LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS 



him. In our rivers grilse are always males, while 

 in Scotland female grilse are common. This ac- 

 counts for the fact that the female fish average 

 much larger in size here, as they have not been 

 stunted. The formation of the coast and the na- 

 ture of the sea food have a great effect on the size 

 of the salmon. If when the smolt go to sea they 

 find an abundance of food close to the mouth of 

 the river, in shallow bays and estuaries, they do 

 not wander far out into the ocean or along the 

 coast. In the spring when the great freshets oc- 

 cur in the rivers they sense the fresh water, which 

 is often carried great distances over the top of 

 the heavier salt water by the wind, and their 

 spawning instinct is stimulated and they follow 

 the fresh water and return to the river. I have 

 seen them in Alexander Bay, on the coast of New 

 Foundland, six or eight miles from the mouth of 

 the Terra Nova River, swimming slowly along the 

 surface with their back fins out of water, making 

 for the river. The whole surface of the bay was 

 marked by little waves made by their back fins, 

 all going in one direction. In New Foundland, 

 on the east coast, food is available close to the 

 mouths of the rivers in the shallow bays, and I 

 doubt if the salmon ever leave them. I have no- 



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