70 LIFE AND HISTORY OF A SALMON. 



so that there must be in the pond already many hun- 

 dreds, or even thousands, of exceptions to Mr Shaw's 

 rule, and as the weather becomes warmer, the conver- 

 sion of the fish will doubtless be proportionably in- 

 creased." These facts becoming known, the tacksmen 

 of the Tay fisheries presented to the proprietors of the 

 fishings a memorial, in which they express it as their 

 " decided conviction that all the young fry should, on 

 as early a day as possible, be turned out into the river, 

 to join their fellow-smolts now on their way to the sea. 

 But," they reasonably added, "we have no objection 

 that a portion of the young fish be retained in the ponds 

 to test the correctness of the views of 'chose who main- 

 tain that they ought to remain two years, it being our 

 anxious wish that this interesting experiment should 

 have a fair trial, and every fair play." 



In consequence of this representation, the fry in the 

 pond were permitted to enter the river on the 29th May, 

 care being taken to mark about 1300 by cutting off the 

 adipose or dead fin, for the purpose of recognising them 

 on their speedily anticipated return from the ocean. 



The result shall be related when we have finished 

 our sketch of the life of a salmon. Their progress to 

 the sea was, it may be presumed, not unlike that of a 

 migration thus described by Mr Shaw, from personal ob- 

 servation : " They passed down the river in small family 

 groups or shoals of from forty to sixty and upwards, 

 their rate of progression being about two miles an hour. 

 The caution which they exercised in descending the 

 rapids they met with in the course of their journey was 

 very amusing. They no sooner came within the influ- 

 ence of any rapid current than they in an instant turned 

 their heads up the stream, and would again and again 

 permit themselves to be carried to the very brink, and 

 as often retreat upwards, till at length one or two bolder 

 than the others permitted themselves to be carried over 

 the current, when the entire flock disappeared ; and 

 then, as soon as they had reached comparatively still 



