PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
9:3 
. been directed in the present report, were:—1. The habits of the Common 
Salmon (Scdimo salarj in the sea; 2. Their food whilst in the sea; 3. Their 
breeding, economy, and growth. On the first two points it was observed that 
they were seldom found far out at sea, and that their food consisted of Worms, 
insects, Crustacea, &c., not being confined to the ova of Echinodermata , as sup¬ 
posed by Dr. Knox, of Edinburgh. The third head was the most important. 
It migrates for spawning from October to the end of January. It deposits its 
spawn in the sand, but the particulars of this occurrence are at present not well 
known. The young are hatched about the end of March or April. From this 
time to May they were supposed to increase from four to six inches, and then to 
migrate to the sea, from whence they returned in July, weighing from three to 
eleven pounds, and spawning the following winter. The rapid growth of the 
fish is proved ; but Mr. Si-iaw, an artizan, of Dumlaury, by keeping fish in 
artificial ponds, has come to the conclusion that the young Salmon do not migrate 
the first year, and do not attain the size and dress of the fry till the second May 
after their exclusion from the ova. Mr. Shaw also discovered that, during the 
growth of the young Salmon, their colour and marking were those of Parrs which 
changed at the time of migration. From these facts, Sir William came to the 
conclusion, “ that a portion of the fishes knoi&n under the provincial name of parr 
are the young of some migratory Salman ; and that the time after the exclusion 
from the ova , until arriving at the migratory dress , is longer than has hitherto 
been asserted The term Parr is here used in its popular sense. 
Of the other migratory Trout, from two to five species are enumerated by 
British authors, Yarrell, Jenyns, and Parnell making but two; the last, 
including under Salmo eriox the Trutta salmonata , Will., gives seven varieties, 
and under S. trutta places S. albus of Fleming. Their geographical distribution 
is difficult to ascertain; the west coast and Solway Frith are the great localities of 
S. trutta , whilst the east coast produces T. salmonata , Will. Of the Common 
Trout and Chair, one abounds in all the rivers and lochs of Scotland— S. fario. 
The various appearances assumed by this fish, have puzzled ichthyologists, and 
but one species amongst the number of these fish has been distinguished— Salmo 
ccBcifer of Dr. Parnell. Another species has been distinguished by Sir William 
and Mr. Selby, which they have called, on account of its habits, S.ferox. This 
was confounded with, but is distinct from, the S. lacustris , Linn. It is found in 
England, in Ullswater. These may be closely allied to the fish of the continent, 
but Agassiz has pronounced them as different. The Chair cannot be said to be 
generically distinct from the last. They are not often caught by anglers, on 
account of their peculiar habits, and are not so well known as the preceding fish. 
Of the Coregoni there are two species—the one called C. Willughbii , by Jardine, 
and found in one or two of the lochs in the vicinity of Lochmaben, in the southern 
