The Salmon 



75 



for a fish of the same age, caught on i8th July and weighing i8^ lbs., 

 may be 27 lbs. in August ; and a winter fish may be only 15 lbs. in 

 October, and yet be 30 lbs. or more by March. It is quite easy to 

 distinguish a small spring fish kelt from a grilse kelt by the increased 



Fk;;. 72.— Marked as Smolt May 1905. Caught iSlli July 1907. iSl lb-. 



number of rings on the scale, and also by its having two contractions 

 on the scale instead of one. 



The next run of fish is the winter run, and it begins on the Tay 

 in October and continues till the end of March. The fish in this run 

 are all clean, and do not spawn until the next autumn ; and not having 

 been in the river before, they do not show a river-mark. There are 

 seventy-three lines on the scales on 28th October, and by the end of 

 March there are eighty. The scales, too, have three contractions, 



