342 VEETBBRATES. 



exceed fourteen feet, and in one instance a Flying-fish came skim- 

 ming into the ports of a large man-of-war, nearly twenty feet ahove 

 the water. 



The Salmon is a migratory fish, annually leaving the sea, 

 its proper residence, and proceeding for many miles up rivers for 

 the purpose of depositing its spawn. This duty having been 



accomplished, it returns to the 

 sea in the spring. The perse- 

 verance of this fish in working 

 its way up the stream is perfectly 

 wonderful. No stream is rapid 



Salmon. , , , 



enough to daunt it, nor is it even 

 cheeked by falls. These it surmounts by springing out of the 

 water, fairly passing over the fall. Heights of fourteen or fifteen 

 feet are constantly leaped by this powerful fish, and when it has 

 arrived at the higher and shallower parts of the river, it scoops 

 furrows in the gravelly bottom, and there deposits its spawn. The 

 young, called " fry," are hatched about March, and immediately 

 commence their retreat to the sea. By the end of May the young 

 Salmon, now called " smolts," have almost entirely deserted the 

 rivers, and in June not one is to be found in fresh water. Small 

 Salmon weighing less than two pounds are termed " salmon peel," 

 - all above that weight are called " grilse." 



The havoc wrought among Salmon by foes of every descrip- 

 tion is so enormous, that notwithstanding the great fecundity of 

 the fish, it is a matter of surprise that so many escape destruction ; 

 for although the fish are preserved from their human foes by many 

 stringent regulations, yet other foes, such as otters, who devour 

 the large fish, and other fish who devour the spawn, have but little 

 respect for laws and regulations. 



While in the rivers, multitudes of Salmon ^re annually 

 caught, usually by stake nets, which are capable of confining an 

 immense number of fish at one time. Salmon spearing is a fa- 

 vorite amusement. This animated and exciting sport is usually 

 carried on by torch-light. The torches, when- held close to the 

 surface of the water, illumine the depths of the river, and render 



