430 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



weirs are formidable, almost perpendicular affairs, heart- 

 breaking spectacles to the man interested in the welfare of 

 the salmon. 



The water from Thornhill for some miles upwards past 

 Drumlanrig is generally regarded as the best part of the Nith. 

 There is fine running water with good and not too deep pools 

 well suited for fly fishing ; again, there are steep rocky stretches 

 where the water is rough. The banks are richly wooded in 

 many parts, and the river presents at every bend a prospect 

 so pleasing to the eye of the angler, that he cannot but regret it 

 offers so little reward in the way of sport. The high wooded 

 bluffs are once more the glory of Drumlanrig as one views this 

 huge pile from the river. The hand of Time has, however, 

 taken well-nigh a century to heal the scars made by " Old Q," 

 who both here, and at Neidpath on the Tweed, made hideous 

 havoc of the splendid timber. Burns was a frequent visitor to 

 the Duke's Chamberlain, John M'Murdo, and gives speech to 

 the genius of the stream in mourning the wreck, which, a little 

 later, Wordsworth also saw and lamented. 



When mentioning Drumlanrig it is well to recollect that we 

 owe much to Shaw, who was head keeper there, for his valuable 

 experiments in the hatching of salmon eggs and rearing of their 

 fry. It was Shaw who in 1840 first proved that parr are the 

 young of the salmon. The results of his many and carefully 

 guarded experiments were given to the world in the transactions 

 of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1 



The Duke of Buccleuch owns something like 20 miles of the 

 river, but in this only a limited stretch is reserved as private 

 water. At Thornhill, and again at Sanquhar, Angling Associa- 

 tions exist which have extensive stretches of the river. In the 

 upper reaches, however, it is chiefly brown trout fishing that 

 is indulged in, and the trout are not in any way famous for their 

 size. 



One must go on hoping that a better day is yet to dawn for 

 the Nith salmon angler. Capt. Keswick of Cowhill made a 

 brave attempt to bring about conditions calculated to 

 resuscitate the stock, but most unfortunately his plans just 

 failed to materialise. The natural conditions of a good second- 

 class river are here. Surely the great value of salmon angling 

 will not be thrown away for ever. 



1 Vol. xiv., p. 547, 1840. 



