THE SALMON. 153 



Description. 



CHAP. VII. 



The springing trout in speckled pride. 

 The salmon monarch of the tide. 

 The ruthless pike intent on war, 

 The silver eel and mottled par. 



MOLI.tr. 



THE SALMON. 



THE salmon, which was known to the Romans, 

 but not to the Greeks, is a soft-finned abdominal 

 fish. They are distinguished from other fish by 

 having two dorsal fins, of which the hindermost 

 is fleshy and without rays ; they have teeth both 

 in the jaws and in the tongue, and the body is 

 covered with round and minutely striated scales. 

 The colour of the back and sides is grey, some- 

 times spotted with black and sometimes plain ; 

 the covers of the gills are subject to the same va- 

 riety, and the belly is silvery. The nose is sharp 

 pointed, and in the males the under jaw some- 

 times turn up in the form of a hook. 



Rapid and stony rivers, where the water is free 

 from mud, are the favorite places of most of the 



YOL. v. NO. 33. v 



