336 Appendices. 



abundantly shows. Trout may devour salmon ova and 

 fry, but poachers work more destruction than trout ; 

 and it is only by closing the rivers against all fishing 

 whatever during the spawning seasons of both fish that 

 the existing feeble Acts against the slaughter of foul 

 salmon can either easily or successfully be carried out. 



The precise period over which the close-time should 

 extend is a matter which readily admits of adjustment. 

 If not coextensive with the salmon close season on any 

 river, it should, at all events, not fall far short of it ; 

 and its duration in each case might safely be left to 

 the discretion of the district Fishery Board. Having 

 in view the southern rivers of Scotland, I should prefer 

 a close season from 15th October to 15th February 

 following for northern streams it might be later ; but 

 if uniformity be desired, I think the recommendation 

 of Mr Young would, on the whole, be most advan- 

 tageous. 



The administration of any Close -Time Act would 

 naturally fall to the Fishery Boards (of which there 

 are upwards of one hundred in Scotland already), and 

 in this work they would, I believe, be most cordially 

 assisted by local Angling Associations on every river. 

 To meet the necessary expenses of watching the streams 

 and otherwise enforcing the provisions of the Act, a 

 rod-tax might be imposed, such as the Fishery Act of 

 1878 empowers Boards of Conservators in England to 

 levy on all instruments used for the capture of trout 

 in their rivers. On the Severn as we learn from the 

 Twenty-third Report of the Inspectors of Fisheries in 

 England (1883) the rate of duty was fixed at one 

 shilling per rod, and the policy of imposing this low 

 tax has been attended with the greatest success. In 

 1883 the sum of 250 was realised from rod-licences 

 for that river alone, and no less an aggregate sum than 

 1155 in the last five years. The total number of 



