86 



GIRVAN. There are very good spawning beds. 



•— The fish are very heavy. The fish coming to spawn nearly all died last 



season. Saw fish affected first in the middle of January or 1st of February 

 1880. Saw one spawned fish. Saw three or four pairs altogether. Never 

 saw it before. The disease must be new. Saw one fish nearly dead ; caught 

 him by the tail. Has often seized full fish by the tail, when healthy, and found 

 as a rule that he could not hold them ; but the diseased fish was easily held. The 

 skin was as it were dried. Generally one wants a mitten to hold a healthy 

 fish. The diseased fish had no natural slime. Left it for three hours and 

 found it in the same position. There is little obstruction to fish on the 

 Stinchar. 



There is one little stream which he knew when a boy which contained plenty 

 of fish, but now it has none. Attributes it to sheep washing. The stream 

 was formerly full of fish. Took five dozen yellow trout when a boy in a day ; 

 now there is not a fish there. 



"When the water is low something gets into it which kills the fish. 



There is no netting in the upper waters. 



The diseased fish in the Stinchar were all dry like leather. They had no 

 slime on them. Has never noticed it before. The fish he alluded to was 

 alive. The slime generally comes on the fish through spawning. Could not 

 say if the absence of slime in the diseased fish was the cause or the effect of 

 disease. 



The fish was spotted near the back fin. 



James Wason, Corwar.— Knows a tributary of the Stinchar called the 

 Duisk. Has fished in nearly all the rivers of Scotland for the last 20 years. Has 

 not of late years observed any disease ; but has been fishing principally in the 

 north of Scotland, and in Norway. 



Saw diseased fish 18 or 20 years ago in the Stinchar. Recollects one case in 

 particular, when his brother had hold of a kelt in February, and in attempting to 

 gaff it, he gaffed another fish, which had a blotch on its head, and was blind 

 on one side. It was a kelt. A good many similar fish, he believes, were there 

 then. Has seen kelts maimed, but not fungousy. One year he caught 200 

 keltsin the Spey; they were damaged in all ways, but had no fungus. This 

 year has seen none. 



Remembers a general talk of many bad fungousy or diseased fish in the 

 river 20 years ago. 



There were then 20 fish to one now. Six or seven years ago there was a good 

 year, but the river is growing overstocked in the spawning season. Over- 

 stocking cannot be the cause of disease. 



Has a theory that the drainage has caused it by carrying down the dirt from 

 the uplands. The Stinchar is pure, but the Duisk is foul, coming from moor- 

 land. The Stinchar is pure, but its tributaries are as black as peat. The black 

 colour is owing to surface drainage. The matter carried down is partly 

 decaying vegetable and animal matter. There is much surface drainage. 



The rivers rise much more rapidly than formerly. 15 years ago he would 

 fish three days after a spate, but now the rivers rise and fall in one day. Formerly 

 they kept in fishing order for a week. 



These are unpreventable causes. 



Much filth is washed down, and slimy matter may be seen on the stones 

 wherever hill drainage takes place. 



Knows the Thurso ; it is a dirty river. There is very little hill drainage 

 there, the river running through arable fields. The dirt is from the land. 



Surface drainage was started 20 years ago, and has gone on continuously with 

 great benefit to the land. 



There are natural reservoirs at the head of the Cree, and a small sluice might 

 be put up to let the water out occasionally and wash out the river. An arti- 

 ficial spate should be made to clean the river. A natural spate brings dirt. 

 Clear ponded-up water should be let down, which would cause the river to rise 

 without fouling it. 



Artificial breeding would, he hopes, act well. Saw the Culzean ponds last 

 week. Has not seen Sir James Maitland's ponds at Craigend. 



Upper proprietors should have another fortnight's fishing. The salmon in 

 the Stinchar on the last day of the season are quite fresh from the sea, but 

 heavy in roe. 



