36 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING 



" The young of these Sea Trout," says Mr. Shaw, 

 " at the age of six months bear no very marked re- 

 semblance to the young of the real Salmon, either in 

 the parr or fry state ; and as they advance in age 

 and size the resemblance becomes still slighter. 

 But upon comparing them with the common Trout, 

 the resemblance is very striking, the general outline 

 of the fish being much less elegant than that of the 

 young Salmon or Parr ; the external markings being 

 also more peculiarly those of the Trout species ; so 

 that in the absence of the parent skins, which I 

 carefully preserved, it would be a matter of diffi- 

 culty to determine to which kind of Trout they 

 actually belong/' 



Mr. Shaw afterwards impregnated the ova of the 

 Salmon with the milt of the common River Trout, 

 according to my suggestion ; and in a letter with 

 which he favoured me, dated 26th of April, 1841, he 

 says : "I am happy to inform you that my experi- 

 ments with the ova of the common Trout and 

 Salmon have been quite successful, and the young 

 hybrids are now hatched, and in good health." Mr. 

 Shaw will, of course, publish the details of his late 

 experiments, and thus add to the obligations which 

 those who are interested in this subject already owe 

 him. 



I will only add, that his papers are written with 

 such candour, and all his experiments conducted 

 with such care and ability, and so often repeated 

 with similar results, without any effort or intention 

 to make them bend to a favourite theory, that every 

 one, I think, who reads his pages, must consider 



