Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Salmon

SALMON, or Salmo, L. a genus of fish comprising twenty-nine species, of which the following are the principal, viz.

1. The fario. See Trout.

2. The alpinus. See Charr.

3. The eperlanus. See Smelt.

4. The salar, or Common Salmon, inhabits the British seas and rivers, where it is caught in great numbers, the largest weighing from 30 to 40lb., though sometimes upwards of 70. These fish form, in several countries, a considerable branch of commerce, and are cured in various ways, by salting, pickling, and drying. Hence, in Iceland, Norway, and the Baltic, as well as at Coleraine in Ireland, at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and some of the Scotch rivers, certain stationary fisheries are established, which prove uncommonly productive.

The salmon frequents both salt and fresh waters, quitting the former in the spring, for the purpose of depositing its spawn in the gravelly beds, remote from the mouths of rivers. Towards autumn, they again resort to the ocean.

Salmon is a very general and favourite article of food, and is used at the table, either fresh, cured, or smoked; in which last state, however, it is exceedingly unwholesome. The flesh of salmon, while fresh, is tender, flaky, and nutritive; but, being rather oily, it is difficult of digestion. In the spawning season, its flavour and tint are much impaired: when boiled or salted, it acquires a fine red colour. Those of a moderate size and middle age, are in the greatest perfection, both with respect to their taste and salubrity.—Salmon-trout are chiefly distinguished from the common fish of that name, by their soft and gelatinous nature.