THE SALMON FAMILY. 6$ 



salmon are not easily discouraged in their prog- 

 ress, leaping cascades and other obstructions, or, 

 if these prove impassable, dying after repeated 

 fruitless attempts. 



The young salmon, known as the " parr," is 

 hatched in the spring. It usually remainT'about 

 two years in the rivers, descending at about the 

 third spring to the sea, when it is known as 

 " smolt." In the sea it grows much more rapidly, 

 and becomes more silvery in color, and is known 

 as " grilse." The grilse rapidly develop into the 

 adult salmon; and some of them, as is the case 

 with the grilse of the Pacific salmon, are capable of 

 reproduction. 



After spawning the salmon are very lean and 

 unwholesome in appearance, as in fact. They are 

 then known as " kelts." The Atlantic salmon does 

 not ascend rivers to any such distances as those 

 traversed by the quinnat and the blue-back. Its 

 kelts, therefore, for the most part survive the act 

 of spawning. Dr. Day thinks that they feed upon 

 the young salmon in the rivers, and that, therefore, 

 the destruction of the kelts might increase the 

 supply of salmon. 



As a food-fish, the Atlantic salmon is very 

 similar to the Pacific species, neither better 

 nor worse, so far as I can see, when equally 

 fresh. In both the flesh is rich and finely fla- 

 vored ; but the appetite of man becomes cloyed 

 with salmon-flesh sooner than with that of white- 

 fish, smelt, or charr. In size, the Atlantic salmon 

 does not fall far short of the quinnat. The aver- 

 age weight of the adult is probably less than 



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