272 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



pulse, set out on their journey, often of a 

 hundred miles or more, to the sea. A series 

 of experiments carried on in the Tweed and 

 its tributary the Whittader in the years 1841-5 

 in which the writer assisted, seem to indicate 

 that the young salmon remain in the salt 

 water until the following year, when they ap- 

 pear again in the rivers in the form of" grilse" 

 with a weight of from 3 lbs. to 9 or 10 lbs. 

 each, and in the next season they return as 

 salmon — which makes this fish require three 

 years to attain its maturity. The instinct 

 which impels the smolts to seek the sea is not 

 less powerful than that which prompts the 

 parent fish to reach the upper waters of the 

 rivers, and they show an equal energy in at- 

 tempting to overcome every obstacle that op- 

 poses their progress. Mr. Shaw, of Stormont- 

 field.in Scotland, who was the first to identify 

 the par as the young of the salmon, relates 

 that in one of his experiments, he enclosed 

 several par in a pond formed by excavating 

 the bed of a small creek, the outlet of which 

 was closed by a grating that formed a bar to 

 their downward migration. When the time 

 arrived for their migration, and they assumed 

 the silvery livery of their species, so strong 

 was their migratory impulse that they threw 

 themselves in frantic leaps out of the water, 

 and most of them perished on the dry ground 

 on which they fell. 



In view of these ascertained facts, that the 

 salmon proper (Salmo solar) thrives only in 

 the sea and becomes languid, lean and un- 

 heal' tiy when it remains long in freshwater, 

 and that the fry or smolts at a certain stage of 

 their growth are seized with an over-mastering 

 impulse to seek the salt water, it would seem 

 to be more in accordance with the order of 

 nature, and therefore, more likely to be suc- 

 cessful, to place the artificially hatched fry of 

 the salmon (S. salar) in those streams only 

 which afford access to the sea, and to stock the 

 fresh water lakes and ponds which are wholly 

 or partially cut off from the tide-water of the 

 ocean with the fry of such species as have 

 their natural habitat in fresh water, such as 

 the great Makinaw trout (Salmo namaycusli) 

 the Siskawitz, (S. Siscowet, or Lake Superior 

 trout) and the Brook trout (£. fontinalis) in 

 some of its numerous varieties. 



It may be objected that our arguments are 

 drawn from the habits of the British salmon 

 and therefore will not apply to the American 

 fish ; but it is allowed by the naturalists and 

 fishermen of hnt.h countries that the fish of 



both localities are identical, and it is therefore 

 fair to infer that their habits are similar, and 

 that the argument drawn from the one will 

 apply with equal truth to the other. 



It is true that the artificially hatched fry 

 which have been introduced into the upper 

 lakes have lived and grown, and have even 

 begun to propagate; but the dinmnition in 

 size both of the fish and their ova, their slow 

 growth, requiring a period of four years to 

 attain a weight of eight pounds, while the sal- 

 mon of the sea reaches about three times that 

 weight in the same time, and the different 

 color and flavor of the flesh give evidence of 

 impaired vitality. Of those which have been 

 placed in smaller bodies of fresh water, the 

 report in most cases is that they have " dis- 

 appeared,'* and the few which have survived 

 to be captured in their third or fourth year are 

 uniformly described as presenting a large head, 

 a long lean body, and a dull leaden color. 



While we view the movement to increase 

 our supply of fish food by artificial hatching 

 with unmixed approbation, and esteem the 

 cultivation of the water as a most valuable 

 adjunct to the cultivation of the land, we 

 repeat that it would be more in accordance 

 with sound principle, and therefore more likely 

 to prove beneficial, to stock our " land-locked" 

 waters with those species whose natural habi- 

 tat is fresh water, and place the fry of the true 

 salmon (Salmo salar) in those waters only 

 which afford what the lawyers call free ingress, 

 egress and regress to the waters of the ocean, 

 for in such enterprises it is better to follow 

 than to force nature. — Belleville Intelligencer. 



NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 

 LABRADOR. 



( Mammals, continued.) 



BY W. A. STEARNS. 



Arotomyns monax, (Linne) Schreber. 

 Woodchuck Whistler. — Common at Mingan, 

 growing scarce towards Bonne Esperance. 



Castor fiber, Linne. Beaver. — Common 

 in inland ponds all along the coast in furring 

 season, but growing rapidly scarce. 



Zapus Huusonius, (Zimmerman) Coues. 

 Deer Mouse. Jumping Mouse. — Not rare on 

 the dry tops of many of the islands along the 

 coast. 



Hesperomys letjcopus, (Raf.) Le Conte. 

 White-footed Mouse. — Occurs probably about 

 equally abundant with Z. Hudsonius. 



