204 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



whatever in fry bred between salmon only, between salmon and 

 grilse, or between grilse and parr. 



" NOTE. The female parr cannot spawn ; but the male parr 

 possesses and constantly exercises the power of vivifying salmon 

 and grilse eggs. 



" 4. The fry remain one, two, and in some cases three years in 

 the rivers as parr before going down to the sea, about half taking 

 their departure at one year, nearly all the others at two years, and 

 the remainder (which are exceptional) at three years old. 



" 5. All young salmon fry are marked with bluish bars on their 

 sides until shortly before their migration, up to which period they 

 are parrs ; they then invariably assume a more or less complete 

 coating of silvery scales and become smolts, the bars or parr marks, 

 however, being still clearly discernible on rubbing off the new scales. 



" 6. The young of all the species here included in the genus 

 Salmo have at some period of their existence these bluish bars, and 

 consequently such marks are not by themselves proofs that fry 

 bearing them are the young of the true salmon (Salmo salar). 



"7. Unless the young fish put on their smolt dress in May or 

 early in June, and thereupon go down to the sea, they remain as 

 parrs another year, and without smolt scales they will not migrate, 

 and cannot exist in salt water. 



" 8. The length of the parr at six weeks old is about an inch and 

 a half or two inches, and the weight of the smolt before reaching 

 the tidal wave from one to two ounces. 



"9. In at least many cases, smolts thus migrating to the sea in 

 May and June, return as grilse, sometimes within five, generally 

 within ten weeks, the increase in weight during that period varying 

 from two to ten pounds, the average being from four to six pounds ; 

 and these grilse spawn about November or December, go back to 

 the sea, and (in many cases) re-ascend the rivers the next spring as 

 salmon, with a further increase of from four to twelve pounds. 

 Thus a fish hatched in April, 1854, and marked when migrating in 

 May, 1855, was caught as a salmon of twenty-two pounds weight 

 in March ; 1856. 



