40 



SALMON FISHING IN THE TWEED 



conclusive testimony. Many years ago, when I 

 was on the Tweed, two were put in a salt pond by 

 Mr. Berry : one of them was found dead, and 

 supposed to have killed himself by rushing against 

 a stake ; the other was taken out some time after- 

 wards a complete salmon. But I shall mention a 

 recent experiment, made by a tacksman on the Duke 

 of Sutherland's salmon fishings on the river Shin. 



In the course of February and March, 1841, he 

 took a considerable number of gilses, and marked 

 them with wire in various places sufficiently efficacious 

 to be again recognised. Of these, ten were retaken 

 in the course of the months of June and July 

 following, by which time they had assumed the 

 size and all the distinctive marks of the genuine 

 salmon. The following table shows when each 

 was taken, and its weight at that time, and its 

 increased weight when recaptured. In addition to 

 the fact which it establishes of the identity of the 

 gilse with the salmon, it shows also how rapid the 

 growth of the gilse is in his process of becoming a 

 salmon : 



