INSTINCT AND REASON IN DOGS, ETC. 227 



seen, so it was said, to leap at the fall, but no one 

 ever knew a fish to succeed in the attempt. A 

 precipitous fall of an immense body of water sheer 

 down from an impending height of from twenty to 

 thirteen feet was indeed a far greater difficulty than 

 our English rivers, such as those I have particularly 

 alluded to, afford to the ascent of fish ; but Ireland 

 seems to liave been equal to the occasion ! 



In 1856-7 '' salmon ladders," as they were called, 

 were erected ; ova was deposited in various parts of 

 the river ; salmon in a state of spawn were turned 

 into the river above the falls, and a breeding mill 

 established in Knockbegs. In due time ^'salmon 

 fry " appeared where ova had been placed, as well 

 as in other sites, from the full-grown fish that had 

 been turned in, and the ^^mill" too was full of 

 '^ par." The latter went through the usual change 

 to the silvery ^^smolt," and proceeded to the sea, 

 returning to their birthplace in August as well- 

 grown '^ grilse." In some places, as I understood 

 the local and piscatory -language) they call the 

 young of salmon by two names, '^ the grilse " and 

 the '^salmon peel"; then there is another fish caught 

 at the mouths of salmon rivers, called a ^^sea trout." 



Of the history of this latter fish I cannot pretend 



q2 



