CHAPTER II 



THE ELUSIVE QUARRY 



His Nomadic Life Does he Feed in Fresh Water ? Opinions 

 of Mr. Huxley and other Scientific Naturalists A 

 Humorous Analogy The Old-fashioned Understanding 

 Foible of the Intellectuals An Instructive Rise 

 Salmon give Sport just after Running What that Im- 

 plies Slack Time in Summer Simple-minded Anglers 

 Flaws in the Scientific Teaching Hunger and Emotional 

 Impulse Alternately? Mr. Rudyard Kipling's Testimony 

 " Shannon's " Balance of Probabilities. 



THE salmon leads a double life. He is at home both 

 in fresh water and in salt. It has not been ascertained 

 to which of these he was originally n,tive. His 

 nomadic habits are a source of perplexity to any one 

 who would discourse scientifically on the art of catch- 

 ing him. His ways and instincts are unlike those 

 of all fish other than the sea-trout. For examples, 

 the mullet lives in the ocean, and the trout in water 

 that is fresh. That is something to go upon when 

 one wishes to catch mullet or trout. In such a case 

 the lure must, presumably, be an appeal to appetite, 

 and the salinity of the water, or its freshness, deter- 

 mining the dietary, restricts the range of choice. 



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