182 THE SALMON. 



say, that those barren fish are not quite in so high con- 

 dition, or nearly so much infected with the sea-louse, as 

 the spawners, when these are first found in the salt 

 water. Further, those barren fish are not gilses, or 

 young salmon ; as they are of full size, and as the gilses 

 ascend the rivers to spawn, as well as the full-grown 

 salmon. Thus there is, at least, some ground for be- 

 lieving that, after the exhaustion of ascending the rivers 

 and spawning, the salmon take one season, or probably 

 more, to recruit themselves in the sea ; and if such be 

 the fact, the continuance of the barren fish, for the 

 greater part of the year, would lead one to conclude 

 that salmon never make long journeys at sea ; and this 

 again would explain why the varieties, peculiar to dif- 

 ferent rivers, are so easily distinguished. The same 

 fishers have assured us, that, in the lower part of the 

 estuaries, the spawning salmon, or, as they are some- 

 times called, the " run fish," are never taken near the 

 shore, but that the barren fish are more abundant there 

 than in the strength of the tide or current. This fur- 

 ther strengthens the opinion that has been hazarded, 

 and it also agrees with the habits of the salmon. Its 

 principal 'food in the sea, is the sand-eel or launce, 

 (ammodytis tobianus,) a fish, on the average, about four 

 inches long, which buries itself with wonderful rapidity 

 in the sand, and which is most abundant in shallow 

 water, or near the shores. 



It is rather singular that the natural history of a fish 

 which is so well known, and so productive of profit, 

 should be so very imperfect. But we ought to reflect 

 who have been the compilers of the popular systems of 

 natural history in this country. Even Lord Bacon, in 



