94 



SALMON. 



There remain three other very interesting subjects < 

 connected with the salmon, of which, however, we 

 can only mention the names. First, anecdotes of 

 salmon, some of which are very curious ; secondly, 

 the catching of salmon, many ways of which are 

 equally so ; and thirdly, the progressive history of 

 the laws relating to salmon-fishing, in which there are 

 to be found some of the most matchless instances of 

 human cupidity completely caught in the net of hu- 

 man folly, that ever helped to render the statute-book 

 the most splendid monument of blundering that is to 

 be found upon earth, we had almost added or in 

 the sea ; but a single foot of that puts an extinguisher 

 upon the most magnanimous of land-fools. 



We have exceeded our limits, in consequence of 

 the attractive nature of this archon of the waters ; and 

 yet we have barely begun what we could have wished 

 to say. This is, however, the only opportunity which we 

 shall have of" serving up a salmon" to our readers ; 

 and we could have wished it were " better done," as 

 underdone salmon is unwholesome. We refer the 

 reader to Yarrell's admirably dressed fishes, for a synop- 

 sis, reserving to ourselves personally a few points, 

 and a very few, upon which we are at issue with him, 

 natheless the rechercheness of his cuisinerie. 



SALMON TROUT (S. truta). Though this species 

 is not entitled to rank with the salmon, either in in- 

 terest or in commercial value, it is unquestionably 

 worthy of the second place in the order of value. In 

 colour it is not very unlike the salmon ; and in many 

 instances it passes for small salmon or grilse, and for 

 the table it is certainly not inferior, we should say it 

 is superior to the latter ; but any one who has seen 

 them together, can be at no loss in distinguishing 

 them, even if they should be exactly of the same 

 size. Besides the particular differences, of which we 

 shall take some notice, there is a je-ne-sais-quoi dif- 

 ference which strikes one at first sight, but which it 

 is not easy to explain in words. Upon looking at 

 them one would at once point to the salmon and say, 

 " This fellow is the better swimmer." The head is 

 more tapering ; the muzzle more pointed ; the body 

 more stretched out ; and the fish is better formed. 

 The caudal fin especially, which is the grand organ 

 in swimming, is considerably smaller, and the fleshy 

 back which forms its base is more slender. The dif- 

 ference, however, is in the length of the rays rather 

 than in their number. The caudal has the same in 

 both ; the pectoral and anal have each a ray more, 

 and the dorsal has a ray fewer than in the salmon. 

 The spine also has only fifty-eight vertebrae, while 

 that of the salmon has sixty. In fact, however large 

 and coloured like a salmon it were, if one at all ac- 

 quainted with fish were to see it lying on its side, he 

 would at once and without hesitation say, " that's a 

 trout ;" although most likely the only explanation he 

 could give would be, " it is more like a trout than a 

 salmon." The contour is not so light and elegant ; 

 the fish looks more lumpy ; the colour is not so 

 pure, either in the bluish or the silvery part ; and the 

 spots on the side are smaller, more defined, and some 

 of them come below the lateral line. There is also a 

 considerable difference in the posterior outline of the 

 gill-cover, which forms a sort of parabola, not a circle 

 as in the salmon. The scales, too, are smaller, and 

 not so free at their hind edges. The examination of 

 the mouth presents other differences ; and leads to 

 the conclusion that there must be some difference in 

 the food, that the food of the trout consists of smaller 

 substances than that of the salmon. The teeth of 



the salmon are larger in proportion ; but they are 

 less numerous in all parts of the mouth, and there are 

 only one or two on the vomer. The vomer of the 

 trout is toothed for a considerable part of its length ; 

 and the teeth in the other rows are closer together, 

 though smaller. When the salmon is in the offings 

 of the estuaries it returns with the flood to feed on 

 the sand larmer which then comes up out of the banks, 

 whereas the food of the trout is the sand hopper and 

 other Crustacea and mollusca which are nearer the 

 land. 



It should seem that, altogether, the salmon trout is 

 a fish much more confined to the line between the 

 ebb and flood, coming and going with the water, and 

 not, at least in some places, passing to any consi- 

 derable distance up the rivers. In many places it 

 does indeed ascend the rivers ; but certainly not to 

 such a distance from the sea as the salmon, though 

 it is more plentiful in the estuaries, on the shores, and 

 in the lower parts of the rivers than the salmon. Its 

 flesh is not quite so rich as that of the salmon, but -it 

 is very good, and like the other always the better 

 the nearer the sea that it is caught. Those which are 

 obtained in the sandy bays where there are no rivers 

 that they can ascend to any distance, are hardly in- 

 ferior to salmon of the same size ; and their abund- 

 ance, and the fact of their being met with at places 

 where there are no salmon, are additional recom- 

 mendations of some importance. The quantity in 

 which they can be obtained in some of these bays is 

 perfectly incredible to those who have not actually 

 seen it; and the take, by one haul of the net, exceeds 

 that of tKe salmon in the very best pools of the shoal 

 rivers, where. the fish are stopped by falls. Though 

 not unknown, they are by no means very numerous, 

 on the southern coasts of Britain ; but on the west 

 coast of Scotland, and especially among the Hebrides, 

 and on many parts of the coast of the west High- 

 lands, they literally swarm. On the east coast of Skye 

 we have seen a large boat-load captured in little more 

 than one hour ; and the last haul as plentiful as the 

 first. They were not in one bay, but in every bay ; 

 and yet on that particular part of the coast, there is 

 no stream larger than a brook, and these are not 

 ascendable beyond a few hundred yards ; nor was 

 there any reason to doubt their being equally nume- 

 rous in all the islands where there are eddies. What 

 may be the case now, we know not ; but at that time 

 they were but little heeded. There was no market 

 for them in the fresh state, and nobody to eat them ; 

 and the salt duty prevented them from being cured. 

 It was with no small trouble we could get one boat 

 load given away, as any one who cared for them 

 could have them fresh out of the sea when he pleased. 

 The neglected wealth of these western seas, at the 

 time to which we allude, was inconceivable ; it may 

 be better now ; but we have doubts. 



Familiar as this fish must be to all who live near 

 the sea on the coasts where it is so plentiful, there 

 are some mystifications in its history ; for there are 

 two, a larger fish with redder flesh found more in the 

 estuaries, though never far from the shore, and a 

 smaller one with the flesh still reddish, only much 

 paler than that of the other, which is found chiefly in 

 the lower parts of the smaller rivers, or in the tidal 

 water immediately at their mouths. This larger is 

 called locally the sea trout, or sometimes the red sea 

 trout, alluding however to the colour of the flesh, not 

 of the surface. The dusky black on the upper part 

 has a greenish tinge, and there is a shade of purple 



