102 THE HABITS OF THE SALMON. 



Dr. Francis Day, in a letter to 77^1? Field, in 

 November, 1885, says that "a salmon exists in 

 fresh water on his own fat, which has been accumu- 

 lated while feeding in salt water." But the writer 

 did not bring forward any evidence to support that 

 theory.^ I grant that a salmon falls off in condition 

 from the day it leaves the sea, because there is but 

 little fattening food in fresh water ; but the process 

 of deterioration is a gradual one, and although the 

 fish lose their beautiful silvery appearance, and 

 become more or less discoloured, they do not lose 

 much in weight until their ova are in an advanced 

 stage. I should say, therefore, that it is more proba- 

 ble that the ova of a salmon become developed by 

 the nourishment they receive from its fat, than that 

 the salmon itself exists upon it. Its fat disappears 

 in proportion as the ova develops, and by the time 

 it is ready to spawn, not a particle remains. It 

 appears to me perfectly natural that this should be 

 so. There can be no question as to salmon feeding In 

 1 This theory was believed in by the late Frank Buckland. 



