38 THE AGE AND GEOWTH OF SALMON AND TEOUT. 



undoubtedly remain for a long time in an emaciated and weak condition 

 before they reach the surroundings which can provide them with the 

 powerful nourishment which they require.* 



The importance of the spawning journey as a factor of destruction in 

 the life of the salmon is shown more clearly when one takes into considera- 

 tion the number of fish whose scales show two " spawning marks." In the 

 whole of my material, which consist of 8,350 individuals, I have found only 

 three specimens whose scales showed two spawning marks, that is to say, 

 only three individual fish which had survived the second spawning. 



In order to throw further light on this question I have examined my 

 material with a view to discovering the period when the spawning mark is 

 formed. 



Those salmon which in the summer approach our fjords and rivers, 

 and whose scales show one, two, three, or more winter-bands after migration, 

 spawn in the autumn or winter, and consequently are in the second, third, 

 or fourth or corresponding winter after migration. The winter in which 

 spawning occurs can, as has been previously shown, be determined by 

 examination of the scales, with possibly a few exceptions. After a series of 

 investigations I have drawn up the following tables : 



19081909. 



This table shows us first that the salmon's age on the first spawning 

 is generally greater in our examples from northern than from southern 

 districts. Secondly it makes it clear that it is chiefly the fish which have 

 spawned at an early age that return to spawn for a second time. The great 

 majority of the fish which in the summer are two and three winters old 



* The following note is given as an illustration of the food taken by salmon. In the 

 year 1909, between June 30 and July 2, 1 opened and examined the stomachs of 49 grilse 

 caught between Trondhjem and Finmarken. In 26 cases the stomachs were empty or 

 contained only an indefinable pulp. In 17 fish I found herrings up to 20 cm. in length, 

 and in some cases the stomachs were absolutely crammed with these fish. In three cases 

 the contents consisted of capelan (MaUotus villosus). In two cases I found the stomachs 

 were full of Euphausidse, partly mixed with pelagic amphipods. In one case the stomach 

 was crammed with the pelagic amphipod (Parathemisto oblivia). 



