190 THE SALMON. 



rivers in which they delight ; and their efforts and 

 devices have been a little exaggerated both in prose 

 and in verse. All fishes that take long or powerful 

 leaps, incurvate their bodies when they spring from the 

 water ; and that has given rise to the vulgar belief 

 that, when they are to spring over a cascade, they take 

 their tails in their mouths. Michael Dray ton, the poet, 

 has described this as part of the economy of the salmon 

 at the leap of Kennerth upon the Tivy, in the county 

 of Pembroke ; and the same has been said of those at 

 other places ; but instead of fact, it is utter impossi- 

 bility, a salmon so fastened could not leap at all. 

 That the fish bends itself laterally is true, because the 

 muscles have of course their principal action in that 

 direction in which the tail can act as an oar in swim- 

 ming, and as a fulcrum in leaping ; and that, when 

 they put forth all their vigour, the tail is brought 

 nearly in contact with the head. We have watched 

 them often, both in places where they could succeed, 

 and where they could not ; but though we could dis- 

 tinctly see the curvature before the fish vaulted into 

 the air, the whole effort was so instantaneous, that we 

 could not discover clearly whether the body was bent 

 to or from the fall ; we think, however, that it was 

 bent toward it ; and as, in the eddies from which they 

 take their spring, this position would give the tail most 

 power as a fulcrum, there is every reason to believe that 

 that is their position. 



The rivers of the Scottish mountains are the best 

 adapted for witnessing those feats ; and the places 

 where we have seen them to most advantage are at the 

 fall of Kilmorac, on the Beauly, in Inverness-shire, and 



