96 A TEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR, 



talking will not stock them. There has been too much of this 

 already. Theory is an excellent thing in its place, but, if exceeding 

 due limit, it fetters practice ; in which case philosophy does more 

 hann than good. A gamekeeper might not be able to say exactly 

 how many cocks are required for a given number of hen pheasants, 

 in order to produce the best results ; yet, if the coverts were 

 unstocked till the question was settled, we should be obliged to pay 

 more than 7s. 6d a brace for our birds.* 



Let each owner of a river set to work himself, instead of watching 

 how some more enterprising neighbour fares with Mb undertaking ; 

 then theory will soon be corrected by practice ; out of work will come 

 experience, and from experience knowledge. The whole thing lies 

 in a nutshell. Stock the rivers there are plenty of ways in which 

 it can be done ; let a sufficient number of fish pass up to the 

 spawning beds ; take care of them when there ; and see that the 

 little ones are not hurt as they toddle downstairs in search of the 

 hall door, and from thence into the high road of nations. When 

 this is done I think it will be found that the parr enter into 

 society at two years old ; that they return as grilse the same 

 autumn ; and in the following spring or summer (as the case may 

 be) come to pay us a visit and leave their cards as Mr. Salmon. 

 There ; we have put our foot into it with a witness, and shall 

 possibly receive a rap over the knuckles for having an opinion. If 

 we must, we must ; but believe me, gentlemen, you will have all 

 the switching to yourselves. I shall bear with patience, and suffer 

 without retaliation. Let us return to the starting point once more 

 for a moment. If the Spey produces as great a weight of salmon as 

 some of the smaller counties do of mutton, what would the whole 

 county in which the Spey wanders produce, if all its rivers and 

 lakes rendered their due proportion ? Why, a great deal more. But 



* Since the above was written, there is every reason to believe that this 

 argument, however specious, is incorrect. In fact experiment, so much more 

 potent than hypothesis, has proved the ''half-and-half" theory to be true; 

 still as the doctrine is not yet generally accepted, the text (though in our 

 opinion erroneous) has been allowed to stand. 



