THE FISHERIES 29 



other natural enemies, aided by every little urchin 

 along the banks, who, on each Sunday, will destroy 

 perhaps his six or eight dozen by fair angling ; not 

 to mention the miller's man, who will take a whole 

 basket of them as they are passing down the waste 

 gate. Then again, when they reach the sea, they 

 are swallowed in numbers by sea fish, until at length 

 those that survive reach their sea habitat, where 

 doubtless they remain in comparative security ; but 

 the salmon-peal of 3 lbs. or 4 lbs., returning towards 

 his river, has arrived at years of discretion ; each 

 one of them may be said to represent 100 salmon-fry, 

 probably much more; and if we spare him for a little, 

 he will in five or six months present himself at the 

 doors of our nets and traps, a full grown salmon of 

 12 lbs. or 14 lbs. (no outlay in food or aiy other re- 

 spect being expended upon him in the interim) ; it 

 is therefore impohtic to destroy these peal to such 

 an extent as we capture them by fixed engines. 

 Self-denial here will reward the proprietor four- 

 fold. We have never known a salmon season where 

 the proportion of salmon was not in almost the ex- 

 act ratio to the peal of the preceding year. When 

 these peal are abundant, the ensuing salmon season 

 is likewise abundant; when they are scarce, the en- 

 suing salmon season shows a similar deficiency ; it is 

 therefore consistent with every observation we can 

 make, that if we spare these small fish we shall 

 vastly increase the produce of our fisheries. These 

 fish, too, will spawn the very season we spare them ; 

 and if they escape other dangers, we invariably get 



