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Dalrymple, could tell you about the Luce and the 

 Stinchar, which are both on his estate. The Stinchar, 

 curiously enough, though only three or four miles 

 from the Cree, is an autumn river ; but then it flows 

 to the west of Wigtownshire, and the Cree to the 

 south." 



The STINCHAR, the LUCE, and the GIRVAN suffer 

 from instability of flow caused by the draining of 

 the moors. Lord Dalrymple deems that to be the 

 only serious influence at work against them. Before 

 the drainage there were three or four days of sport 

 after rain ; now there is only one day. He mentions, 

 without definitely accepting, a local belief that some 

 of the Girvan salmon quitted their own stream because 

 of pollution, and took to the Stinchar. That stream 

 has a shifting mouth, and the peculiarity may be 

 perplexing to the fish. Colonel the Hon. North de 

 Coigny Dalrymple Hamilton writes : 



" As far as I can gather, the sport in the Luce has 

 improved of late years. It seems to have resumed 

 its old character as regards both salmon and trout. 

 I can assign no cause in particular. Sport on 

 the Stinchar varies a good deal. As a rule the 

 fish are shy. The best period for this river in 

 the lower reaches is October and November; in 

 the upper reaches, September. There is no spring 

 fishing. By arrangement, made periodically, there 

 is no netting of the pools, except in the case of 

 one proprietor, who declines to join his neighbours 

 in the compact. I do not consider that, as a 

 general rule, the fishing has either improved or 



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