IS 



of any individual proprietor, however large, form 

 of the whole fishing of such a river as theTay and 

 the streams leading into it ? If, however, the law 

 were put into full force , and especially if such a 

 Bill of River Police, as that proposed for the Tay, 

 were to be enacted for every river in Scotland, a 

 new stimulus would be given to the fishing. A 

 race of hardy peasants would be drawn to an em- 

 ployment which is best suited to their habits and 

 inclinations. 



I do not think it improbable, that many rivers, 

 which formerly abounded in salmon, would be 

 stocked with them again. In addition to this, preci- 

 pices and rocks would be removed by artificial 

 means, r so faras to break the fall of the water, and to 

 allow the fish to pass to places remarkably adapted to 

 the spawning Salmon. In short, if Lituieus is right 

 in stating of the Salmon, that it breeds in rivers, 

 access would be given to ten times more extent of 

 river than it can reach at now, and consequently 

 more fish would be produced ; and I need not pro- 

 ceed to draw the inference, that if more were pro- 

 duced, more would be taken, because sufficient 

 capital and industry would always be found in the 

 country to bring them to market. Hitherto, these 

 exertions have been repressed by a sense of injury 

 prevailing amongst the upper heritors, and arising 

 from the natural reflection that they were not fairly 

 dealt with; since they were confined to certain 

 modes of fishing, while it was supposed the coast 



