hed to the killing of
them, or having them in possession, and conservators of rivers
ought to have the power of inspecting all mills and manufactories
driven by those rivers, to ascertain that they have no contrivances
for taking the fry on their way to the sea, as it appears that in
some rivers they are taken in large quantities. There ought also to
be a penalty attached to the killing of Kelt fish, which in that
state are not only tasteless and insipid, but actually unwholesome;
yet they are pursued and destroyed with as much avidity as the fresh
fish, and a very small number of the few that spawn in safety ever
return to the sea. A penalty ought also to be inflicted for selling,
buying, using, or having in possession Salmon roe, either in a fresh
or salted state, as its excellence as a bait for Trout and Eels, and
the consequent high price at which it sells, are sufficient
temptations to poachers to kill the Salmon in the spawning season
even if they could not sell or use any other part. Yet destructive
as this practice is, there is an extensive trade in this article--
a fishing-tackle maker in Liverpool having told a friend of mine
that he sold 300 lbs. in a season, which, supposing every egg to
hatch, would produce perhaps five times as many Salmon as are caught
in one year throughout the whole kingdom. [4]

In concluding this imperfect sketch, I may remark that I have
omitted many things concerning the natural history and habits of
the Salmon, fearing to trespass too much on the patience of my
readers; but I have wished, in addition to communicating some
facts in the natural history of this fish, which I believe are not
generally known, to call the attention of the public to the
present state of the Salmon fisheries in England. Many of the
preceding observations are founded on the evidence of persons
connected with the fisheries in Scotland, and are perhaps no
longer applicable to that part of the kingdom, since there has
been an alteration in the laws; whether this is the case or not, I
have no present means of ascertaining. I shall be glad if any one
having a knowledge of the subject will say what benefit, if any,
has been derived from the alteration; however, it is sufficient
for my present purpose to show what is the state of things when
there are no laws on the subject, or, which is the same thing,
when there is no attention paid to them; a state of things which,
instead of promoting an abundant supply of t