NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH SALMONIDZ. 137 
until they gain the upper and shallower reaches, or spawning 
grounds. At this time all the salmon and trout species resident 
in fresh water, both migratory and non-migratory, acquire, in 
lieu of their brilliant spring tints, a dusky yellowish exterior, 
accompanied by a considerable increase of mucus or slime— 
the fins also becoming more muscular. 
The usual time of salmon spawning is from November until 
the latter end of January or the beginning of February.) As the 
all-important operation approaches their colours undergo a still 
further deterioration, the general hue of the body in the males 
assuming a browner or more golden tinge, and the cheeks being 
marked with orange-coloured stripes ; the lower jaw elongates, 
and a gristly projection or horn turns upwards from the point, 
which is used by the salmon as an organ of offence in its con- 
tests with other fish. In this state the males are called ‘Red 
fish,’ or are said to be ‘on the reds,’ The females are some- 
what darker in colour, and are known by the name of ‘ Black 
fish.’ The process of spawning is as follows: A pair of fish, 
male and female, select a gravelly shallow suitable for the 
purpose, which is generally occupied also by other spawners, 
both salmon and trout, as well as by a considerable number 
of male parrs.2 The female deposits her eggs in shallow 
furrows in the gravel, to which they adhere by a thin coating 
of glutinous matter, the male at the same time shedding his 
1 There are, however, exceptional rivers, both earlier and later, as already 
pointed out ; and it is probable that many of the so-called ‘ barren fish,’ enter- 
ing the fresh water in November and December, spawn in the succeeding 
October. 
# Parr, as stated in Proved Facts, No. 3, are perfectly qualified to continue 
their species, and they perform a most imporiant part in the reproductive 
process ; for the attentions of the male salmon being constantly distracted by 
the necessity of protecting the spawning bed from the intrusion of the other 
fish, the ova of the female are during these absences vivified by the milt of the 
parrs. According to experiments by Mr. John Shaw (subsequently confirmed 
by those of Stormontfield), male parrs attain to the breeding state in about 
eighteen months, from the time of hatching. The females, it would appear, 
never become prolific whilst in the parr state unless they are amongst the 
exceptional fish alluded to in Proved Facts, No. 4, which remain over the 
third year in the rivers before migrating. 
