27-1 THE FRESH- WATER FISHES OF EUROPE. 



take place till February or the beginning- of March. In Scotland the usual 

 months are November and December ; but Day mentions having seen a male 

 Salmon in the Severn in full breeding livery in July. 



The female selects comparatively shallow water, often with a depth of only 

 six to eighteen inches, and avoids currents. It was formerly believed that the 

 male and female excavate a furrow or hole, in'which the eggs may be deposited ; 

 but, according to the observations of Mr. Alexander Keiller, the male has 

 nothing to do with this part of the work. According to his observations in 

 the River Save, in Sweden, the eggs are not placed in a hollow at all, but 

 dropped on a comparatively smooth surface. This, however, may not always be 

 the case. According to Mr. Keiller, the female fish is near to the bottom, and 

 may actually touch it, and after a few eggs are deposited she lies on her side, 

 and with a blow of the tail throws up a mass of dirt and stones, which may 

 conceal the eggs. When spawning has commenced, the female cannot retain 

 the roe, or the male the milt, though the female is said to leave the spawning 

 ground at intervals during the day. 



The fish never spawn on the bare rock, or among very large stones. The 

 nest which a single Salmon may accumulate has often about the bulk of a cart- 

 load of gravel, yet by the succeeding summer this heap is usually carried away 

 by the stream. The male in these observations was never seen in actual com- 

 pany with the female, but about six feet behind her, just beyond the heap of 

 stones which she accumulates, so that the only part which the male takes in 

 the breeding is the deposition of milt, where the stream will bring it in 

 contact with the ova. Behind the male, at a distance of twelve or fifteen feet, 

 there are always Trout and other fishes, ready to pounce on the eggs when the 

 female sets them moving with her tail. 



At some little distance to the right and left of the male are other males, 

 and the one in attendance on the female is occupied nearly all his time in 

 incessantly charging these younger interlopers ; and, owing to these move- 

 ments, the milt of the male becomes widely distributed, so as to fertilise the 

 eggs which the female scatters. 



It is well known that the jaws of the male become elongated during the 

 breeding season by a cartilaginous projection, and the lower jaw turns up in a 

 hook, which fits between the pre -maxillary bones. Whether this growth is 

 stimulated by incessantly ramming his nose against his rivals is a question that 

 may be worth investigation. When the spawning-season is over the growths from 

 both jaws are gradually absorbed. The contests are desperate ; the force of the 

 charge often throws the Salmon which is struck out of the water ; the fishes are 

 gashed in every direction, and when the fighting-season is ended the males are 

 covered with scars, and have a very battered appearance, much as though they 



