SALMON 29 



to digest food. The examination of the more 

 or less decomposed stomachs of such fish in 

 a laboratory cannot for a moment be held to 

 settle the general question, or to overbear the 

 repeated experiences of practical fishermen. An 

 ounce of fact is worth a ton of theory. 



The kindred question " Why does a salmon 

 take a fly ? " has been much discussed among 

 anglers. It is frequently maintained that he 

 does so out of curiosity, or even annoyance. 

 It seems much less far-fetched to suppose that 

 he does it from the motive which leads him 

 to take a prawn, a minnow, or a worm. This 

 can hardly be curiosity, and is, as I believe, 

 the desire and intention to eat it. A properly 

 fished fly presents a remarkable resemblance to 

 a living object, and if a salmon has not pre- 

 viously been in the habit of eating such an 

 object, and does not exactly know its nature, 

 it need not appear the less tempting to him. 

 It is not always curiosity that impels a man 

 to help himself to an entree, the composition of 

 which is unknown to him. 



The supporters of the curiosity theory have 

 usually drawn a picture of the fish being almost 

 worried into taking a fly by the manner of its 



