Salmonidge of Norway. 67 



with essence of food, the individual strings of these organs 

 having the appearance of being merged into one mass ; a 

 layer of this nutritious extract underlies the skin, and 

 intervenes between the flakes of solid flesh, the secre- 

 tion being more abundant in the neighbourhood of the 

 abdomen. 



The consumer appreciates the difference between the 

 rich and lean portions of the salmon, and, if he be wise, 

 would select the "thick" or the "thin" in accordance 

 with his powers of digestion. 



In this manner the salmon carries suflicient supplies to 

 sustain him during an existence of comparative inactivity, 

 and adequate to meet the demands of ova or milt. 



The supply of food in a salmon river is so limited that 

 it would not pay for the working ; and I think that, to 

 all intents and purposes, salmon do not feed in the river ; 

 I have most carefully examined the internal economy of 

 scores of fish, and have found nothing in the stomach 

 beyond a greenish liquid and a few reddish, shelly frag- 

 ments, which I have recognized as the cases of the fresh- 

 water shrimp. 



I will not go so far as to say that the unspawned 

 salmon will not feed in fresh water of a river ; very likely 

 he would, if there were sufficient food to pay for the 

 hunting, but in that case there would be no necessity for 

 the secretive organs and tissues which he possesses. 



