NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH SALMONIDZ. 129 
paragraph ro, which, I believe, I was the first to call attention 
to, will be found to explain many apparent anomalies and ir- 
regularities in the habits of salmon in different rivers as observed 
and chronicled by local fishermen and others ; and the time 
may come when under a more minute and complex system of 
salmon legislation it will be found to have an important bearing 
upon the regulation of our fisheries. 
Tn tracing the history of the salmon we will begin with the 
adult fish on their ascent from the sea, whether as salmon or 
grilse. At varying periods during spring and summer months 
a proportion at least of salmon in the bays and estuaries of the 
coast make their way up the rivers for the purpose of spawning 
—their general colouring at this period being a brilliant silvery 
white, merging into a bluish black with a few dark spots on the 
upper part of the body and head. 
When first ascending from the sea, salmon are termed 
‘fresh-run’ fish, and are then in the most perfect condition 
both for the rod and the table. 
A fresh-run salmon may not only be generally known by 
the bright silvery hue on the belly and sides, but also, when 
just up from the sea, by a species of parasite, or sea louse, 
which may be frequently found attached to the fish. These, 
however, are killed by a few hours’ contact with fresh water, 
but the salmon exhibit for some time after the marks or scars 
left by the parasite. 
The periods of ascent and spawning of salmon differ in 
different rivers—are earlier or later, that is, in point of time. 
Streams issuing from large lakes, in which the water has pre- 
viously undergone a sort of filtering process, and has become 
warmer, owing to the greater mass and higher temperature of 
its source, are often what would be described in angling par- 
lance as ‘early rivers ;’ whilst, on the contrary, streams which 
are liable to be swollen by the melting of snows, or cold rains, 
or which are otherwise bleak and exposed, are frequently 
later in season, and yield their principal supply when the great 
I. K 
