SPECIES OF THE SALMON. 41 



should now see whether the destruction of the 

 weir would increase the peal and the truff; the 

 man replied, "It had nothing to do with it, because 

 the three fish were all three different sorts." I did 

 not attempt to convince him to the contrary, be- 

 cause I might just as well have reasoned with the 

 fish itself; but merely replied, " We shall see." I 

 have now a memorandum in my own writing, made 

 just about the time the above conversation took 

 place, in these words. " The time will soon arrive 

 when we shall ascertain whether the 'public stock has 

 received any addition" Now it is a notorious fact, 

 that for a great many years past, so many truff and 

 salmon-peal have not been taken in the fish-locks 

 at the Totness weir and the fulling-mill, as have 

 been taken in this season; salmon-peal in particu- 

 lar. I cannot pretend to tell the number, but it ha5 

 been immense. So much so, that I believe every 

 one in the town who was before sceptical, except a 

 few, are now satisfied, that the peal proceed from 

 the pea of the salmon, and exclaim against the im- 

 policy of taking so many thousands of unsizeable 

 fish. This appears to me to be the obvious effect of 

 as certain a cause ; namely, that these peal pro- 

 ceeded from the salmon which escaped through the 

 breach in the weir before-mentioned; others, how- 

 ever, will judge. But we are now arrived at the 

 key-stone of this argument, namely, positive facts 

 proved by actual experiment. If these do not sa- 

 tisfy the public, I hope it will satify the legis 

 ture, that the peal, the truff, and the salmon, an 



