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the accommodation of die female, which usually spawns 

 in July, or in August : some, indeed, later, and some 

 earlier ; but the hottest time of the year appears to be 

 that of their greatest fecundity. 



When the female is first in spawn, she is in excellent 

 condition j but, owing to absence from salt water per- 

 haps, gradually becomes more and more loose in her 

 flesh, which changes from a deep rose colour to nearly 

 white j while die head becomes blacker, and the whole 

 exterior betokens indisposition. She does not recover 

 until she again visits the sea. When in this state, they 

 are called black-ji&hes* 



The male keeps floating over the female while she is 

 spawning j and, when she has deposited the whole in the 

 cavity where she laid, he, in a careless kind of way, 

 grubs up the sand or gravel, and therewith slightly covers 

 the spawn : from diat time, Nature is left to do the rest. 



The young fry may be seen about two mondis after, 

 as long as a little finger, or more ; and by the time they 

 have got to the mouth of the river, in general grow so 

 much as to vie with a middling gudgeon. 



I do not think diey venture far out for the first year ; 

 as they are to be seen, during die whole of die winter, 

 on the scours, at the edges of deep strong waters, and 

 sometimes in shoals where there is a deep hole in a warm 

 situation. But, in such cases, they will only remain 

 where the sea flows in freely. 



For some time before the salmon quit the higher parts 

 of the fresh waters, they become very sportive among 

 tlie flies diat frequent the rivers in autumn, and select the 

 more retired situations in strong deep waters. When they 

 begin to descend towards die sea, they remove daily to 



some 



