SALMON AND HEALTH. 139 



other work, or any matter or thing which shall poison 

 or kill any salmon or trout. 



But when this bill has passed, who shall describe the 

 horror of the dirty drabs, mulcted in not less than one 

 pound, and not exceeding two pounds, for placing in, or 

 allowing to fall into, any river, at or below high-water 

 mark, any coal, cinders, coal-ashes, dirt, or rubbish? 

 Why, the worship of the foul goddess Cloacina will be- 

 come extinct along the margins of our rivers and most 

 odorous streams ! The Lord Advocate, the first time he 

 sails down the Clyde or walks by the Water of Leith, 

 will assuredly be deafened by the applause of the re- 

 freshed divinities presiding over streams and rivers. 



Seriously speaking, if this clause be enforced, it will 

 not only promote the breed of salmon, but add im- 

 mensely to the health and longevity of human beings, 

 at present rendered miserable by dwelling near some 

 great river, so polluted as to be, like the Thames, little 

 better than a huge tidal sewer. Such a clause will pre- 

 serve the Tay from ever being a gigantic nuisance like 

 the Thames. And when all sorts of precious manures, 

 now thoughtlessly thrown into rivers, must be stowed 

 on land, who shall calculate the benefits to agriculture, 

 when all animal and vegetable debris is consigned to 

 the bosom of mother earth ? 



