SALMON. 47 



state when the silver scales just begin to appear, and 

 soften the bars and spots, — the intermediate state 

 between the summer Parr and Smolt. 



As to the belief that Salmon return to the same river 

 in which they are bred, I hold it to be a well-founded 

 one. But I think it is not invariably the case ; and that 

 should their native river be too low for their ascent, 

 owing to an extraordinary drought, and continue so 

 when the period of spawning approaches, most of the 

 Salmon will seek and ascend some other river that may 

 be contiguous to it, whose volume of water is more 

 abundant. Thus many Tweed Salmon have been 

 caught in the Forth, and a very successful fishing there 

 is generally followed by a scarce one in the Tweed. 



It appears that Salmon will live, and even breed, in 

 fresh water, without ever making a visit to the sea. 

 Mr. Lloyd, in his interesting and entertaining work on 

 the Field Sports of the North of Europe, says, " Near 

 Katrinebergh there is a valuable fishery for Salmon, 

 ten or twelve thousand of these fish being taken 

 annually. These Salmon are bred in a lake, and in 

 consequence of cataracts cannot have access to the sea. 

 They are small in size, and inferior in flavour. The 

 year 1820 furnished 21,817." 



Mr. George Dormer of Stone Mills, in the parish of 

 Bridport, put a female of the Salmon tribe, which 

 measured twenty inches in length, and was caught by 

 him at his mill-dam, into a small well, where it remained 

 twelve years, and at length died in the year 1842. 

 The well measured only 5 feet by 2 feet 4 inches, and 

 there was only 15 inches depth of water. In this con- 



