80 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



of Lord Polwarth, who is the proprietor of these fish- 

 ings, and a very successful salmon-fisher. Mertoun- 

 water is succeeded by Rutherford-water, which belongs 

 to Sir Edward Antrobus, and is at present let to Mr. D. 

 W. Brown of Longformacus. " The Rutherford-water," 

 says Mr. Stoddart, " forms the commencement of a 

 series of the best rod-fishings in Great Britain. It 

 consists of a succession of casts or pools of various 

 characters — one still and lake-like, another rugged and 

 shallow, a third combining tranquillity with swiftness, 

 and a fourth depth with considerable turbulence." 

 The water is guarded by John Aitken, who is at once 

 ferryman and keeper, and whose cottage has a " but" 

 with a couple of beds for the accommodation of the 

 lessee. Mr. Stoddart gives a list of the "casts" in 

 this and the other waters of the Tweed — every separate 

 spot where salmon usually lie having a separate and 

 often quaint name, derived either from rock, stone, 

 or other feature in it, or from some angling event which 

 has occurred at it. These names, however, would only 

 occupy space without being of any benefit to the reader; 

 for, as we have fully explained, salmon-fishing is not 

 open to the public, and those who have the right have 

 always a local keeper to point out the casts and tell 

 their names. 



" The trouting on Rutherford water," continues Mr. 

 Stoddart, " is superior to any in Tweed. I recollect 

 my friend, John Wilson, Esq.,* capturing with the 

 minnow a creelfuU of fish, out of one or two of the 



* Mr. Wilson (now of Billholm in Eskdale) is a son of the 

 late Professor Wilson, and transcends even his father as an 

 angler. 



