UNCLEAN AND UNSEASONABLE SALMON. 30 3 



HoYv^ very important, then, is it to keep pollutions 

 out of salmon rivers ; they may not be actually strong 

 enough to poison or kill the fish, yet it is very likely 

 they will deter many from ascending the river. 



I think different fish must have different powers of 

 smell ; thus gudgeon, roach, &c., assemble at the 

 mouths of drains — the largest I ever caught was in the 

 drain that carries the abominations of the town of 

 Winchester down into the river. Scavenger fish, there- 

 fore, I dare say, would not care much about stinking 

 water, but the lordly salmon will not put in an appear- 

 ance in localities where his regal nose is likely to be 

 offended by unsavoury smells. 



UNCLEAN AND UNSEASONABLE SALMON. 



I find there is a great difficulty throughout the country 

 in interpreting section 14 of the Act of 1861, which 

 reads as follows : — 



"No person shall do any of the following things; 

 that is to say, — 



" (1) Wilfully take any unclean or unseasonable sal- 

 mon ; 



'• (2) Buy, sell, or expose for sale, or have in his pos- 

 session, any unclean or unseasonable salmon, or any 

 part thereof." 



I have, therefore, with a view of throwing some light 

 on the question of unclean and unseasonable salmon, 

 adopted the only means which are likely to be conclu- 

 sive, namely, the anatomical dissection and examina- 

 tion of the viscera and physical condition of the salmon 

 themselves. With this view I have examined and 

 dissected the viscera of several hundred salmon, 

 from all parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, at 

 various seasons of the year. My conclusions are 



