NOTES ON BRITISH SALMONID^E 85 



netting by poachers of " baggits " before they have spawned ; 

 that the imperfect zvatching ivitliout action only at the 

 spawning time, and not before it ; and neglect of the upper 

 spawning grounds when the fresh run spring fish first reach 

 their homes, an utter disregard of the natural history of 

 the fish, even so far as that is known : and finally, a total 

 mismanagement of by far the greatest number of our salmon 

 and sea-trout rivers ; these are the destroying agents. 



Mr. Horace Hutchinson has a very suggestive paper in 

 the "Fortnightly Review" of August 1900. In it he says, 

 amongst other remarks, " There are some who maintain that 

 salmon are to be seen spawning at any time throughout the 

 year because salmon are to be seen on the spawning beds, 

 as many river-watchers will testify, at any time of the year." 

 I do not altogether admit the sequiter ; but it is not my 

 present purpose to argue that point, but to pass on to his 

 following remarks. He goes on to say (making some inter- 

 esting remarks on natural selection) : " Arranging " (i.e. Nature 

 arranging) " for a bigger autumnal run than used to be the 

 case some years ago, by reason of the decimation caused by the 

 netting- in the spring run" Now comes my point (the italics 

 are mine). 



As a remedial measure, Mr. Hutchinson then proposes 

 the following : " Give the fish the chance of going up as 

 often as they make the attempt, by closing the net-fishing 

 in the late summer months when the results are least profit- 

 able." Now, in almost all Mr. Hutchinson says, I agree, but 

 I would be inclined to go even a little further, and advise as 

 follows : Give the fish as many chances as possible to run up 

 during the true early runs of the species i.e. the early 

 " springers " (not necessarily on all rivers synchronous with 

 the early spring of the calendar, as I have already attempted 

 to show). Give the best young fish the best chances, by 

 curtailing the netting at the river estuaries : at least at the 

 very least do this upon such rivers as are fed by springs, 

 and have no great reservoirs at their sources. I mean on 

 such rivers as the Dee in Aberdeenshire, the Deveron, the 

 Tweed ; and perhaps the Awe ought to be included or 

 rather the Orchy. 



Now, it seems extremely probable, notwithstanding what 



