14 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



for future better sport to the generally increased pro- 

 sperity of the river, of which the net-fishings will of 

 course enjoy immensely the greater part. The right 

 of kelt-killing being given up, probably few of the 

 upper proprietors will put up their rods at all in the 

 spring ; and leistering being also put an end to, the fish 

 will unmolested drop down from their spawning-beds 

 to the ever-renovating sea. When, about Coldstream 

 and Tweedmill, they encounter the nets, the honesty 

 of the booted fishermen will be tried as they draw in 

 haul after haul of fish which they are obliged to return 

 to the water, probably not half-a-dozen clean salmon 

 turning up for every hundred kelts ! Heaven strengthen 

 ye, ye sorely-tempted Scotts and Kersses ! 



The Berwick Fishing Company some years ago made 

 a point of returning the kelts caught at their stations 

 to the water ; but as many of these fish just fell 

 a prey to other fisheries that were interspersed with 

 theirs, we believe they latterly gave up a practice 

 that did them much credit. They have, however, no 

 doubt very gladly resumed it. The cairn-nets, the abo- 

 lition of which was proposed by the Upper Proprietors 

 themselves, caught, according to Mr. Eussel, something 

 like 6-7ths of the clean fish killed in the upper waters. 

 This of itself proves the spirit in which the angling 

 proprietors approached the subject ; for nothing can 

 be said against cairns, which project only a few feet 

 into the water, and are no obstruction to the run of 

 fish, except that they afforded facilities to the poachers 

 in close-time. Sport, and not fish merely, was, how- 

 ever, the object of the upper proprietors, and it is to 

 be trusted that it will turn out they have acted wisely 

 as well as disinterestedly. 



