the Salmon, Herring, and Vendace. 489 



sands of unspawned fish. The river Eden, for example, is said 

 to be what is called an early river, and the river Lee at Cork is, 

 or was lately, fished throughout the whole year. 



IZAAK WALTON observes, " that as there is no general rule 

 without an exception, so there are some few rivers in this nation, 

 that have trouts and salmons in season in winter, as it is certain 

 that there be in the river Wye in Monmouthshire, where they be 

 in season, as CAMDEN observes, from September till April." To 

 which Mr RENNIE adds in a note : " In the river Lee, which runs 

 into the sea at the Cove of Cork, salmon are likewise in season 

 the whole year round, as I can myself testify, having resided at 

 Cork the greater part of a year. (Signed) J. R." A danger- 

 ous error is conveyed by language of this kind ; the tacksmen of 

 numerous lakes and rivers in Britain, have constantly endeavoured 

 to shew that their particular locality furnished clean salmon all 

 the year round. The object of this was to get permission of the 

 Legislature to fish these localities, and to sell their fish, and thus 

 to command a kind of monopoly of the market, calculating that 

 with the few sound salmon, which we presume may be found in 

 and about the mouths of most rivers, or as high as the tide-way, 

 throughout the year, to have it in their power, in the first place, 

 to obtain a high price for a comparatively rare article, and at the 

 same time to introduce, by means of kippering and pickling, &c., 

 a vast quantity of unwholesome food, which they of necessity 

 take along with the few sound fish. The fatal error, I repeat, is, 

 that in finding sound salmon in the mouth of a river throughout 

 the year, the observer merely takes note of this fact, without at 

 all considering the mischief done by the taking of unspawned or 

 foul fishes along with them ; all the elements of a correct obser- 

 vation are thus wanting, or at least of one which may be prac- 

 tically useful. The first object in a question of this kind on the 

 part of the Legislature, being not the taking of a few sound fish 

 during the winter and spring months, for the gratification of the 



