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      Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

      THE MIGRATORY HABITS OF THE SALMON.—The instinct with which the salmon revisits its native river, is one of the most curious circumstances in its natural history. As the swallow returns annually to its nest, so it returns to the same spot to deposit its ova. This fact would seem to have been repeatedly proved. M. De Lande fastened a copper ring round a salmon's tail, and found that, for three successive seasons, it returned to the same place. Dr. Bloch states that gold and silver rings have been attached by eastern princes to salmon, to prove that a communication existed between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian and Northern Seas, and that the experiment succeeded.

      COLLARED SALMON.

      303. INGREDIENTS.—A piece of salmon, say 3 lbs., a high seasoning of salt, pounded mace, and pepper; water and vinegar, 3 bay-leaves.

      Mode.—Split the fish; scale, bone, and wash it thoroughly clean; wipe it, and rub in the seasoning inside and out; roll it up, and bind firmly; lay it in a kettle, cover it with vinegar and water (⅓ vinegar, in proportion to the water); add the bay-leaves and a good seasoning of salt and whole pepper, and simmer till done. Do not remove the lid. Serve with melted butter or anchovy sauce. For preserving the collared fish, boil up the liquor in which it was cooked, and add a little more vinegar. Pour over when cold.

      Time.—¾ hour, or rather more.

      HABITAT OF THE SALMON.—The salmon is styled by Walton the "king of fresh-water fish," and is found distributed over the north of Europe and Asia, from Britain to Kamschatka, but is never found in warm latitudes, nor has it ever been caught even so far south as the Mediterranean. It lives in fresh as well as in salt waters, depositing its spawn in the former, hundreds of miles from the mouths of some of those rivers to which it has been known to resort. In 1859, great efforts were made to introduce this fish into the Australian colonies; and it is believed that the attempt, after many difficulties, which were very skilfully overcome, has been successful.

      CRIMPED SALMON.

      304. Salmon is frequently dressed in this way at many fashionable tables, but must be very fresh, and cut into slices 2 or 3 inches thick. Lay these in cold salt and water for 1 hour; have ready some boiling water, salted, as in recipe No. 301, and well skimmed; put in the fish, and simmer gently for ¼ hour, or rather more; should it be very thick, garnish the same as boiled salmon, and serve with the same sauces.

      Time.—¼ hour, more or less, according to size.

      Note.—Never use vinegar with salmon, as it spoils the taste and colour of the fish.

      [Illustration: THE SALMON.]

      THE SALMON TRIBE.—This is the Abdominal fish, forming the fourth of the orders of Linnaeus. They are distinguished from the other fishes by having two dorsal fins, of which the hindmost is fleshy and without rays. They have teeth both on the tongue and in the jaws, whilst the body is covered with round and minutely striated scales.

      CURRIED SALMON.

      305. INGREDIENTS.—Any remains of boiled salmon,¾ pint of strong or medium stock (No. 105), 1 onion, 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder, 1 teaspoonful of Harvey's sauce, 1 teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, 1 oz. of butter, the juice of ½ lemon, cayenne and salt to taste.

      Mode.—Cut up the onions into small pieces, and fry them of a pale brown in the butter; add all the ingredients but the salmon, and simmer gently till the onion is tender, occasionally stirring the contents; cut the salmon into small square pieces, carefully take away all skin and bone, lay it in the stewpan, and let it gradually heat through; but do not allow it to boil long.

      Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold fish, 9d.

      GROWTH OF THE SALMON.—At the latter end of the year—some as soon as November—salmon begin to press up the rivers as far as they can reach, in order to deposit their spawn, which they do in the sand or gravel, about eighteen inches deep. Here it lies buried till the spring, when, about the latter end of March, it begins to exclude the young, which gradually increase to four or five inches in length, and are then termed smelts or smouts. About the beginning of May, the river seems to be alive with them, and there is no forming an idea of their numbers without having seen them. A seasonable flood, however, comes, and hurries them to the "great deep;" whence, about the middle of June, they commence their return to the river again. By this time they are twelve or sixteen inches long, and progressively increase, both in number and size, till about the end of July, when they have become large enough to be denominated grilse. Early in August they become fewer in numbers, but of greater size, haying advanced to a weight of from six to nine pounds. This rapidity of growth appears surprising, and realizes the remark of Walton, that "the salmlet becomes a salmon in as short a time as a gosling becomes a goose." Recent writers have, however, thrown considerable doubts on this quick growth of the salmon.

      SALMON CUTLETS.

      306. Cut the slices 1 inch thick, and season them with pepper and salt; butter a sheet of white paper, lay each slice on a separate piece, with their ends twisted; broil gently over a clear fire, and serve with anchovy or caper sauce. When higher seasoning is required, add a few chopped herbs and a little spice.

      Time.—5 to 10 minutes.

      SALMON A LA GENEVESE.

      307. INGREDIENTS.—2 slices of salmon, 2 chopped shalots, a little parsley, a small bunch of herbs, 2 bay-leaves, 2 carrots, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of Madeira,½ pint of white stock (No. 107), thickening of butter and flour, 1 teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, the juice of 1 lemon, cayenne and salt to taste.

      Mode.—Rub the bottom of a stewpan over with butter, and put in the shalots, herbs, bay-leaves, carrots, mace, and seasoning; stir them for 10 minutes over a clear fire, and add the Madeira or sherry; simmer gently for ½ hour, and strain through a sieve over the fish, which stew in this gravy. As soon as the fish is sufficiently cooked, take away all the liquor, except a little to keep the salmon moist, and put it into another stewpan; add the stock, thicken with butter and flour, and put in the anchovies, lemon-juice, cayenne, and salt; lay the salmon on a hot dish, pour over it part of the sauce, and serve the remainder in a tureen.

      Time.—1–¼ hour. Average cost for this quantity, 3s. 6d.

      Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

      PICKLED SALMON.

      308. INGREDIENTS.—Salmon,½ oz. of whole pepper,½ oz. of whole allspice, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 2 bay-leaves, equal quantities of vinegar and the liquor in which the fish was boiled.

      Mode.—After the fish comes from table, lay it in a nice dish with a cover to it, as it should be excluded from the air, and take away the bone; boil the liquor and vinegar with the other ingredients for 10 minutes, and let it stand to get cold; pour it over the salmon, and in 12 hours this will be fit for the table.

      Time.—10 minutes.

      TO CURE SALMON.—This process consists in splitting the fish, rubbing it with salt, and then putting it into pickle in tubs provided for the purpose. Here it is kept for about six weeks, when it is taken out, pressed and packed in casks, with layers of salt.

      POTTED SALMON.

      309. INGREDIENTS.—Salmon; pounded mace, cloves, and pepper to taste; 3 bay-leaves,¼ lb. butter.

      Mode.—Skin the salmon, and clean it thoroughly by wiping with a cloth (water would spoil it); cut it into square pieces, which rub with salt; let them remain till thoroughly drained, then lay them in a dish with the other ingredients, and bake. When quite done, drain them from the gravy, press into pots for use, and, when cold, pour over it clarified butter.

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