CHAP, v.] RENTAL A XI) PRODUCE OF TAY FISHERIES. 213 



Some parts of the Tay are quite free to all comers, especially 

 about Kinfauns ; and, if I mistake not, up all the way from 

 Perth to the breeding-ponds at Stormontfield. Perth forms a 

 capital centre for the angler : it is a good place in which to 

 obtain information or tackle, and it is easy to get away from 

 the "Fair City" to places and streams of note. And if the angler 

 wants to " hail" the Tay itself, Perth is the very best place 

 to obtain instructions in the art of " harling," which is very 

 attractive. The commercial fishings may be seen in oper- 

 ation at and below Perth : they are carried on by means of 

 the net and coble. A boat sails out with the net, and taking 

 in a sweep of the water returns, in its progress enclosing any 

 of the salmon kind that may be in that part of the river. 

 The operation is usually repeated several times each day at 

 every fishing station. 



The Tay salmon-fisheries are owned by various noblemen, 

 gentlemen, and corporations ; and they yield a gross annual 

 rent of nearly 17,000. To give an idea of the individual 

 value and the occasional fluctuations of even the best fisheries, 

 we may cite some of the figures connected with the rental of 

 the river Tay. Lord Gray, for instance, has drawn from his 

 fisheries more than 100,000 during the last thirty-five years. 

 The salmon and grilse obtained for this sum run from 10,000 

 to 28,000 a year. It has been frequently asserted that our 

 salmon-fisheries are a lottery, and in confirmation of this it 

 may be stated that in 1831, when 10,000 fish were taken, 

 the rental of this fishery was 4000 ; and that in 1842, when 

 the capture was 28,453 fish, the rental was 1000 less. 

 Dividing the income for the two years, we have the follow- 

 ing result : Averaging the fish at 5s. each gives as a loss to 

 the tenant on the 10,000 year of 1500, while on the other 

 year there is the large profit of 4000 ! But the value of the 

 Tay fisheries will be better estimated by mentioning that in 

 some seasons the number of fish taken from the mouth of the 



