SALMON AND STAKE-NETS. 131 



the fresh water. If he is taken in the course of a week 

 after he enters the river, I do not consider him any 

 worse ; but few salmon are allowed to remain a week 

 in the river during the fishing season." In a note, Mr 

 Mackenzie adds : " Salmon are always better for being 

 a few days in their native water. It increases, like 

 crimping, the firmness of the fish, insomuch that while 

 a salmon caught in the morning in the sea is soft enough 

 to be boiled and pickled the same evening, one caught 

 in the fresh water retains its firmness, and would break 

 in the kettle if boiled before next morning. The fish- 

 curers or boilers, who are great epicures, always, ac- 

 cordingly, prefer for their own palates fish that have 

 been some days in fresh water." 



It is thus apparent that the quality of salmon taken 

 at sea by the stake-net is not universally admitted to be 

 superior to that of salmon netted in the river. 



This question of quality may, in fact, turn out to be 

 decided in favour of the river-caught salmon, if we con- 

 sider the season during which the stake-nets are most 

 successful namely, during the months of June and 

 July generally, but sometimes during May. The sal- 

 mon from the month of May till spawning-time are grad- 

 ually growing worse in condition, so that stake-nets 

 cannot be said to capture the finest fish. Those taken 

 abundantly in rivers during the months of winter and 

 spring, being further from spawning, are necessarily in 

 the finest condition. So that, taking into consideration 

 the whole fishing season, even an epicure might give his 

 verdict in favour of the superiority of river- caught 

 salmon. 



But even admitting the superiority of sea-captured 

 salmon, we have still to debate the point whether they 

 should be permitted to be taken by stake-nets. 



The proprietors of these engines make their murder- 

 ous success a reason why they should be permitted to 

 exist. But we must remind them that it has never been 

 the policy of our salmon - fishing laws to encourage 



