The Salmon Par is neither a Hybrid nor a distinct species of the
_genus Salmo_, but a state of the common Salmon. The author of
"Wild Sports of the West" says of the Par, as I have noted
previously, "That it has very much the appearance of a Hybrid
between the Salmon and the Trout, and (in a note) that the natural
history of this fish is doubtful. Some conjecture that it is a
Hybrid between the Salmon and Trout, because it is only found in
rivers which are frequented by Salmon. Others think it a cross
breed between the sea Trout and river Trout," and then he speaks
of this "hybridous diminutive," as if he thought one of these
opinions was correct. That the Par is not the result of a cross
between a sea Trout and a river Trout, is proved by the fact that
there are no sea Trouts in the Wharfe, the Par (admitting it to be
a distinct species, which I do not), the Salmon, and common Trout
being the only kinds of Salmonidae which are found in that river,
at least where I am acquainted with it. If the Par be the result
of a cross between the Salmon and the Trout, what becomes of it in
the spring, and where are all the Par, which were so abundant in
October, gone to in April? Did they migrate to the sea, the shoals
would be met with by somebody; and did they stay in the river they
would be caught at one time or other. However, as it is well known
that neither of these cases is ever realized, we must suppose
another, which I have already done in my former communication. In
fact, in angling in the beginning of March, fish are often caught
which would puzzle the most experienced fisherman to determine
whether they are Par or Smolts, especially after they have been
caught some time; and in a large number caught at that time there
are all the intermediate shades of appearance between the perfect
Par and the real blue Smolt.