171 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE SALMON. 



ITS STAGES. Parr ; Smolt or Black Fin ; Grilse ; Salmon. 



FIN-RAYS. Dorsal, 1 3 ; Pectoral, 12 ; Ventral, 9 ; Anal, 9 ; Caudal, 19. 

 Vertebra, 60. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. Head smooth; body covered with scales; two 

 dorsal fins, the first supported by rays, the second fleshy, without 

 rays ; teeth on the vomer, both palatine bones, and all the maxil- 

 lary bones ; branchiostegous rays varying in number, generally from 

 ten to twelve, but sometimes unequal on the two sides of the head 

 of the same fish. Yarrell, vol. ii. p. 1. 



AMONG objects closely associated with tlie sublime and 

 beautiful,, I cannot help classing the noble fish of which 

 it is my purpose to treat in the following pages. The 

 elegance of its form, the justness of its proportions, its 

 glittering and gorgeous apparel, all entitle it to rank 

 loftily in the scale of beauty, while its size and noble 

 bearing, its strength and velocity, the rocks, torrents, 

 and whirlpools among which it glides familiar, unite, in 

 some degree, to elevate its pretensions and give it place 

 withal amid creations of sublimity. That it stands un- 

 rivalled among the variety of fishes, extending to many 

 hundreds in number, which inhabit the flood, there can 

 be little question. The dolphin, famed in poetry, whose 

 glowing surface may be termed the pallet of nature, the 

 mullet, the opah or king-fish, the carp, dorie, and stur- 

 geon, all yield before it the submissive palm. Nor is it 

 undistinguished, independent of its shape and beauty, 



