Salmonidas of Norway. 77 



in these the big fish invariably r.un up very early when 

 there is plenty of water, and as the volume of water 

 decreases so does the size of the fish running up. 



In Great Britain, the rivers are such that, with 

 favourable waters, fish can run throughout the twelve 

 months ; but it by no means follows that a fish ascends 

 to breed every year; it is common for spring fish to 

 ascend the river in the winter and spring months, and 

 those that avoid an untimely end spawn, say, in December, 

 and descend the river in March, April, and May of the 

 following spring, about a year after they came up. 



In rivers which have both autumn and spring " runs," 

 it is possible that fish descending in spring may re- 

 ascend in autumn, then they would be spring and autumn 

 fish in alternate years ; but I fail to see how fish can breed 

 annually in British or any other rivers which only have 

 a spring run, i.e. so long as they pass the winter in the 

 river. 



To revert to Norwegian fisheries — as an instance, I will 

 take the Salten river. The run of fish has practically 

 ended early in August, at which date I have observed 

 many fish far advanced towards spawning condition 

 in the topmost cascade-like pools of the Junkerdal river, 

 which, at its junction with the Lons river at Storjord, 

 is named the Salten river. These fish are breeding at a 

 distance of about a hundred miles from the sea proper. 



