DECAY OF SALMON. 125 



two fisheries forming in value a half of the whole Tay, 

 and situated immediately above the highest of the fixed- 

 net fisheries tell their own story very forcibly : 



TEN YEARS (1788-97) before STAKE-NETS. 



TEN YEARS (1801-10) during STAKE NETS. 



Salmon. Grilse. 



Greatest year, . . 14,845 4,756 



Smallest year, . .. 4,003 1,390 



Total of the ten years, . 66,990 24,300 



Animal average, . -. ;<; 6,700 2,429 



TEN YEARS (1815-24) after STAKE-NETS. 



Salmon. Grilse. 



Greatest year, fefc . . 22,495 16,755 



Smallest year, . . . 6,266 6,142 



Total of the ten years, . 1 1 3,1 68 11 2,204 



Annual average, . . 11,316 11,220 



These facts speak for themselves, or rather against 

 themselves. The number of salmon taken at these two 

 stations, forming, as we have said, one-half in value of 

 the whole fisheries of the Tay, was reduced one-third by 

 the erection of stake-nets at the neighbouring fisheries, 

 and again reached and greatly overpassed its former 

 amount on their removal. The rent, it need hardly be 

 observed, altered accordingly. In addition, we may 

 mention that the number of boxes (each box containing 

 about 100 pounds of fish) shipped from the river-fisheries 

 of the Tay in 1812, the last year of the stake-nets, was 



