THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 121 



their parents' nativity, they revisit, for the first time, but not for the 

 last if they survive, the scenes of their birth and infancy. Revisit them 

 for what? Being nubile., to perform the nuptial rites, which they 

 do where their forefathers begat them, and so they go on increasing 

 and multiplying in colonies, heretofore tenantless of salmon, ever since 

 volcanic action called from the * vasty deep ' the mountains and rivers of 

 northern Caledonia !" 



Salmon never deposit their spawn in deep or still water. If they did, 

 it would not be vivified. To vivify salmon ova impregnated by the 

 milt, the combined influence of running water, and of atmospheric and 

 solar action is necessary. Hence nature directs the salmon to spawn in 

 shallows, or the fords as they are called, and even to run up narrow, 

 shallow, rapid brooks, tributaries to the large salmon rivers, to do so. 

 The female chooses a mate, who must make good her selection, by 

 fighting for it, and in these salmon onslaughts the trite saying, " None 

 but the brave deserve the fair," is fully verified. The male fish that 

 remains in victorious possession of his aquatic bride proceeds with her to 

 make choice of the marital bed, having driven from it all intruders. 

 This bed is placed in a shallow part of the river, and consists of gravel 

 and sand. Having chosen it, 'tis necessary to make it. I cannot tell 

 whether it is the gentleman or lady that commences the operation first, 

 which is done by one or the other darting its head into the gravel and 

 burrowing upwards and downwards in it, the tail being used as a 

 propelling power, and the snout as an excavating one. As soon as 

 one fish gets tired the other takes its place. When one link or nest of 

 the bed is deep and large enough the female enters it and deposits the 

 mature portion of her ova, or part of it, and then retires. Forthwith 

 the male takes her place and exudes some of his milt upon the ova, 

 thereby impregnating them. This done, they proceed to dig another 

 nest, the gravel and sand excavated from which cover the ova in the 

 first nest made. This process is continued, nest above nest being dug, 

 until the female has deposited all her ova. This is not the work of 

 one day ; it may extend from two or three to eight or ten according 

 to the size and age of the fish, that is, according to the quantity 

 of ova to be deposited. The younger and smaller the female fish the 

 fewer ova she has, the sooner they will be all mature, and the more 

 rapidly they will be deposited, and the whole process of digging the 

 different nests of the narrow, longitudinal bed, and covering them in 

 finished. Once covered in, the fish have no further care for the spawn. 

 They drop down into the next deep pool and there remain until they 

 become partly convalescent from the exhausting effects of spawning. 

 Soon after this they are now "kelts" or "spent" fish they commence 

 their voyage to the sea to recruit thoroughly their health, to grow and 

 fatten in submarine feeding fields. In from 100 to 140 clays (see notef 

 to page 111) the ova are hatched. The foetus at first is like a large 

 larva with a little sack of nutritious vitelline matter attached to its 

 neck. On this it lives for about a month. When the sack disappears, 

 the foetus assumes a fish shape, and is able to seek for food for itself 

 amongst the gravel. At two months the fry is perfectly shaped, and 



