MB. SHAW'S EXPERIMENTS. 



have now before me, that the fry, at two months old 

 are only one inch and a quarter long ; at four months, 

 two inches and a half ; and at six months, three inches 

 and a quarter : that makes nine months and eight days 

 after the impregnation of the spawn. At eighteen 

 months old the fry measure sis inches in length, and 

 the milt of the male is matured, and can be made to 

 flow from the body freely by the slightest pressure ; 

 but the females of a similar age do not exhibit a corre- 

 sponding appearance as to the maturity of the roe. 

 The male is at this time in the autumn of his second 

 year, and lies about and in the spawning beds of the 

 large Salmon, where he impregnates the ova. The 

 following spring he is about seven inches and a half 

 long, when beautiful silver scales grow over the spots 

 and bars which have characterised him up to this 

 period ; and the majority of the breed then congregate, 

 and go to sea with the first floods in May. 



In the latter end of April, 1842, Mr. Shaw obligingly 

 sent me two parcels of the Salmon fry, which arrived 

 in good condition ; and although not so glossy as when 

 first captured, were made brighter in appearance by 

 the application of water. I carried them immediately 

 to Barnes, the residence of Mr. Edward Cooke; and 

 having selected the most silvery amongst them, I 

 begged him to paint it as faithfully as possible ; and 

 after he had so done I desired that, dividing my absence, 

 he would remove the scales from the upper half of the 

 same fish, and paint it again as it should appear after 

 such removal. The result will be seen in the accom- 

 panying lithograph, with the execution of which I did 



