a half
pounds, that he marked it with a brass wire, and let it go, and
that in the March following he caught it again a Salmon of seven
pounds weight. Now a fish which weighed three and a half pounds as
a Kelt, would weigh five pounds or six pounds when in high
condition the summer before, and if this were so, which I believe
all persons who are acquainted with Salmon will admit, the fish
would have gained only one pound or two pounds in fifteen or
eighteen months. Besides, if Salmon grew as fast as is stated and
believed by many persons, the breeds of different years would vary
very much in weight, whereas it is known to everybody that we have
them of all sizes, from five pounds to forty pounds; and it is
contrary to analogy to suppose that a fish which is two or three
years in arriving at the weight of as many ounces, should in two
or three months acquire as many pounds. There are, however, two or
three things about which all persons agree in opinion--one of
these is: that the breed of Salmon is decreasing every year, and
that the great cause of this decrease is the want of protection,
and a consequent destruction in the spawning season. The complaint
on this head is universal from north to south; from the Shannon to
the Tweed, the cry is--"Protect the breeding fish, or we shall
very soon have none to protect." And yet, although the destruction
of the spawning fish, and the destruction of the fry in the
Spring, are the chief reasons for this alarming falling off, no
one seems able to devise a remedy; no one seems inclined to make
the necessary sacrifices for so desirable an object, and without
these sacrifices it would be absurd to expect the fish to become
plentiful; and instead of furnishing an abundant supply of cheap
and wholesome food to all classes, which they certainly would do
if the fisheries were properly regulated, they will either become
wholly extinct, or so rare as to be found only at the tables of
the wealthy. James Gillies, in his evidence, states that his
brother had in one night killed in the Tweed four hundred Salmon
at one landing-place in close time; and all the reports are full
of statements showing how unceasing and universal is the
persecution the Salmon undergo, not only when in season, but at
all times, and most of all when every one should do his utmost to
preserve them--I mean when they are spawning. In this neighbourhood
the properties generally are so much divided, and so few good fish