KatumG rwo Birps wirn onr Sronr. 36 
CHAPTER IV. 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 
Near head of stream, in crystal spring, 
Or recess of the strand, 
The salmon drops its precious eggs 
Amid the pure white sand ; 
And here the infant fish disport 
Beyond the harm of tides, 
Each swarming shoal resplendent 
With dotted silvery sides. 
nature and habits of 
salmon were a sealed 
book to naturalists 
until, through the dis- 
covery and practice 
of fish-culture by ar- 
tificial means, some 
mysteries in physiol- 
ogy were interpreted. 
In the natural his- 
tory of the salmon, 
two questions occur 
which have presented 
a good deal of difficulty to piscteulteurists and naturalists in 
wriving at just conclusions. The first is, How lone do the 
young salmon inhabit the fresh-water streams in which they 
were hatched before they migrate to the sea? The second 
is, How long do they inhabit the sea before they return as 
grilse to the rivers in which they were bred ? 
A salmon has properly four stages of existence. The first 
is when it is a parr, or a small bright fish with dark bars 
across the sides, which are commonly called the parr marks. 
