NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PAR. 189 



purpose, affords so little ground for the conclu- 

 sion drawn from it, that it is not worthy a 

 moment's consideration; and recollecting that the 

 trout will greedily feed upon the salmon spawn, 

 the idea of their being together for the purpose of 

 gestation, can only have arisen from mere wanton- 



of speculation. 



By considering the nature and character of 

 hybrids, and the general laws and principles which 

 govern their production, and carefully comparing 

 these with the known habits, character, and ap- 

 pearance of the par the utter improbability of 

 its being a mule fish will at once be shown. It 

 may be safely asserted that amongst creatures in a 

 state of freedom, no one instance of a departure 

 from the immutable laws of nature, which assign 

 to each an affinity for its kind, has ever yet been 

 detected ; and it is only by constraint that this 

 inconsistency can be effected ; and when pro- 

 duced, the offspring are ever accompanied by a 

 capricious and doubtful resemblance to either 

 parent, and, above all, by a total want of har- 

 mony and definite character amongst themselves. 

 Now, as an example of any deduction from these prin- 

 ciples, the par is in every respect utterly opposed 

 to them. It is in the highest degree improbable 

 that trout and salmon left to the free influence of 

 their own separate instincts, unrestrained in habits, 

 and unconfined in space, should depart from the 



