SALMON. 21 



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 be 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. Brewster f 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, Avhich I find to be the 

 same with those of the Salmon, which is a strong con- 

 firmation 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 that each person catches several 

 dozen Parrs in a morning, except in that interval between 

 the disappearance of the old fry and the appearance of 

 the new in a forward state, it will be found that the 



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

 still longer. 



f Now Sir David Brewster. 



c 3 



