SCOTLAND 119 



miles, falls into the North Sea at Aberdeen. The 

 salmon fishings in the river and its tributaries, and 

 on the sea coast adjoining, are important and 

 valuable. The rod fishing during the past thirty 

 years has greatly improved, and the Dee is now one 

 of the finest rivers in Scotland. This result has 

 been achieved in large measure by the sagacious 

 policy of the owners of the fishings, who combined 

 in 1872 to form a voluntary association for the 

 purpose of renting and withdrawing the nets 

 formerly used in the river from Banchory Ternan, 

 about eighteen miles from Aberdeen, down to near 

 the tidal waters, about three miles from the mouth. 

 This arrangement secures a free passage for the 

 fish, after they have left the tidal waters, to the 

 streams and pools above and to the spawning beds 

 all along the river, its tributaries, and upper reaches ; 

 whereas formerly fish that during the weekly close 

 time had passed the lower net fishings were captured 

 between the tidal waters and Banchory by the many 

 nets. The Dee District Board, impressed with the 

 necessity of guarding the river from pollution and 

 poaching, give close attention to these and all other 

 matters that affect the increased prosperity of the 

 fishings. " 



The DON, in Aberdeenshire, is in a slightly 

 unsettled condition ; but the outlook is bright. 

 Seventy-eight miles long, and of good flow, it was 

 a first-class river once, and may be so again. Lord 

 Kintore writes, quite hopefully : 



"Adverse circumstances obstruction by dam 



