ENGLAND AND WALES 233 



pools in the morning not a salmon will you raise. 

 This place is infested by otters. The H.O.H. hunt 

 the river ; but, as they give on the average only one 

 day in the year to each section of it, and have too 

 much ground to go over, they do not greatly mitigate 

 the evil. I have, as far as in me lies, given you my 

 opinions, which must be received quoad vdleant."" 



As regards the Crown waters of the Wye, Mr. 

 Philip Baylis says : 



"There is no falling-off in the stock. On the 

 contrary, for the last two years there has been 

 an improvement, which, in all probability, is to 

 be attributed to the removal of the long nets. 

 In 1905, owing to the mildness of the weather in 

 February and March, the fish travelled to the upper 

 reaches of the river, where, it is believed, good 

 catches were made. The sport in the Crown waters 

 has been poor, for which I can assign no satisfactory 

 reason."" 



The USK has been disappointing for a few seasons. 

 Colonel Horace S. Lyne, Clerk to the Board of 

 Conservators, writing unofficially, says : 



" I cannot affirm that there has been a decrease 

 in the number of salmon in the river; but there 

 has been a decided falling -off in the number of 

 fish taken by rod and line. In my opinion, this is 

 almost wholly accounted for by there having been a 

 serious drought for some years. It is true that we 

 have to a certain extent been prejudicially affected 

 by pollution from works and collieries; but the 

 result of this has been greater than it would have 



