882 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIET^Y. 



but they occasionally grow to twenty pounds. It ascends 

 rivers for the purpose of spawning, in the same manner as 

 salmon. It affords excellent sport to anglers : it feeds vora- 

 ciously, taking almost any fly or bait freely : from its great 

 bulk it possesses much power, frequently leaping out of the 

 water when hooked. It sometimes grows to thirty-two 

 inches in length. 



THE PARR, OR SAMLET. 



This is the smallest of the British fishes which is ranked 

 among the salmon tribe ; and by many authors and anglers 

 has been considered the fry of the salmon, while in reality it 

 is a distinct species. It generally abounds in most rivers in 

 which the salmon is found, which has given rise to this be- 

 lief. As a proof that the parr is not the fry of the salmon, 

 it may be taken by hundreds when the young salmon have 

 quitted the rivers, and, indeed, during the whole summer. 

 Even in autumn, parrs seldom exceed five inches in length, 

 at which time no examples of young salmon can be found 

 under sixteen or eighteen inches; and the young salmon- 

 trout and bull-trout are large in proportion. 



In the Western Islands there are streams in which parrs 

 are common, although salmon never visit them ; and although 

 the salmon and salmon-trout frequent some of the lakes, yet 

 parrs have never been seen in these lakes. 



The parr frequents the clearest streams, and particularly 

 those with a gravelly bottom, in which they may be found in 

 vast shoals, in constant activity day and night. It takes 

 any bait or fly with the greatest freedom ; and hundreds 

 may be captured when no trout, either large or small, will 

 rise, although plentiful in the same places. An artificial- 

 fly, with the hook baited with a gentle, generally proves very 

 deadly ; and I have taken them with three or four hooks on 



