92 THE FISHERIES. 



will contain one living mass of the small fish called 

 ** gravelings," which subsequently become salmon- 

 fry. The oldest inhabitant, for the best of all rea- 

 sons, will have never seen anything like it. We 

 say, then, protect these fry while they remain in 

 these rivers : allow them, at the proper period of 

 their growth, to pass off into the salt-water lake 

 just described, (called in the locality the " Leitrim," 

 but marked on the Ordnance map as the " Broad 

 Lough,") which they will do in tlieir respective sea- 

 sons — about the commencement of May : retain them 

 in that marine locality even for a brief period, and 

 the whole process, we conceive, will be carried either 

 to a successful, or at all events, to a decisive issue. 

 We are averse to hazarding an opinion as to the re- 

 sults that might be expected ; but we should be 

 slow, indeed, to affirm, that extraordinary results 

 might not issue out of such an experiment. 



Having offered our mite, in the way of sugges- 

 tion, upon this topic — in its relation to the breeding 

 of salmon — (of the feasibility of breeding other fish 

 to useful purposes, by artificial means, no manner of 

 doubt exists) — we would again observe, that the mi- 

 gratory habits of the salmon species interpose a very 

 serious difficulty. Still we conceive this should not 

 deter experiment and careful investigation. If the 

 whole process of propagating salmon by artificial 

 means, were carried out now, and at once, with the 

 most stupendous results, and to the fullest measure 

 of success, it would yet be a mere cypher to the 



