is a constant and considerable agitation along the shore. 

 At this part of the river, the same cause which before Com- 

 pelled the fry to seek the banks, induces them to resort 

 to the waters in the mid stream, which have now become 

 deep, and comparatively quiet and tranquil. Here, ac- 

 cordingly, they disappear. And though no longer to be 

 seen, they fall gently down with the tide to the sea. 



From this account of the habits and history of the fish, 

 the error of the existing regulations of the fishing season 

 is apparent. If there be any truth 'in what has been 

 said, and the statements are in substance what all na- 

 turalists and fishers are agreed upon, it is evident, that 

 the general regulation under the statute of 1404, allows 

 the fishery to begin at the very time when it ought 

 to be most strictly fenced ; and that the regulations ap- 

 plicable to the Tweed, the North Esk and South Esk, 

 and other rivers, which allow the fishery to continue 

 until the middle of October, authorize the destruction of 

 the fish at the moment when, loaded with spawn, they are 

 seeking a place in which to make their deposit. 



What particular limits should be assigned to the re- 

 spective endurance of the fishing and close seasons, is a 

 question, however, of some nicety, and one on which in- 

 dividual proprietors, weighed by their private interests 

 and habits, will of course differ considerably. Perhaps, 

 in conformity to the present system, it will be maintained 

 by some, that, during certain periods, the fishery might, 

 with safety, be allowed at some stations, when at others 

 it ought to be prohibited. For example, it may plausibly 

 be said, that the fishery might be prosecuted with public 

 advantage in the sea, and in friths and estuaries, at times 

 when it would be attended with noxious effects in narrow 

 rivers; that, when in the rivers, ^/ry would be destroyed, 



