SALMON FEY. 125 



be desired, seeing that they are either scattered at intervals 

 throughout the Transactions of learned societies, buried in heavy 

 encyclopsedias, or altogether lost in the columns of newspapers. 

 It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that during the past quarter 

 of a century there has been a committee of inquiry either in the 

 House of Lords and Commons, a royal commission, a blue book, 

 or an Act of Parliament, every year on behalf of the salmon, 

 besides several publications by private individuals. 



Although no person now believes the assertion of the Billings- 

 gate naturalist, that salmon eggs come to maturity in a period 

 of forty-eight hours, or that other authority who told the 

 world that as soon as the fish burst from the ovum — a 

 smolt sis inches long coming out of a pea ! — ^it was conducted 

 to the sea by its parents, there is much of the romantic in the 

 history of this monarch of the brook, and about the manner in 

 which the varied disputed points have been solved, if indeed 

 some of these points be yet completely settled. 



I shall not again enter into the impregnation theory, having 

 said as much as was necessary about that portion of my subject 

 in a previous division of this work, but proceed at once to give 

 a summary of the parr controversy, and a few statements about 

 the grilse and the full-grown fish as well. 



According to the state of knowledge forty years ago — and I 

 need not go farther back at present — the smolt was said to be 

 the first stage of salmon-life, and the abounding pair was 

 thought to be a distinct fish. Now we know better, and are 

 able to regulate our salmon-fisheries accord- 

 ingly. The spawn deposited by the parent 

 fish in October, November, and December, ' 

 lies in the river till about April or May, 

 when it quickens into life. I have already described the changes 

 apparent in the salmon-egg from the time of its fructification 

 till the birth of the fish. The infant 

 fry are of course very helpless, and 

 are seldom seen during the fibrst 

 week or two of their existence, when 

 they carry about with them as a provision for food a portion of 

 the egg from whence they emanated. At that time the fish is 

 about half-an-inch in size, and presents such a very singular 

 appearance that no person seeing it would ever believe that it 

 would grow into a fine grilse or salmon. About fifty days is 

 required for the animal to assume the shape of a perfect fish ; 



