Title: The aquarium
Identifier: aquarium3281893mule (find matches)
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Mulertt, Hugo
Subjects: Aquarium animals; Aquarium fishes; Aquariums
Publisher: Brooklyn, N. Y. : H. Mulertt
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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THE AQUARIUM, JULY, 1893. 51 the body, small. During the breeding season the point of the lower jaw is bent upwards, somewhat like a hook. The back is blue black or dark gray, while the belly is silvery, and often dot- ted here and there with spots of red and black. At maturity it attains a length of three feet and a weight of from 40 to 50 pounds. The salmon, ^' the king of fresh-water fish," is migratory in its habits, spending the earlier days of youth in fresh water, but eventually making its way to the sea, from which it again returns to its native river when the spawning season arrives. The speed with which this fish swims is effort is renewed and generally crowned with success. It is not unusual for the fish to persist until it is killed by the violence of its exertions in accomplish- ing the object. The spawning season is in the fall and early winter (the California salmon, however, spawns during the summer). Before entering the fresh water of the river, the fish remain in the brackish water of tide-ways, as they also do when making their descent to the sea. This habit prevents the great and sudden change that would ensue if the passage was made abruptly from salt to fresh water or vice versa. It is also at this
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The Silver Salmon of Alaska. Oncorhynchus kisutch. remarkable, and should the depth of the water be favorable for the exploit, it will accomplish the distance of fifty miles in an hour's time. Its strength is no less remarkable, enabling it to main- tain its high velocity in shooting up the most oblique and glancing rapids and if need be, leaping falls ten or twelve feet in height. The greatest perpendicular height to which the sal- mon can attain in leaping is believed to be about fourteen feet. Should the first attempt at leaping a water-fall be a failure, the fish will make the trial again and again, evincing the most obstinate perseverance. Resting between times to recruit its exhausted strength, the time that they get rid of parasites that become attached, after a protracted stay, in either salt or fresh water as the case may be. The female is the first to enter the river and locate in a suit- able place for spawning, the male fol- lowing about a month later. With a spirit of true chivalry, the male salmon is wont to engage in desperate battles with other males, for the possession of the female,'the result of the struggle not infrequently being the death of the weaker The spawn is not deposited until the water has receded to a tem- perature of about 10° F. The next step is to prepare a receptacle or nest in which to drop the eggs. The female

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