108 r.EMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



bridge over the river, just where the salt joins 

 the fresh water, chose the period of the high 

 spring tides to do so ; and, not content with 

 botching their work, and dropping a good deal 

 of tar into the river, to save themselves the 

 trouble of removing the remains of the gas -tar 

 cask, emptied it into the river, which, thus 

 fouled, the fish would not take. I passed the 

 bridge just after the performance of this notable 

 exploit, and angry enough I was, though not 

 the least astonished at the result. I thus 

 saved my own angling; but did more good 

 than this, for the Gremsta also profited. I am 

 not one of those who imagine that so good a 

 food as salmon is to be kept merely for anglers' 

 amusement ; but I do say that small rivers and 

 small estuaries cannot stand close fishing — that 

 in remote districts like the Hebrides, where 

 there is no nearer market than Glasgow, and 

 where the communication then was not so good 

 as it is now, the netting-rent was not very 

 remunerative to either lessor or lessee, and to 

 expect to continue both netting and angling- 

 rent could only end in grief to both. When 

 netting is carried on closely, the almost in- 

 variable consequence, too, is that the size of 

 the fish diminishes much. Before I put my 

 sluices in operation I hardly ever got anything 



