THE SALMON FAMILY. 65 
salmon are not easily discouraged in their prog- 
ress, leaping cascades and other obstructions, or, 
if these prove impassable, dying after repeated 
fruitless attempts. 
The young salmon, known as the “parr,” is 
hatched in the spring. It usually remains about 
two years in the rivers, descending at about the 
third spring to the sea, when it is known as 
“smolt.” In the sea it grows much more rapidly, 
and becomes more silvery in color, and is known 
as “grilse.” The grilse rapidly develop into the 
adult salmon; and some of them, as is the case 
with the grilse of the Pacific salmon, are capable of 
reproduction. 
After spawning the salmon are very lean and 
unwholesome in appearance, as in fact. They are 
then known as “kelts.” The Atlantic salmon does 
not ascend rivers to any such distances as those 
traversed by the quinnat and the blue-back. Its 
kelts, therefore, for the most part survive the act 
of spawning. Dr. Day thinks that they feed upon 
the young salmon in the rivers, and that, therefore, 
the destruction of the kelts might increase the 
supply of salmon. 
As a food-fish, the Atlantic salmon is very 
similar to the Pacific species, neither better 
nor worse, so far as I can see, when equally 
fresh. In both the flesh is rich and finely fla- 
vored; but the appetite of man becomes cloyed 
with salmon-flesh sooner than with that of white- 
fish, smelt, or charr. In size, the Atlantic salmon 
does not fall far short of the quinnat. The aver- 
age weight of the adult is probably less than 
5 
