34 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. 



a month, would be more effective than one man employed 

 the whole twelve. Let the salmon spawn in peace ; give 

 them a fair and open run up and down the rivers, and there 

 would be no fear for their numbers, and no necessity to 

 trouble about a few thousand par or smolts in the spring. 



One other circumstance in connection with the spawning 

 of salmon it may be worth while mentioning here, for its 

 local interest. The Redewater divides near its source on 

 the Border into two branches. The main stream flows 

 west through moor and moss ; the eastern branch traverses 

 a bare, cold rock formation of similar character to that of 

 Upper Coquetdale, where it is so remarkable that no true 

 salmon can be induced to spawn. This rock formation is, 

 in fact, a spur of the plutonic rocks of the CheA^iots, which 

 terminates in the Lumsden Law, close to the head of 

 Redewater. The water-bailiff tells me that all the salmo- 

 nidse take the tnain ivater of the Reed for spawning ; none 

 ever ascend the eastern branch. Thus it appears that it 

 is this geological formation which is obnoxious to the 

 spawning fish ; it explains the absence of true salmon in 

 Coquet, and the failure of the costly experiments and 

 continuous efforts which have been made to convert it into a 

 salmon river. Had the geological conditions been studied 

 in relation to their bearing on the requirements and the 

 economy of the fish, all this labour and expense would never 

 have been incurred. 



For the sake of accuracy, it should be added that though 

 in Upper Coquetdale, the bull-trout spawn abundantly on 

 the cold rock formation alluded to, yet in Redewater, where 

 they have a choice of both stratified and plutonic rock, they 

 invariably avoid the latter. 



