SALMO. 
particularly in marshy situations, by the 
verges of rivers, brooks, and, other waters ; 
likewise along the sides of ditches, &c. 
which places often lying w'aste, may be 
employed to good advantage in plantations 
of willows for dilFerent purposes. 
SALLY, in the military art, the issuing out 
of the besieged, from their town or fort, and 
falling upon the besiegers in their works, in 
order to cut them olf, nail their cannon, 
hinder the progress of their approaches, 
destroy their works, &c. 
SALMASIA, in botany, so named in 
memory of Claudius Salmasius, a genus of 
the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
Natural order of Cisti, Jussieu. Essential 
character : calyx, five parted ; corolla, five 
petalled ; style none ; capsule, three celled, 
three valved, many seeded. There is but 
one species, viz. S. racemosa, a native of 
the woods of Guiana. 
SALMO, the salmon, in natural history, 
a genus of fishes of the order Abdominales. 
Generic character: head smooth, compress- 
ed ; tongue white and cartilaginous ; teeth 
in the jaws and on the tongue ; gill-mem- 
brane from four to twelve-rayed ; body fur- 
nished at the hind part with an adipose fin. 
Gmelin enumerates fifty-five species, and 
Sliaw sixty-two, of which we shall notice 
the following : 
S. salar, or the common salmon. This 
abounds principally in the Northern Seas, 
which it quits at particular periods, to as- 
cend rivers to a very considerable height, 
and deposit its spawn in them. In order 
to gain the favourite spots in rivers for this 
purpose, which are sometimes at the dis- 
tance of several hundred miles from the 
ocean, these fishes will overcome diffi- 
culties of surprising extent, ■ stemming the 
most rushing currents, and leaping with 
astonishing activity over various elevations. 
It is related, that the same individual fishes 
will return to the same spot for a succes- 
sion of seasons ; in this respect exhibiting 
preferences similar to those of birds in simi- 
lar circumstances. The salmon is generally 
about two feet and three-quarters long, and 
has been seen of the length of six, and 
weighing, in this case, seventy-four pounds. 
This fish is remarkable for the excellence 
of its flavour, and its richness, and is a wel- 
come dish at every table. It constitutes, 
also, an important article of commerce. 
Tlie principal fishery for salmon, in this 
island, is at Berwick on the Tweed. In 
November, they begin to ascend that river, 
and soon afterwards deposit their spawn 
with extreme care, in recesses in the sands. 
Here it remains till the advance of spring, 
when the young are completely developed, 
and grow with such rapidity, that, by the 
beginning of August, they attain to the 
weight of six or seven pounds, and occa- 
sionally even more. Some hundreds have 
been occasionally taken in a single draught ; 
but the average number is not above fifty. 
These fishes, in their most abundant season, 
are salted and barrelled for exportation. 
The principal part of these, taken before 
April, is sent to the London market, in a 
fresh state, and packed in ice. In July, 
the most plentiful month in the year, sal- 
mon have been sold at Berwick, at the rate 
of less than a halfpenny per pound. The 
rent of the forty principal salmon-fisheries 
on the Tweed, between its mouth and four- 
teen miles upwards, towards its source, 
amounted, many years since, to between 
five and six thousand pounds per annum, 
and the number of fishes annually taken by 
these, is calculated at upwards of two hun- 
dred thousand. It' is a singular circum- 
stance, that no food, if we may believe the 
uniform statements of fishermen, is ever 
found in the stomach of the salmon ; yet 
fishes and worms are employed by the angler 
with success in taking them. The case may 
possibly be, that, at particular seasons, they 
may totally neglect food, as is the case 
with some other species of animals, parti- 
cularly seals, which abstain for a series of 
months, and this instance of exception may 
have been exaggerated into a universal 
practice. 
S. fario, or common trout, is found in ab 
most all the European streams, at least 
such as are cool and clear. Its length, in 
general, is about fourteen inches. Occa- 
sionally, it has been known to weigh ten 
pounds. Trout of the common size, how- 
ever, are far preferable to those of such 
extraordinary magnitude. These fishes sub- 
sist on worms, small fishes, shell-fish, and 
water-insects. They are extremely rapa- 
cious and devouring, and not unfrequently 
prey upon each other. Those are most 
esteemed which are found in the coldest 
streams, and they are generally regarded as 
an elegant and luxurious article of food. 
They appear to have been only slightly 
known to the Greeks and Romans, and to 
have been rather admired for the beauty of 
their appearance, than eagerly sought after 
for the table. 
S. salvelinus, or red charr, is about a foot 
long, very similar in form to the common 
