CHAPTER IV. 



THE FRY STAGE. 



By the time the umbilical sac has entirely disappeared the young 

 sea-trout has already learned to quest for food. It is interesting to 

 see that these little fish, even at this early stage, have inherited all the 

 graceful activity of their parents, as well as their graceful form. The 

 fry are pretty little things, about an inch and a quarter in length, which 

 boldly enough forage amongst the gravel of the shallower water and 

 even " rise " to floating objects, but at any sudden alarm they take 

 cover with surprising quickness. At one moment a shallow stream may 

 be seen to be alive with them and at the next may seem barren of all life 

 whatever, so completely has each concealed itself in the gravel. 



The body of the fry is at first still almost transparent, but it is 

 already delicately spotted and the transverse bars, or " parr marks," on 

 the sides, which characterise alike the young of salmon, sea-trout and 

 trout, have already appeared. Eight or more of these may be counted 

 on each side of the young sea-trout or salmon and indeed of the trout 

 too. There is apparently no constancy in this matter as regards any 

 of the fish. 



Once the fry have begun to feed in the open their growth is fairly 

 rapid for their appetite is insatiable and very little that is edible and 

 of a convenient size escapes them. From this point of time the rivalry 

 between the sea-trout and salmon fry and the young native non- 

 migratory trout of the stream becomes acute. There is of course only 

 a certain amount of food available for all, and of that quantity the 

 young sea-trout from their greater activity and strength secure the 

 lion's share. Here is a vital handicap against the trout in the struggle 

 for existence, and it may easily be understood that when fry and parr 

 of both sea-trout and salmon throng any of our streams, the native 



83 



