The great majority, however, 

 as they get full of roe, ascend beyond the tidew.ay, 

 after a short continuance in the brackish water, and 

 push on towards the sources of the stream, over- 

 coming impediments which might be thought in- 

 surmountable. They will clear rapids or weirs which 

 are eight or ten feet in height, and, though at first 

 baffled in their efforts, resume the attempt with sur- 

 prising vigour. Sometimes they overshoot or mistake 

 their mark and throw themselves upon dry land. 

 Though they seldom spring out of the water more 

 than ten feet, they have been known to descend a 

 fall of the height of thirty feet, and to leap over 

 a dry rock of considerable height and drop into the 

 water on the other side. There is a fall (the fall of 

 Xilmorac) on the Beauly, in Inverness-shire, where, 

 according to Mr. Mudie, in the • British Naturalist,' 

 the sight of a voluntarily cooked salmon has been 

 witnessed. A ^kettle, it is said, was placed upon 

 the flat rock on the south side of the fall, close by 

 the edge of the water, and kept full and boiling 

 until a salmon fell into the kettle and was cooked 

 on the spot. This was one of the wonders which 

 the Franers of Lovaf, who are lords of the manor, 



• \Tr. > "vrrell sayi, that the last Tttames salmon of which he has a 

 ecoril wa/. taken in June, lb33. 



Vol. If 



used to show their guests. This fall is said to be 

 literally thronged with salmon endeavouringto pass 

 higher up the river. It is an old opinion, and still 

 very generally entertained, that previous to making 

 a spring the iish curves its body and puts its tail in 

 its mouth. Michael Drayton, in his ' Polyolbion,' 

 alluding to a salmon-leap in the Tivy, has adopted 

 this opinion : — 



" Flere, when the lalwurinp fish does at the foot arrive, 

 An^ finds that by his strength he d(\es tint vainly strive. 

 His tail takes in his mouth, and, benilin); like a Ijow 

 That's to full compass drawn, aloft himself doth throw : 

 Then sprinyin^' at his height, as dotii a little wand. 

 That's bendctl end to end, and started from man's hand, 

 Far off itself doth cast — so does the salmon vault." 



The fact, however, has been ascertained by ob- 

 servation, that salmon spring up nearly in a per- 

 pendicular line, and with a strong tremulous mo- 

 tion. 



Having gained the upper and shallower part of 

 the river, the fish seek out clear gravelly beds, 

 where there is a strong current, and prepare to de- 

 posit their ova. They proceed, generally in the 

 morning or during the twilight of evening, to make 

 a furrow with their noses in the gravel, working 

 against the stream, for the reception of the spawn. 

 At this season, both males and females are unfit 

 for food, and undergo a considerable alteration in 

 appearance. The male becomes marked on the 

 cheeks with orange-coloured stripes, and a golden 

 orange tinge pervades the surface of the body, 

 while the lower jaw elongates, and a cartilaginous 

 projection turns up from the point, occupying, 

 when the jaws are closed, a deep recess between 

 the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw. 



In this state the salmon is called a " red-fish.'' 

 The females have acquired a dark colour, and are 

 called " black-fish." It is unlawful to take either 

 red-fish or black-fish, the prohibition being intended 

 for the preservation of the race. 



In making their furrow, we have said that the 

 fish works against the stream ; it cannot, in fact, 

 work with the head down the stream, for the water 

 forcing into the gills the wrong way drowns it. 



The deposition of the spawn requires from eight 

 to twelve days ; and when this process is completed 

 and the ova covered up, the fishes betake them- 

 selves to the pools and deeper parts of the river to 

 recruit. They are much out of condition, and are 

 called " kippers'' or " kelt-Hsh." 



Experiments have been made at different times, 

 relative to the vivification of the ova of the salmon, 

 the most interesting of which are the two following: 

 the first is detailed by Dr. Knox, in the 'Trans- 

 actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.' On the 

 2nd of November he observed the ova of a salmon 

 deposited in the usual manner near the sources of 

 the Tweed. On the 25th of February, or a hundred 

 and sixteen days afterwards, the ova were dug up 

 and found to be unchanged. On the 23rd of March, 

 twenty weeks from the period of their deposition, 

 the ova were changing, the fry lying in the gravel, 

 after having cast the outer shell. On the first of 

 April the fry had quitted the spavvning-bed by 

 ascending through the gravel. The ova may be 

 hatched artificially by being put into bottles of 

 water in warm rooms, but they cannot be preserved 

 alive longer than ten days, during which* they eat 

 nothing. The other experiment was made by Mr. 

 Hogarth, of Aberdeen, and is still more minute in 

 its details than the former one ; it is exemplified 

 at Figs. 2434, 2435, 2436, and 2437, showing the 

 progress of the spawn of salmon. 



In the rivers and streams the ova become vivi- 

 fied during the months of March and April, accord- 

 ing to the state of the season. By the end of May 

 the water is full of the fry, from an inch in size, 

 perfectly formed, to the size of a minnow. At first 

 they keep in shallow water, but as their strength 

 increases they may be seen in the middle of the 

 river or stream, moving towards the sea. The first 

 flood or fresh which occurs at this period hurries 

 them to the mouth of the river, where for a short 

 time they remain in the tideway, and then proceed 

 at once to the sea. In June, not a single •' smolt," 

 or "smoult," which is the name given to the fry, is 

 to be found in the fresh water. 



Referring to our pictoral illustrations, we may 

 observe thai, at Fig. 2434, A shows the egg of the 

 natural size after the vital principle has'lieen de- 

 veloped. The body of the fish in this stage has a 

 pinkish tinge, and the eyes are very large ; B. the 

 shell of the ovum just burst, and the 'lead of the 

 fish protruding from it. 



