24 On Stocking. 



the removal of obstructions or construction of 

 passes. And beyond all doubt in most cases 

 a great public benefit would accrue. Be that 

 as it may, in Scotland at least, many hundred 

 miles of excellent spawning ground is annually 

 wasted, as far as salmon are concerned. The 

 power and the inducement to open up these 

 spawning grounds is a matter for legislation, and 

 in questions of salmon rights, legislation moves 

 but slowly. The interference with existing rights, 

 the absence of right of salmon fishing in the 

 riparian owners of the as yet salmonless waters, 

 and the difficulty of assessing for the heavy cost 

 of opening these waters, all act as a drag. 



It is not within the purpose of this pamphlet 

 to consider the legal aspect of the difficulty. 

 But on the supposition that an existing obstacle 

 was removed, and miles of new spawning ground 

 opened up, the probable effect would be that the 

 old fishery district, as a whole, would benefit out 

 of all proportion to, the rod fishing created above 

 the obstacle, and the owner of the fishery im- 

 mediately below the obstacle might be presently 

 injured ; and probably, after a few years, sub- 

 stantially benefited by the increased number of 

 fish in his water, due to the produce spawned in 

 the new water returning for a like purpose. 



Until one corporate body in each district has sole 

 power over the net-fishing so that one or more 



