OSSEOUS FISHES. 



563 



salmon's egg, from the time of its fructification till the birth of the 

 fish. The infant fry are of course very helpless, and are seldom seen 

 during the first week or two of their existence, when they carry about 

 with them, as a provision for food, a portion of the egg from whence 

 they emanated. At that time the fish is about half an inch in size, 

 and presents such a singular appearance that no person seeing it 

 would ever believe that it would grow into a fine grilse or salmon. 

 About fifty days is required for the animal to assume the shape of a 

 perfect fish ; before that time it might be taken for anything else than 

 a young salmon. At the end of two years it has changed into a 

 smolt. After absorbing its umbilical bag, which it takes a period of 

 twenty to forty days to accomplish, the young salmon may be seen 

 about its birthplace, timid and weak, hiding about the stones, and 



Fig. 379. Salmon, or Parr, a year old. 



always apparently of the same colour as the surroundings of its 

 sheltering place. The transverse bars of the parr, however, speedily- 

 become apparent, and the fish begins to grow with considerable 

 rapidity, especially if it is to be a twelvemonth smolt, and this is very 

 speedily seen at such a place as the Stormontfield ponds. The 

 young fish continue to grow for a little more than two years before 

 the whole number make the change from parr to smolt, and seek the 

 salt water. Half the number of any one hatching begin to change 

 at a little over twelve months from the date of their coming to life. 

 And thus there is the extraordinary anomaly of fish of the same 

 hatching being at one and the same time parr of half an ounce in 



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