120 SALMON FISHING 



dykes, improper enlargement of leads, and pollution 

 near the mouth have engaged the close attention 

 of the Fishery Board; and riparian owners, acting 

 with me, have so far been uniformly successful in the 

 Court of Session in an action against the Messrs. 

 Pirie for taking so much more water to their mills 

 than they are entitled to. The judgments in the 

 Court of Session are appealed against, and the 

 appeals should be heard in a few months. I am 

 sanguine that the judgments will stand ; and, if I am 

 right, then, instead of 29,000 gallons a minute being 

 taken into the mill, the amount will be restricted to 

 7000 gallons. The pollution also is being attended 

 to. Thus I can confidently say that the prospects for 

 improved fishing on the Don are very bright. The 

 same I can say for my river farther south, the North 

 Esk. Efforts to improve all the passes for salmon 

 are likely to take definite shape immediately ; and a 

 good pass is to be made by Lord Dalhousie at the 

 Gannochy Loups, which will open quite fourteen 

 miles of grand spawning ground to the fish, enabling 

 them to go up into Loch Lee and beyond. There is 

 a chance that an association may later be formed to 

 get rid of the nets altogether." Further particulars 

 of the design as to the North Esk will be found in 

 Chapter xi. 



The DEVERON, flowing through the counties of 

 Aberdeen and Banff, began to fall off, as a salmon 

 river, about fifteen years ago. As will be perceived 

 from the following note, its ups and downs have 

 a peculiar interest. If the theory is correct, trout 



