RESPECTING THE PARR. 41 



of falling down to the sea the same year they are 

 produced, remain in the river, under the name of Parrs, 

 till the year following.* That they increase little in size 

 we cannot he surprised at, as it is universally known 

 that the Salmon himself wastes from the moment he 

 comes into fresh water. 



" If the Committee make themselves perfectly ac- 

 quainted with the natural history of the Salmon, they 

 will be aware of the peculiar construction of the eye of 

 that fish. Dr. Brewsterf has been so obliging as to 

 examine for me the eyes of some Parrs, which I sent him 

 for that purpose ; and replies, ' I have examined very 

 carefully the crystalline lenses of the Parr, which I find 

 to be the same with those of the Salmon, which is a 

 strong confirmation of your opinion.' 



" I must add, that these Parrs, as they are called, are 

 never found but in salmon rivers, or in such as have an 

 uninterrupted communication with them; and that they 

 cannot be the young of the Bull Trout, as the formation 

 of the tail in that fish is wholly different. 



"When it is considered that trout fishing is enjoyed 

 by every class of people in Scotland, and that, speaking 

 with reference to the river Tweed only and its different 

 tributary streams, hundreds and hundreds of people are 

 trouting daily, and fchat each person catches several 

 dozen Parrs in a morning, except in that interval be- 

 tween the disappearance of the old fry and the appear- 

 ance of the new in a forward state, it will be found 



* Mr. Shaw has since proved that they remain in fresh water 

 still longer. 



t Now Sir David Brewster. 



