870 MAXrAL OF MODERX FARRIERY. 



SUBDIVISION I.— MIGRATORY FISHES. 



These spend part of their lives both in salt and fresh 

 waters. 



THE SALMON. 



Whether we regard the salmon for its mercantile im- 

 portance, its richness and delicacy as an article of food, or 

 the sport which it affords to the angler, it may be con- 

 sidered as the king of fishes. 



The salmon is chiefly an inhabitant of the northern seas, 

 being unknown in the Mediterranean, and the rivers of other 

 warm climates. It is found in some of the rivers of France 

 which empty themselves into the ocean as far north as 

 Greenland. This fish was unknown to the ancient Greeks, 

 but was a favourite dish with the luxurious Romans. 



This fish quits the ocean in autumn, forcing itself up the 

 rivers, sometimes for upwards of a hundred miles, for the 

 purpose of depositing its spawn in security in their gravelly 

 beds. Intent only on the object of tlieir journey, they 

 spring up cataracts, and over other obstacles, which appear 

 almost insurmountable. This extraordinary power is owing 

 to a sudden jerk which the fish gives to its body, from a 

 bent to a straight position. When they are unexpectedly 

 obstructed in their progress, it is said they swim a few paces 

 back, survey the obstacle for some minutes, motionless, 

 retreat, and again return to the charge ; then, exerting all 

 their force, with one astonishing spring overleap every ob- 

 stacle. When the salmon have arrived at a proper place x'or 

 spawning in, the male and female unite in forming in the 

 gravel or sand, a proper receptacle for their ova, about fifteen 

 inches deep, which they are supposed afterwards to cover up. 

 In this hole tlie eggs lie until the ensuing spring, (if not dis- 



