SALMO, the adman, in natural history, a genus of fishes of the order of Abdomi nales. Generic character : head smooth, compressed ; tongue white and cartilagi nous; teeth in the jaws and on the tongue ; gill-membrane from four to twelve-rayed ; body furnished at the hind part with an adipose fin. Gmelin enumerates fifty-five species, and .Shaw 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 ascend 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 some times at the distance of several hundred miles from the ocean, these fishes will overcome difficulties of surprising ex tent, stemming the most rushing cur rents, and leaping with astonishing acti vity over various elevations. It is re lated, that the same individual fishes will return to the same spot for a succession of seasons; in this respect exhibiting preferences similar to those of birds in similar 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 re markable for the excellence of its fla vour, and its richness, and is a welcome dish at every table. It constitutes, also, an important article of commerce. The 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 ad vance 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 occasionally 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 prin. cipal 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 fourteen miles upwards, to wards 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 calcu lated at upwards of two hundred thou sand. It is a singular circumstance, 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 sea sons, they may totally neglect food, as is the case with some other species of animals, particularly 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 almost all the European streams, at least such as are cool and clear. Its length, in general, is about fourteen inches. Occasionally, it has been known to weigh ten pounds. Trout of the com mon size, however, are far prefera ble to those of such extraordinary mag nitude. These fishes subsist on worms, small fishes, shell-fish, and water in sects. They are extremely rapacious and devouring, and not unfrequently prey upon each other. Those are moat esteemed which are found in the coldest streams, and they are generally regard ed as an elegant and luxurious article of food. They appear to have been on ly slightly known to the Greeks and Romans, and to have been rather ad mired for the beauty of their appear ance, than eagerly sought after for the table.
S. salvelinus, or red chary, is about a foot long, very similar in form to the corn. mon salmon, but more slender. It abounds in the rivers of Siberia, and the lakes of Germany, and in this coun try, in the lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland. It is considered as one of the highest delicacies, and has the' most brilliant colours, and finest flavour, when inhabiting the coldest waters. ' The S. eperlanus, or smelt, is about seven inches long, highly elegant, of a tapering form, and semi-transparent ap pearance. It has an odour not unlike that proceeding from vegetables, and which has by some been resembled to that of a violet, and by others to that of a cucumber. In the winter months it is caught in extreme abundance in the rivers Thames and Dee.
The S. Greenlandicus, or Greenland salmon. These abound off the coast of Greenland, where there are taken in vast quantities, and dried, not only for the use of matt, but of cattle, for which they con stitute a valuable food in winter. It is about the size of a smelt.
S thymallis, or the grayling, is about a foot and a half long, and abounds in the rivers of mountainous countries in Eu rope and Asia. It resembles the trout in form. In some of the rivers of England it is found in great perfection. It feeds on insects and fishes, and is highly vo racious, catches with extreme avidity at the bait, and swims with extraordinary rapidity, passing through the water like a dart, or a meteor through the air.