246 KNUT DAHL. 



by the swedish systematists and critically revise the material 

 at hand in the descriptions of different authors. 



The main body of the collections, upon which most of the 

 independent investigations in Sweden bave been based, are pre- 

 sumably to be found in the „Riksmuseum" in Stockholm, At 

 all events the collections on which F. A. Smitt and Hjalmar 

 Widegren have founded their descriptions are kept in this mu- 

 seum. Excepting Nilsson, whose collections I presume mainly 

 are to be found at the University of Lund, only the two authors 

 mentioned above may be said to have in any marked degree 

 based their diagnostic descriptions on independent researches and 

 examinations of specimens. Most of the other authors have 

 chiefly compiled faunistic works, the diagnostic descriptions of 

 which, as regards the species in question, mainly seem com- 

 posed from the diagnosis of original authors and only in a 

 small degree based on independent examination of specimens. 

 At all events no distinct specification of the the specimens form- 

 ing the base of description is to be found. 



By good will of prof. F. A. Smitt, the not inconsiderable 

 material of young salmon stored in the collections of the „Riks- 

 museum" has been forwarded to me. 



Upon examination of this material I found to my great 

 astonishment, that even this collection did not contain speci- 

 mens of sizes, by means of which it would be possible to fill 

 the gap in the description of young salmon, the exsistance of 

 which my own investigation indicated. 



It transspired, upon examination, that these collections did 

 not contain salmon between 17,3 cm. and ca. 38 cm.s lenght 

 — with a couple of exceptions — exceptions of quite a remarke- 

 able character and exceptions which, in my opinion, throw a 

 certain light on some of the difficulties which the swedish authors 

 have experienced in distinguishing young salmon and trout in 

 the intermediate stages. 



