8 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



salmon, or any of the migratory species, save in the 

 exercise of a privilege more or less directly derived 

 from the Crown the unprivileged angler who at any 

 time takes one of these fish from the Tweed being 

 liable to a penalty. There is little difficulty, however, 

 in obtaining salmon-fishing at various parts of the 

 Tweed, by paying for it to the professional lessees of 

 the fishings, who live by them, and of course are will- 

 ing to make money either by catching salmon them- 

 selves, or by letting others catch them ; while other 

 parts of the river are let to amateur anglers at rentals 

 varying from 50 to 100. Even on some of these 

 waters* the ordinary angler may occasionally obtain a 

 day's amusement, as the lessee, who generally lives at 

 a distance, and only visits the Tweed at the best sea- 

 son for sport, sometimes permits his keeper to give a 

 day's fishing to any one who applies the said keeper 

 being of course gratified for his trouble and complais- 

 ance, and the fish captured being either paid for at 

 their market value, or left with him. 



Owing to the immense falling off in the number of 

 salmon in the Tweed a falling off attributable to 

 various causes, but chiefly to too much net fishing 

 this, the highest form of angling, has on that river 

 greatly deteriorated. Indeed, in these latter times, 

 angling for clean salmon from the 15th of February 

 to the middle of June, except on a few days after 

 favourable floods, has been almost hopeless ; and 

 salmon-fishing with the rod has really meant killing 



* The salmon-fishings in the Tweed are divided into "waters," 

 each having a special name, and being usually a separate pro- 

 perty. 



