THE SALMON 329 



developed. But by way of sustenance it carries part of the 

 material of its own egg about with it, a kind of bright reddish 

 bag beneath its body; and upon the contents of this bag it lives 

 until it can find food for itself. 



From this period it grows very fast. At this stage of its life 

 the little salmon is called a " parr '', and this title it retains until 

 it is about a year old. Its colour is now a pale brown, and upon 

 its sides are several dusky stripes. 



At the end of either the first or the second year of its life, 

 the appearance of the little " parr " begins to alter. Shining silvery 

 scales grow all over its body, so that the dark bands upon the 

 sides are hidden; and now it is called a "smolt". With this 

 change it seems to become tired of the fresh water, and makes 

 its way down stream until it comes to the sea. There it lives for 

 three or four months, feeding upon small shrimps, the young of 

 crabs, &c., and growing very fast. It then returns to its river, and 

 makes its way up the stream until it reaches its former haunts. 

 This curious journey to the sea and back is undertaken every year. 



Having visited the sea, the "smolt" becomes a "grilse", or 

 a "salmon peal"; and the name of '"salmon" is not given to it 

 until after it has completed its second journey. 



In walking along the banks of some of our salmon streams, 

 we should probably wonder how the salmon are able to return 

 after once they have travelled down to the sea. For in the course 

 of the stream are many waterfalls, up which it would seem quite 

 impossible for a fish to pass. 



But the salmon do pass up quite great falls, which they ascend 

 more by leaping than by swimming. If we were to watch a water- 

 fall while the fish are ascending the river, we should probably see 

 salmon after salmon swim swiftly up to the foot of the fall, and, 

 with a sudden stroke of its tail, leap out of the water high into 

 the air. The first time, and the second time, perhaps, the fish 

 fails to clear the fall, but, not discouraged, it takes another and 

 another leap; and so on until the obstacle is safely passed. 



When a waterfall is a very difficult one, landing-places are 

 sometimes made for the fish, so that they may ascend it in two 

 or three leaps instead of only one. A careful observer, who planted 