Fig. 2435 ;— 0, the state of the ovum eight hours 

 after the bursting of the shell, when the pulsations of 

 the heart become visible ; D, the shell just tlirown olf, 

 the tail drooping; about a third part of tlie shell, 

 which is transparent, is fractured by the fish, in its 

 exertions to extricate itself. Before the shell is 

 broken, the tail envelops the yolk, which is seen 

 attached to the body of the fish ; E, the tail, in a 

 short time becomes straight, and the fish more lively ; 

 the mouth assumes a distinct form, and the lower 



and pectoral fins, which are quite transparent, are in 

 motion simultaneously with the action of the heart, 

 which beats from sixty to sixty-five limes in a 

 minute. 



Fig. 2436 : — F is a magnified representation of C, 

 Fig. 2435, the fish adhering to the shell, which is 

 partly broken. G represents E magnified : the heart 

 is before the pectoral fins, under the throat. 



Fig. 2437 is a still more enlarged view of E, showing 

 the direction in which the blood circulates as seen 

 by a microscope. The blood flows from under the 

 body of the fish through the blood-vessels, ramified 

 along the sides of the back, and is then collected 

 into the large vessel which runs along the liont 

 and bottom of the bag, communicating directly with 

 the heart. An equal quantity of air, or some trans- 

 parent matter, circulates with the blood. The 

 blood is drawn by the heart from the large vessel 

 alluded to, and thrown in regular pulsations into 

 the vessels of the head and throat, where it assumes 

 a darker colour. The rays of the gills are visible, 

 and the fish soon begins to assume a brownish 

 colour. 



Salmon fry, or smolts, for tome time wander about 

 the sides of the stream, where the current is ob- 

 structed, but as they acquire strength they trust 

 themselves to the mid-stream, play in the pools and 

 deep spots, and on the setting in of the spring rains 

 are carried down to the junction of the river with 

 the salt water, where they remain till habituattd to 

 the novel element, into which they then proceed. 

 The growth of the smolts or young salmon is very 

 rapid, especially after they have reached the sea, 

 where food is in abundance. Fry marked in April 

 or May, as Mr. Yarrell informs us, have returned 

 by the end of June weighing from two to three 

 pounds and upwards, and a mouth or two later 

 they have been found to weigh as much as six 

 pounds. The small-sized fish under the weight of 

 two pounds are called "salraon-peal," all above 

 that weight " grilse." These fish hatched in the 

 spring breed the first winter, and for that purpose 

 return from the sea to the rivers rather earlier, as it 

 would appear, than the adult fish, and, though fewer 

 ova are perfected, each egg individually is nearly as 

 large as in the latter. The growth of the grilse during 

 the second visit to the sea and for several subsequent 

 years equals, if it does not exceed, that of the first 

 year. 'I'he Sand-launce (Ammodytes Lancea) and 

 other fishes constitute the Ibod of the salmon when 

 out at sea ; and that it is a voracious feeder may be 

 inferred both from its rapid increase of size and its 

 dental arrangement. Dr. Knox states that the 

 food of the salmon consists principally of the eggs 

 of various kinds of echinodermata and some of the 

 Crustacea, and that to a certain extent the excellent 

 flavour of its flesh depends on the richness of its 

 food. Salmon when in rivers rise at flies, like the 

 trout, and have been taken with a minnow for 

 a bait, and also with a worm. Mr. Yarrell quotes 

 the following communication to himself from Sir 

 W. Jardine, dated St. Boswell's, April 15, 1835: — 

 "The fisherman who rents this part of the Tweed, 

 fishing with worm one day last week, had his hooks 

 and tackle taken away by a fish ; ht; put on a new 

 set; and again with worm, in ten minutes, hooked 

 and killed a salmon with his former hooks and bait 

 in his mouth. This will either prove extreme 

 voracity, or little sensibility of the parts of fhe 

 mouth. I have often heard fishermen mention a 

 similar fact, but never before knew an instance on 

 which I could depend." 



Though few salmon, perhaps none, that haunt 

 our coasts and visit our estuaries and rivers, ever 

 attain to tlieir full growth, or the completion of 

 their natural term of existence (so extensive and 

 incessant is the destruction made amongst them), 

 yet enormous specimens have often been captured. 

 In 1835 Mr. Yarrell saw ten different fish varying 

 from thirty-eight to forty pounds each ; and a notice 

 of one that weighed fifty-five pounds appeared in 

 the papers. Mr. Mudie has recorded one of sixty 

 pounds. Pennant mentions one of seventy-four 

 pounds. Mr. Yarrell states that the largest salmon 

 known, as far as he is aware came into the posses- 

 sion of Mr. Groves, the well known fishmoi:ger of 

 Bond Street, in the season of 1821. It was a female, 

 of eighty-three pounds, short for the weight, but of 

 great depth and thickness; the flesh was fine in 

 colour and of excellent quality. Large salmon have 

 occasionally been taken by expert angles, with a 

 single line and artificial fly. Sir II. Davy captured 

 one in the Tweed, above Yair-bridge, after a severe 

 struggle : its weight was about forty-two pounds. 

 In the Thames, at Shepperton Deeps, Mr. G. 

 Marshall, of Brewer Street, Ixmdon (October 3, 

 1812), caught and killed a salmon with a single gut, 

 without a landing net, that weighed twenty-one 

 pounds four ounces. (See Yarrell.) Mr. Lascelles 

 (' Letters on Sporting') states that the largest saimcn 

 he ever knew taken with a fly was in Scotland : ;t 

 weighed fifty-four pouruls and a half. 

 Fig. 2438 represents the celebrated Coleraine Sal- 



X 2 



