194 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



kuoll at the confluence of the Gore with the North 

 Middleton-burn. 



The North Esk comes from the Pentlands. The 

 true source of the stream is above Carlops, towards 

 which place it flows from the hills straight south, and 

 then bends suddenly to the north-east by Penicuick. 

 It is perhaps hardly worth while to begin fishing below 

 the Powder-mills, about two miles above Penicuick ; 

 but either in the Esk or in the Nine-mile Burn, above 

 that point, quantities of small trout may be taken, 

 especially in a flood. The only tributary of any note 

 received by the North Esk is Loganhouse-water or 

 Glencorse-burn, which crosses the highroad about six 

 miles from Edinburgh. In the neighbourhood of Glen- 

 corse it is probably preserved, and we remember to 

 have fished it from the Biggar road up to the Compen- 

 sation-pond with an impression on our mind that we 

 were dabbling among stolen waters, whether derived 

 from having read some threatening placard, or from the 

 prima facie notion of trespass suggested by climbing 

 over a wall, we cannot now say. It is a pretty burn, 

 with nice little pools. The reservoir, which is fully a 

 mile in length, belongs to the Edinburgh Water Com- 

 pany, who do not permit " permiscuous" fishing in it ; 

 and the men who look after it and the more recently- 

 formed one farther up the glen have, we believe, in- 

 structions to put queries to any angler about his right 

 to fish. The run of the water between the two reser- 

 voirs is not, however, preserved, and we have managed 

 to pick out a few trout from it with worm. After a 

 flood, we should imagine numbers of fish would ascend 

 from the lower pond into the burn. There are large 



