32-i DEVELOPMENT OF THE SALMON. 



kinds of Salmon traps is so tremendous, that not one tithe of the normal number are now 

 found in them. 



The ingenuity which has been exhibited in the invention of these " infernal machines,' 3 

 as the fixed nets have been justly termed, and the amount of labour which has been 

 expended in their manufacture, are worthy of a better cause; for in their arrangement the 

 habits of the fish have been carefully studied, and, in their manufacture, its capabilities 

 have been foreseen. The evil has, of late years, arisen to so great a height, that the Salmon 

 would soon have been extirpated from our rivers, had not the nation wisely interfered 

 to prevent the loss of so much national wealth, and given the fish a fair chance of 

 re-establishing itself in its former plenty. 



The shortsighted persons who plant all these obstructions forget that by this wholesale 

 destruction of the Salmon they are acting against their own interests, and that if they 

 destroy the ill-conditioned and young fish, as well as the adult and healthy Salmon, 

 they condemn themselves to the probability of eating bad fish for the present, and the 

 certainty of total deprivation for the future. The fact, however, seems to be, that each 

 petty proprietor of a fishery is jealous of the neighbours above and below him, and 

 indiscriminately slaughters all fish that he can capture in his own waters, simply that 

 they may not pass into those of his neighbour. 



The preservation of this noble fish is truly a subject of national importance, and it is 

 to be hoped that, by judicious legislation and active administration of the law, the Salmon 

 may no longer be the rich man's luxury, but again hold its legitimate place as the poor 

 man's cheap subsistence. That it should ever re-enter the Thames, from which it has been 

 banished for more than fjprty years, is a dream that perhaps may never be realized. But 

 as the increasing facilities of transport become more developed, a Salmon stream in the 

 far north is virtually brought within a few miles of any railway station in the kingdom, 

 and every portion of our island may perchance procure this delicious fish even before the 

 well-known " curd " has vanished 



While speaking of this curd, which is to the Salmon what the fin is to theturbot, and 

 the green fat to the turtle, it may be mentioned' that the practice of "scoring" is 

 destructive of this delicacy, and indeed is one of the most ingenious methods of spoiling 

 the fish that can be invented. 



The life history of the Salmon is very interesting, and in many parts not a little 

 mysterious. In the short space which is allowable for the subject, I will endeavour to 

 trace the life of a Salmon from its earliest entrance into the world to its exit therefrom ; 

 putting forward no particular theories, but merely enumerating the accredited observations 

 that have been made on this curious subject. 



We will begin with the cradle that is prepared for the expected brood. This is a groove 

 in the gravelly bed of a river, and is scooped out by one or both of the parents. Even here 

 a discrepancy exists between practical observers, some of whom aver that the groove is made 

 by both parents by means of rooting with their noses in the ground ; others that the male 

 Salmon scoops out the gravel with a hook-like appendage that is developed on his chin 

 during the breeding season ; while others declare that the male never troubles himself 

 about the labour of scooping the groove, his duty being to watch over his mate and to fight 

 any other fish of his own sex and species who may intrude upon their home, and that the 

 whole task devolves upon the female, who executes it by twirling her tail and not by 

 grubbing with her snout. 



The whole process of depositing the numerous eggs occupies on the average about ten 

 days, and, after it is accomplished, the parent fish leave the eggs to be hatched by 

 surrounding influences, while they themselves quit the spot and remain in the river for a 

 short period while they recover from the exhaustion caused by the process. During this 

 period they are unusually ravenous, and vast quantities of the young of their own kind, 

 which are about that time abundant in the river, fall victims to their insatiable appetite. 

 After a time, and about the months of March and April, they drop down from pool to pool, 

 in any flood which may seem favourable to them, until they reach the sea, where they are 

 supposed to remain from six weeks to three or four months, when they again seek the 

 river, vastly increased in weight and improved in condition. 



