62 
THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
stomachs, and these seemed to have quitted the salt-water 
very recently. 
“ At the time when they leave the sea to ascend the 
rivers, they scarcely differ from the Atlantic salmon, and 
are beautiful fish with silvery scales, and of which the two 
sexes differ little in appearance. Up till the month of 
June they keep in good condition, and retain their delicious 
flavour, which is exactly similar to that of the ordinary 
salmon. But after this time they begin to get thinner, 
become less elegant in form, lose the changing tints of their 
coloration, and the scales appear larger and rougher. 
As to the flesh it is already noticeably deteriorated in 
quality. The nearer the spawning time the thinner they 
become, their silvery lustre gives place to a deep olive 
green colour and the scales become imbedded in the skin, 
which gets thickened and spongy. 
“ The two sexes are then easily distinguished. The 
females have their abdomens distended with ova ; the 
males, on the contrary, are thin and narrow ; their heads 
are long, and compressed laterally. 
“ They have, according to L. Stone, a somewhat ferocious 
look, caused by the expression of the eyes, and the presence 
in the jaws of formidable rows of enormous pointed teeth, 
sometimes half an inch in length. 
“ As the season advances, these characters become more 
marked up to the time of spawning, when both sexes 
become so weak and emaciated that many of their number 
die of exhaustion. 
“ On account of the length of many of the Californian 
rivers, the salmon have to travel each year considerable 
distances in their periodical migrations, and they must 
often surmount numerous obstacles to reach their spawn- 
ing grounds. In the McLeod River, the source of which is 
3,500 feet above the sea, they have to ascend rapids for a 
