APPENDIX. 189 



eight fins, four are placed in pairs, the pectoral 

 behind the gills, and the abdominal on the belly ; 

 and the other four are placed singly, the dorsal pro- 

 per, and the small fleshy or adipose fin on the back ; 

 the caudal at the tail ; and the anal between that 

 and the vent. The hinder dorsal fin, which is 

 sometimes called the mort and the dead fin, may be 

 considered as more particularly constituting the 

 generic character. The different families of the 

 salmon tribe are most abundant in northern lati- 

 tudes, being seldom found between the tropics. 

 They are common in the rivers of the northern 

 parts of Europe, Asia, and America. Macken- 

 zie, in his journey to explore the northern con- 

 tinent of America, caught trout within the polar 

 circle; and Captains Lewis and Clark, in their 

 travels to the source of the Missouri and across the 

 American continent to the Pacific ocean, met with 

 a tribe of Indians, on the upper part of the Colum- 

 bia, whose principal subsistence from May till Sep- 

 tember consisted of the salmon which they caught 

 in that river, but which disappeared on the approach 

 of autumn. In no part of the world does the salmon 

 appear to be taken in greater perfection or variety 

 than in the lakes and rivers of the British Isles ; 

 and in no country is its capture a source of so much 

 wealth, and, let it be added, of so much amusement 

 to the inhabitants ; a combination of the utile et 

 dulce which is certainly not to be met with in 

 dredging for oysters on the coast of France, or 

 in the pearl fishery at Ceylon. In taking salmon 

 with either net, leister, or rod, the genuine amateur 



