Saimonidie of Norway. 65 



In the first instance, I was consideraLly perplexed to 

 account for the absence of smolts in Norwegian rivers, and 

 in order to ascertain if they were taking shelter up the 

 backwaters and small streams, I for many days took a trout 

 rod with me, and for an hour or so whipped all likely 

 places, but only succeeded in hooking trout and parr. 



I have seen large numbers of smolts just below the 

 entrance of rivers into the fjords, but in the rivers them- 

 selves I have not seen a single specimen. 



I have been shown as smolts fish which really were 

 parr or trout, and I have been informed that smolts were 

 in abundance upon the higher reaches of the river. I 

 have been fishing at the time, and throughout a period of 

 two months they have not passed down, and I have 

 arrived at the conclusion that the smolts descend the 

 river before the commencement of the salmon-angling 

 season, probably at, or very soon after, the break-up of 

 winter, and when the early date at which the ova is shed 

 and the late opening of the angling season are taken into 

 consideration, it is not surprising that the smolts should 

 have departed seawards by the first week in June. 



In the small rivers grilse will run up early ; but in the 

 large rivers, and even in many small ones, the arrival of the 

 grilse heralds the close of salmon angling. 



By about the middle of July the rivers become small 

 (unless there should be rain), and the grilse take to the 



