24 SALMON A NERVOUS FISH. 



He was close up in the wake of a good-sized salmon, when 

 the latter made two or three extraordinary leaps, and in 

 the last threw himself on the mud, and was picked up by a 

 waterman, who rejoiced greatly at his prize, while the por- 

 poise, running as close as he could safely to the shore, was 

 disappointed of his game. A salmon, chased by a small 

 porpoise in the Severn, leaped over a pot and escaped, 

 while the porpoise blundered into it and broke it to pieces. 

 I have seen salmon much lacerated by the sharp teeth of 

 the porpoise ; and it is a curious fact, that when a salmon, 

 or indeed any other sort offish, is thus lacerated, it imme- 

 diately becomes sickly, and more especially the salmon, 

 which is a fish of an irritable, nervous habit, and in a very 

 few days loses flesh and flavour. All working fishermen 

 are aware of this circumstance, and get rid of any wounded 

 fish they may net, even in preference to those they may 

 have already had in their salmon boxes. 



Another severe hindrance to salmon, in making up for 

 the heads of rivers to reach the waters fit for spawning in, 

 are the weirs, some of which are too formidable for the fish 

 to overcome, unless a strong flood or fresh comes down to 

 their assistance. If the weirs in most rivers were either 

 much altered, or, better still, abolished altogether, in that 

 case what with natural spawning and artificial spawning, 

 protection of the smolt going down to sea, and the unin- 

 terrupted return afterwards of grilse and salmon to their 



