4f NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 



able to their increase than ours, and particularly 

 the county of Devon : but it must never be 

 forgotten, and cannot, therefore, too often be 

 repeated, that, as the salmon, from his singular 

 nature, places himself in the power of man by enter- 

 ing the rivers, unless man affords him his protection, 

 he must be exterminated. That the reverse of this 

 result might be the case, is proved from the im- 

 mense number of salmon in places little frequented 

 by the human species. 



From hence, and from our own knowledge and 

 observation, it appears that the habits of the salmon 

 furnish an exception to the general law of na- 

 ture. He is unlike any other fish ; being bred in 

 one element and existing in another. He cannot live 

 in the sea alone or the fresh water alone, but re- 

 quires to live alternately in each : the salt water 

 and the river are alike absolutely necessary to his 

 existence and procreation. What he feeds on in 

 the sea no man knows ; for he was there never 

 known to take a bait, nor was any food ever found 

 in his stomach. Yet, that in the rivers they may 

 be taken with bait is certain, for I have myself 

 caught one with a rod and line, and hooked many. 

 The salmon is one of the most valuable fish we 

 have ; yet the law, as we have seen, is lamentably 

 defective for its preservation ; and, wonderful to 

 say, mankind seem more bent on destroying the 

 whole race of them than that of any other animal, 

 even those which are most obnoxious. Of this 

 there cannot be a stronger and more conclusive 



