AND ANGLING SONGS. 373 



to the necessity of having an early check placed upon this abuse, 

 already too long indulged in. The taking of salmon fry, whether 

 in the parr or smolt state, has been made the subject of a high 

 penalty, both by the General and by the Solway Salmon Fisheries 

 Acts ; and why a similar provision has not been introduced for 

 the security of the infant fish in Tweed and its tributaries, can 

 only be explained by the circumstance that, at the time of 

 the passing of the Tweed bill in 1857, the theory that the parr 

 is the young of the salmon, and as such is entitled to be equally 

 cared for with the smolts, was not generally accepted. For the 

 omission in question we cannot account otherwise. Some excuse, 

 it is true, may be claimed for it in the unwillingness of the pro- 

 moters of the bill to interfere with or hamper the sport of the 

 trout-fisher ; but the strength of this claim for generosity gives 

 way when we consider that April and May, the two best fly- 

 fishing months in the year, have been selected (and under the 

 extinguished creed, very properly so) as the season of operation 

 for the smolt clause. And- now that the recognition of the parr 

 as a young salmon has become general away from Tweedside, 

 and is gradually establishing itself among the sceptical even here ; 

 seeing moreover, that it is expedient some means should, without 

 delay, be adopted for the protection of the young fry at that 

 stage, 1 pass directly to the question, From what quarter are 

 objections to be looked for, in event of a measure so very desir- 

 able being mooted ? I am well assured of this, that they will 

 not come from the genuine angler ; indeed, I have such firm 

 reliance on the sagacity and spirit of fairness which characterize 

 the fishing community on Tweedside in general, as to expect from 

 that quarter a strong helping hand towards the promotion of this 

 object, made so imperative under the present circumstances of 

 the river. In the taking of parr with the trouting-rod there can 

 be little or no excitement, and those who go about it systematic- 

 ally, do so, not for sport, but as pot-hunters, in ignorance, in some 



