HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 23 



salmo solar, the acknowledged " king of fresh- 

 water fishes." Thus seems, at last, to be cleared 

 up, to a great extent, the uncertainty which has 

 hitherto been attached to the natural history of 

 this princely fish. * 



But it may be asked how it happens, if this 

 theory be correct, that grilse or peal (that is, the 



* It is the opinion of Mr. Andrew Young, an observer 

 equally intelligent and favourably circumstanced with Mr. 

 Shaw, that although the latter is right as regards the 

 changes and successive stages of salmon development, yet 

 he is mistaken in point of time ; that instead of remaining 

 in the parr and smoult state for two years before migrating 

 to the sea for the first time, it really remains but one ; 

 " in fact, that Mr. Shaw's calculations are wrong by one 

 whole year ; that there are no salmon-fry to be found in 

 salmon rivers with transverse bars at the age of eighteen 

 months (see Mr. Shaw's plates of young salmon) ; that they 

 become smoults at the age of twelve months, and then 

 migrate seawards, and not at the age of twenty-four months, 

 according to Mr Shaw's experimental theory." The error 

 is accounted for by Mr. Shaw feeding the salmon ponds, in 

 which he made his experiments, with spring or rivulet water, 

 which being of a lower temperature than the waters of the 

 Mth, from which he took the ova, caused a slower develop- 

 ment of the infant fish. According to Mr. Young, the fish 

 of course arrive at maturity much earlier than Mr. Shaw 

 supposes, reaching the weight of six pounds, or thereabouts, 

 at the age of eighteen months, instead of being then not 

 that number of inches long, as stated by the latter. We 

 have not the slightest doubt about the correctness of Mr. 

 Young's opinion. 



c 4 



