SECRETS OF THE SALMON 



feed near their own river while they are in the 

 sea usually return to their native river. 



Fortunately the scales of the salmon furnish 

 us with much information about their life history. 

 Scales are composed of layers added on from be- 

 low. As each layer is a little larger than the pre- 

 vious one it makes a ring on the outer surface. 

 Sixteen such rings are made each year and we can, 

 therefore, tell the age of the fish by counting the 

 rings. When the fish returns to fresh water to 

 spawn, he does not eat, and therefore the process of 

 scale production is arrested and no rings are made 

 while he is in fresh water. The edges of the scale 

 become worn, and a mark is formed around the 

 smooth base of the scale which enables us to iden- 

 tify the spawning periods. 



The scales I have selected for illustration from 

 among a large number each show some different 

 phase of life and some peculiarity. I have no 

 doubt a large number of other facts might be 

 brought out by a more detailed study. 



Figure 1 is from a twenty-one-pound female 

 Restigouche River fish. The illustration is marked 

 so that the rings can be identified at a glance. 

 The parr rings are closer together than the sea 

 rings, probably because the fresh water does not 



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