FISHES l8l 



salmon take no food, and the roe — the ova and seed — 

 mature at the expense of the fat and the muscles. The 

 old males now develop a bright red colour on the belly, 

 and at the tip of their lower jaw is formed a strong, 

 upward-pointing hook ; this is often so long that the 

 mouth cannot be closed/ The swarms separate at the 

 spawning places, in the streams that flow into the rivers. 

 In the shallow parts of the streams, especially underneath 

 small waterfalls, the female brushes aside the pebbles 

 with her tail, and lies down in the hollow, to deposit her 

 eggs at the bottom. The male remains about a yard 

 above, and ejects his seed into the water ; this is con- 

 veyed by the current to the ova and fertilises them. 

 When the spawning is over, the two sexes, fearfully 

 emaciated and exhausted, return to the sea, and 

 recuperate there. Many of them, however, perish on 

 the way. 



Many salmon pass up river during the spring also ; 

 they do not spawn, but feed for a whole year as river- 

 fishes, and do not descend to the sea until the next year 

 with the comrades they meet in the meantime. They 

 have the fattest and reddest flesh, and are called winter 

 salmon. They are the dearest. The salmon going up 

 stream have also red flesh ; those going down have white 

 flesh, and are easy to catch on account of their exhaustion, 

 but are less valuable. The worst fishes are the shore 

 or black salmon, which never enter fresh water. They 

 live on the sea-shore and seem to be permanently sterile. 

 Their flesh is quite white and hard. 



^ Many believe that the hook is used as a weapon in the fight for 

 the females. The point is not yet settled. 



