180 SALMON AND TROUT. 
his sojourn there : in tact, he must do so, otherwise he could 
not grow so rapidly or attain such condition in the short time 
it is known he has to stay there. Nature has provided him 
with a formidable set of teeth, and it may be presumed he 
makes the best use of them. 
When he first enters fresh water he is in his prime, and in 
the full glory of his strength. Doubtless instinct teaches him 
not to leave the salt water before he has attained this con- 
dition that he may be able to surmount the difficulties he will 
have to encounter before he can reach his spawning ground. 
A half-conditioned, ill-fed fish could not accomplish this : his 
strength would be exhausted before half the journey was com- 
pleted, and he would probably be no more seen. A fish in 
this condition is seldom caught by nets in fresh water or on 
the sea-coast. 
There is great difference of opinion as to whether or not a 
salmon feeds in fresh water. In my opinion there is positive 
evidence that he does ; otherwise, why does he take flies, live 
and artificial bait, worms, and shrimps? Is it to be supposed 
for a moment that if he takes these he will not take any other 
food fresh water affords him? {it is true he deteriorates in 
condition, from the date of his migration from the sea: but 
this may be accounted for by the fact that the food the river 
affords is not of that fattening nature which he gets in the 
sea, and Nature evidently did not intend he should remain 
in the same prime condition in fresh water as when he entered 
it. He has to undergo certain changes before he is in a fit 
state to spawn, and, if he remained in the same prime condi- 
tion as when he entered the river, this would be impossible. 
It is well known that a newly run salmon will take a fly or 
bait sooner than one which has been a longer time in fresh 
water, and I could quote many instances to prove this. A few 
years ago I was fishing in the north of Norway, where there 
was a large pool under a fall which was impassable for salmon. 
The fish congregated in this pool in vast numbers, but I seldom 
killed one in it that had not sea lice on him. (The presence of 
