Salmonidae of Norway. 55 



Acquaintance with this less conventional land reveals 

 the purport and value of many provisions of Nature, which 

 may scarcely seem necessary for the protection and 

 perpetuation of animal life in Great Britain, and reminds 

 the observer how circumscribed is his own little sphere. 

 In rivers and lakes, which at certain portions of their 

 courses have at one time or another been pretty well 

 turned upside down, it is not very remarkable that 

 curiosities of fish-life should abound, yet in the large 

 majority of cases a careful examination of the subject will 

 lead to certain identification with a distinct species at 

 some stage of the latter's existence, although the size of 

 the curiosity may be abnormal. 



In a country where the ordinary journeys of migratory 

 Salmonidae are possibly held in suspense for months or 

 years, by effects of climate or convulsions of Nature, it 

 may be not unwise, in the first stages of examination, to 

 dismiss the size of the subject from calculation, and to 

 commence with the application of the tests for species ; 

 then, should this result in a solution of the problem, the 

 causes of individual peculiarity are ripe for speculation 

 or further investigation. 



It is not probable that every angler will take sufficient 

 interest to study all the details of fish-life, and, as the 

 discovery of an uncommon object appears to possess a 

 fascination, a tendency would unfortunately seem to exist 



