THE SALMON-FISHERY 331 



One result of their abstinence is a peculiar pinched and 

 hungry look on the male fish's face. His jaws grow hard 

 and hooked, and he is thus able to fight the many battles 

 that lie before him, with far better chance of damaging his 

 enemy. 



The " spent" salmon are called "kelts." They are so 

 weakened that they fall an easy prey to any strong enemy 

 they may meet. Like eels, many, if not most, salmon die 

 after spawning. With scanty gratitude men have advised 

 giving the poor salmon no protection at that time on the 

 theory that the spent adults will, in order to recover, if 

 they ever do recover, destroy in the process more young 

 fish than they are worth. On the other hand, as the kelts 

 are not worth eating at that time, and are thought by some 

 observers to be poisonous, it is poor policy to capture them. 

 A fisherman who had taken a number was once asked by a 

 " protective" enthusiast, if it was not true they were not 

 good to eat in that state. The fisherman replied " That's 

 true," but with a wink added, " Them's not bad kippered." 



The eggs of the salmon are remarkable. They are round 

 and about one-quarter inch in diameter, of a pink colour, 

 elastic, so that they bounce like a ball off a board. They 

 will hatch out in a month, but if it is too cold, and cir- 

 cumstances are not right, like a caterpillar in a chrysalis, 

 they just wait till the conditions are more to their liking. 

 They can be carried in ice for thousands of miles ; stored 

 in this way, they have been carried and successfully propa- 

 gated in India, Australia, and New Zealand. 



The adult fish also can stand great ranges of temperature ; 

 he may be caught as far south as lat. 37 north and as far 

 north as lat. 70 north. The salmon so fill some rivers 



