84 THE FISHERIES. 



period (two years*) during which the fry remain in 

 the river, previous to their first descent to the sea ; 

 this further tutelage protects the fry from the va- 

 rious dano-ers which surround them in the river at 



o 



large — namely, those from the angler, the poacher, 

 the pike, the waterfowl, and other natural enemies, 

 not forgetting the miller's man. 



Now, these destructive agencies are all avoided 

 by propagating them ourselves in secure places — 

 that is, excluding the spawn by pressure, and plac- 

 ing it in gravel, in imitation of the method adopted 

 by the salmon themselves ; or coercing the fish, by 

 confining them in their range, to breed in small 

 streams, which latter we conceive to be the best 

 mode, restricting them to a moderate portion of the 

 river or stream, or confining them altogether in a 

 lateral cut, or canal, connected with the main stream, 

 and by proper adaptations, providing against the in- 

 jurious effects of floods, or the opposite casualty — 

 the sudden falling off of the water. 



So far, the investigations and experiments hitherto 

 made in Scotland have been completely successful, 

 and they do not, in fact, much vary from the ordi- 

 nary process of committing to parent earth the ve- 



* We do uot think it desirable to embarrass our subject with 

 the controversy as to whether the salmon-fry are of the age of 

 one or two years, when they first go off to the sea. We think 

 Mr. Shaw has proved his case, and that the fry have completed 

 the second, and are entering on their third year, when they first 

 quit the river. 



