32 BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



by their leanness. In all rivers grilse kelts do not 

 lose much time in getting back to the sea, and in 

 small rivers this is true of all kelts ; but in the 

 larger rivers the kelts are wont to linger in the 

 deep pools, especially big fish of the female sex, 

 which may not reach the sea until the early summer. 

 The hungry appearance of the kelts, and the fact 

 that during their stay in the rivers they seem to 

 improve in condition, the scales becoming more or 

 less silvery, formerly led to the belief that they fed 

 ravenously, and they were particularly credited with 

 cannibalism, and were said to devour numbers of 

 parr. However, it now appears that kelts do 

 not feed until they reach the sea, or at least the 

 estuaries, and that the improvement in a so-called 

 " mended " kelt is mainly superficial, and consists of 

 the assumption of a silvery livery and the reduction 

 of the prolongations of the jaws by absorption of the 

 connective tissue which forms them. 



A good many kelts never reach the sea, espe- 

 cially if the journey thither be at all an arduous 

 one ; in their enfeebled condition they are very 

 susceptible to disease, readily succumb to any 

 injuries they may sustain, or fall an easy prey to 

 poachers, otters, or other enemies. 



According to Mr. Malloch, ripe Salmon may 

 occasionally miss spawning, and in the spring 

 become silvery like the kelts, when they are termed 

 " baggots " or " rawners " ; the subsequent history of 

 these fish is obscure. 



When Salmon are on the spawning-beds they are 

 often attended by male Trout, which seize any 

 opportunity which presents itself, such as the 

 temporary absence of the male Salmon in pursuit 



