THE GROWTH OF SALMON. 27 



THE GKOWTH OF SALMON. 



By C. E. FEYEE. 



SINCE the time of Magna Charta it has been an object, directly or 

 indirectly, on the part of the Legislature, to protect the supplies 

 of salmon with which our rivers used to be so abundantly stocked : but, 

 notwithstanding the laws which have at various times been enacted, 

 this fish gradually became scarcer till, in 1861, all the old laws were 

 repealed, and fresh and more stringent regulations made for protecting 

 and increasing our salmon-supplies. In addition to the fostering care 

 which is bestowed, under the Salmon Fishery Acts of 1861 and 1865, 

 on the fish in the rivers, means have been adopted to artificially rear 

 salmon, so as to increase their numbers more rapidly than could be 

 done in the ordinary course of Nature. Mr. Frank Buckland has been 

 the pioneer of this system of artificial breeding of salmon and trout, 

 and the experiments and operations which have been carried on during 

 the last few years have thrown great light on the hitherto unknown 

 habits of this " king of fish." 



Any one who looks into the fishmongers' shops just now can see 

 what a clean, fresh-run salmon, ready for cooking, is like — a silvery, 

 plump creature, whose " lines " are made for speed in water, and whose 

 graceful curves give the completest idea of vigor and strength in 

 stemming a rapid current of water. 



But very few people, probably, know w T hat sort of an appearance 

 this beautiful fish presents in its infancy. Hidden away during that 

 period in the upper waters of our salmon rivers, and ultimately in the 

 depths of the sea, it is lost to sight till it grows large enough to be 

 taken by the salmon-nets ; and, until lately, very little was known of 

 its natural history, or of its habits, though the experience of the last 

 few years has revealed many interesting facts concerning the develop- 

 ment of this fish, through the egg, fry, smolt, and grilse stages, till it 

 becomes a full-grown salmon. 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



New-laid Salmon Egg. Egg afteb about 35 Days. 



Fig. 1 represents the egg — natural size— of a salmon just laid. 

 Each female salmon carries, on an average, 800 to 900 of such eggs to 

 every pound of her weight. They are generally of a pinky opal color, 

 elastic to the touch, covered with a soft, horny membrane, with a mi- 



