1884.] HYBRIDS AMONG THE SALMONID.E. 21 



been had the fish not met with an untimely end ; while the parr- 

 marks were present, and so Hkewise were the silvery scales of the 

 smelt. And as I shall show, we found at the end of November other 

 females with ova, in all of which the parr-marks were visible. 



At the end of November, when again at Howietoun, I was in- 

 formed that several of the fish during the night or early morning 

 had jumped out of the pond, and it was surmised that many had so 

 perished, but been carried off in the early hours by birds and rats. 

 At my first visit I was shown one which had been found dead that 

 morning, and on the 29th there were two more, one of which (11 -.5 

 inches in length) had been partially eaten by some vermin, which had 

 devoured the lower portion of its head. It was of a silvery smolt 

 colour with parr-marks. On being opened it proved to be' a male 

 full of ripe milt '. A net was drawn through this pond for the purpose 

 of examining the condition of the fish, and obtaining ova if possible, 

 as well as milt for experimenting with. I examined three specimens, 

 which are on the table : — 



B. xi. D. ^. P. 14. V. 9. A. I 

 C. 21. L. 1.117. L.tr. 21/30. 



No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. 



. in. in. in. 



Total length of specimens 10'8 9'0 6 3 



Length of head 20 1*8 1-3 



„ pectoral fin 1-4 1-25 1 -15 



caudal 1-8 1-6 M5 



Distance from snout to base of dorsal fin .. 4-1 35 2*5 

 » „ „ centre of base of 



caudal fin 9-3 7-9 5-2 



Diameter of eye - 0-4 0-45 0-25 



Distance of eye from end of snout 06 0o5 03 



eyes apart 0-7 65 0-45 



Height of body 2*0 1-8 13 



No. 1 was a beautiful silvery smolt with ten distinct parr-marks 

 when placed in certain hghts. One black spot on the preopercle, 

 three on the opercle ; the upper two thirds or half of the body 

 spotted with black, as was likewise the lower half of the dorsal fin, 

 which had a white anterior and outer edge. Pectoral fin nearly 

 black in all these fish when alive. In this specimen the generative 

 organs were not developed. The maxilla was more slender than in 

 the hybrid of almost the same size, and which has been described. 

 «b'cff/es: 11 rows from the adipose dorsal fin to the lateral line, and 

 20 rows from the lateral line to the base of the ventral fin. 'The 

 extent of the cleft of the tail was 0-8, and the length of its longest 

 ray 18. Its csecal appendages were longer than in the hybrids. 



1 " I am not quite sure but that milt and oya might be found in a livbrid • 

 it has been found in parrs, and my theory is, that when this is so, the fisli is the 

 produce of a hen Salmon and a male river-Trout, as it was frequently found 

 that a hen Salmon was spawning on the same gravel-bed with a male river- 

 Trout."— Giinther, evidence given June 4tb, 1872. in ' The Parr and Salmon 

 OontroTersy.' (Second Edition, ISS.3, page 128.) 



