210 Nahiral History and Political Impropriatian 



two grilse; and Mr. Mackenzie states (p. 21.) that he, in 

 March, 1823, marked a grilse kelt with brass wire, and 

 caught it again, in March, 1824, a salmon of 7 lb. weight. 

 The testimony of the witnesses from the Ness, the Severn, 

 the Lee, and some other rivers, is too positive, and too well 

 supported, to admit of any doubt as to the excellent season 

 [condition] of many of the fish ascending those rivers, in 

 November, December, and January ; a period when they are 

 out of season, and full of spawn, generally, and even when 

 many fish are caught in those rivers in the same unseason- 

 able condition. The fact, that there are many fish in fine 

 season in those months, may be, I think, accounted for, if we 

 admit that salmon only spawn every other year, which I have, 

 I think, shown to be very probable; but what it is that in- 

 duces those fish to ascend rivers so many months before the 

 spawning season I cannot explain. Probably there may be 

 some quality in the water of these rivers, all the year, which is 

 congenial to the habits of the fish, while the same quality 

 may only be found during part of the year in others. It is 

 certain that the quality of the water in rivers generally varies 

 very much with the season : thus, the water of the Ribble is, 

 after a flood, in summer, always of a dark brown colour, 

 being so coloured by the peat moss over which it passes; 

 while in winter no such tinge can be observed ; and there 

 may be other differences, with which we are unacquainted. 

 However, whether this is the true reason or not, it certainly 

 cannot be that the fish which spawn in October are impelled 

 by their desire to propagate their species to ascend the rivers 

 the January before ; and if this long residence in fresh water 

 were necessary for the proper developement of the ova 

 in one river, we might suppose it would be necessary in all ; 

 yet this is not the case; as the red fish, which ascend the 

 rivers in November and December, have, at that time, the 

 spawn nearly ready for exclusion. 



On one point, about which there is great difference of 

 opinion, namely, whether the fish which are bred in a river 

 generally resort to it, and whether each river has its own 

 variety of fish, I am not a competent ji'Jge, as I am ac- 

 quainted with too few rivers to pretend to decide. I may, 

 however, just remark that the Hodder, though it is a much 

 smaller river than the Ribble, is always much better stocked 

 with salmon, morts, sprods, smelts, and par, than is the latter 

 river ; which I attribute to the fact that more fish spawn in 

 the Hodder, as it runs for many miles through the Forest of 

 Bowland (the property of the Duke of Buccleugh) and other 

 large estates, and the fish are much better protected there 



