THE SALMON. 175 



animals." Dr. Fleming mentions the sand eel, as does also Sir J. 

 Richardson, and Sir W. Jardine confirms this. A Mr. A. Morrison says 

 that within flood mark he has taken several good sized herrings from 

 their stomachs. A writer in No. 87 "Once a Week" also says, " My 

 friend Mr. Walter Campbell informed me, that he once had a wonderful 

 haul of salmon at Islay in an estuary of the sea. He landed 716 and 

 many of them escaped. As the net approached the shore, he saw the fish 

 discharging the contents of their stomachs, which consisted of small 

 eels." Now here we have diversity of opinion, which, taking into consi- 

 deration the probable accuracy of observation in those who utter them, is 

 at least remarkable. For the convenience of the reader I give a table 

 of these opinions that he may see at a glance the state of the subject at 

 the time I write. 



FOOD or SALMON IN THE SEA. 



Professsor Queketb Ova'of sea urchin. 



Professor Huxley Entomostraceous Crustacea, 



Dr. Knox Ova of echinodermata and some Crustacea. 



Mr. Faber Small fishes and marine animals. 



Dr. Fleming -) 



Sir J. R^hardson ( Sand eelg> 



Sir W. JaHine J 



Mr A. Morrison Herrings. 



Mr. W. Campbell Smalieels. 



With such a variety of food, no wonder the smolt gets fat. 



The most curious circumstance, however, in reference to the food of 

 salmon is the fact that whenever they are caught the stomach only seems 

 to contain a sort of thick mucus. Clearly the fish do feed or are dis- 

 posed to feed in rivers, or anglers would not be able to take them. An 

 explanation has been given, of a somewhat unlikely character, to the 

 effect that immediately Salmo salar finds himself hooked he ejects all his 

 stomach may contain ; but this idea has, as far as I know, never been 

 corroborated except by the writer in "Once a Week," quoted above. 

 Certain in any case it is that very little is ever found in a hooked salmon's 

 stomach ; and if they really disgorge which, from analogy with other 

 fish, I am disposed to consider nearly impossible it could not have 

 escaped observation. The most probable hypothesis I know of is one 

 broached in, I think, the " Field " some years ago, that the gastric juice 

 of the salmon was of instantaneous action, or nearly so, and that con- 

 sequently its food was almost at once dissolved. 



I before alluded to the return of salmon to their native streams 

 ordered by what seems to be an unfailing instinct of selection. Before 

 going away from the subject of salmon in the sea it may interest my 

 readers if I reproduce a valuable piece of evidence of the intelligence of 

 returning salmon in this direction. It is told in Fitzgibbon's (Ephemera) 

 " The Book of the Salmon " as follows : " Loch Shin, a piece of water 



