96 FISH GALLERY, 



(274) and commence their descent to the sea. They are then 

 about 8 inches long and silvery in colour. On its first return 

 from the sea the fish is known as a Grilse (275) or Salmon Peal; 

 such a fish would weigh 3 lbs. if caught in the river in June, but 

 a Grilse that had delayed its return to fresh water till the end of 

 July would weigh 9 or 10 lbs. if in good condition. The term 

 " Salmon " is only applied to a fish on its second and subsequent 

 ascents. A Kelt is a spent Salmon, one which has spawned and 

 is returning to the sea. A Kipper is a lean Salmon which has 

 failed to descend to the sea after spawning. In mature male 

 Salmons the upper and lower jaws become enlarged at the front 

 and bent over, the lower jaw being particularly hooked, and 

 giving a sinister appearance to the head. 



The Salmon only comes up the rivers to spawn ; it does not 

 feed in fresh water, judging by the absence of food-material in the 

 stomachs of fishes examined, and it is this circumstance which 

 renders so unaccountable the fatal fascination exercised by that 

 wonderful tuft of feathers and coloured wool which anglers term 

 the "fly". The pink colour of the flesh of the Salmon is 

 attributed to its feeding on crustaceans such as shrimps and 

 prawns. 



The excellence of the Salmon as a food fish has rendered 

 Salmon-fisheries the object of constant attention on the part of 

 the legislature from the earliest times of which we have any record. 

 The fisheries form an exceedingly valuable part of the natural 

 wealth of the country. In Scotland the rateable value of the 

 Salmon-fisheries in those districts where Fishery Boards have 

 been formed was assessed in the year 1898 at over £107,000. 

 The Salmon carried to market by the railways and steamers of 

 Scotland amounted to 4,230 tons in 1895 and to 2,093 tons in 

 1898. The heaviest British Salmon ?.on authentic record is one 

 taken in the Tay which weighed 70 lbs. It must be borne in 

 mind, however, that some of the large fish which the Tay anglers 

 call Salmon are really Bull Trout, and the 70 lb. fish may have 

 been such a fish. In the British Pavilion, at the end of the Bird 

 Gallery, is exhibited a Bull Trout from the Tay weighing 55 lbs. 



The Salmon 276 in Wall-case 7 of this Gallery weighed 33 lbs. 

 when caught ; it was taken in the Tay at Perth in July. 



