CHAPTER XIII 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 



The instinct of the salmon The life of the salmon The Alevin The 

 salmon fly The appearance of the Parr The Smolt The aim of 

 Nature The smolt in salt water The Grilse or salmon The 

 return when injured Spawning Rejection of food when captured 

 Aggressiveness of salmon The sustenance of salmon The 

 author's theory Other theories The gastric glands of salmon A 

 general view. 



THE INSTINCT OF THE SALMON 



FROM the moment it leaves the friendly shelter of the 

 redd, amid the pebbles of which it has hatched, has absorbed 

 the yolk-sac attached to its body, and passed from the 

 alevin to the parr stage, the life of the salmon is full of 

 interest to the naturalist, peril to itself, and danger to the 

 water insect and smaller life with which its parental stream 

 abounds. 



No watchful care guards its early days or assists its 

 first attempts to obtain food or the shelter so necessary 

 to its tender and defenceless condition. As it emerges 

 into the rush of the stream from the comparative safety 

 of the redd, a tiny inch of delicate but perfect fish, it is 

 swept into a world teeming with watchful and ever- 

 voracious enemies. It is by no means helpless, and instinct 

 teaches it to dart at once for the protecting shelter of the 

 nearest root or pebble. In every after moment of its 

 eventful life, in every fresh danger, until it attains to its 

 full growth, it is to the natural wisdom of its own instinct 

 that it owes its safety. This instinct is the guiding influence 



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