Prof. A. Landmark, Chief Director
of the Norwegian Fisheries, has pub
lished some interesting particulars of
his studies of the capability of the sal
mon to jump waterfalls. He is of the
opinio* that the jump depends as much
on the height of the fall as on the cur
rents below it. If there be a deep pool
right under the fall, where the water
is comparatively quiet, a salmon mav
jump sixteen feet perpendicularly, but
such jumps are rare, and he can only
state with certainty that it has taken
place at the Hellefos, in the Drams
River, at Haugsend. where two great
masts have been placed across the
river for the study of the habits of the
salmon, so that exact measurements
may be effected. The height of the
water in the river, of course, varies,
but it is. ass rule, when the salmon is
running up stream, sixteen feet below
these masts. The distance between the
two is three and one-half feet, and the
Profes-or states that he has seen
salmon jump from the river below
across both masts. As another ex
ample of high jumping, he mentions
some instances of Carratunk waterfall,
Reumbee. in North America, where
jumps cf twelve feel have been re
corded. Prof. Landmark further states
that when a -alnion Jumps a fall nearly
: r: end eul rin shape ,t is sometimes
s 1 ■ to ream n in t,‘te fall, even if the
lump is :. foot or two short of the !
actual lie gilt. This, he maintains, has j
area proved by an overwhelming quan- \
tity of evidence. The fish may then be i
cen to stand for a minute or two a
foot or below the edge of the fall in
the same spot, in a trembling motion. |
when with a smart twitch of the tail l
the rest of the fall is cleared. But j
only fish which strike the fall straight j
with the snout are able to remain in
the falling mass of water: if it is struck j
obliquely, the fish is carried back into
the stream below. This Prof. Land
mark believes to be the explanation of j
salmr.a passinz fails with a clear de
scent of sixteen feet. The Professor j
believes tljat tbs is the extreme jump a
salmon is capable of. 