OF ENGLAND. 1 1 



The foregoing; calculations, shewing the area of the 

 Catchment Basin of the salmon rivers of Ireland 

 are taken from the evidence of Mr. Ffennell 

 in the Report of the Select Committee of the 

 House of Lords on the rivers of Scotland, July, 1860. 



Miles. 



The area of the salmon rivers of Ireland ... .. 22947 



Taken from the Commissioners' Report of 1861 (at page 

 438, see Maps), the area of all the rivers in England 

 and Wales, is found to be .. .. 55080 



From these deduct the rivers not adapted for 

 salmon, between the Humber and the Medway, and 

 those destroyed by pollutions, the Thames, Mersey, 

 Aire, Calder, &c., &c. See particulars .. 20350 



Which leaves the area of salmon rivers in England and 



Wales in square miles at .. .. .. 34730 



Or an excess of area as compared with the rivers of 



Ireland of .. .. .. .. 11783 



The 22,947 miles in Ireland produce about 330,000 

 in money value of salmon annually, or at the rate of 

 14 16s. 3d. per square mile. 



At the same rate of produce the 34,730 square miles 

 of rivers in England should produce 514,000, 

 whereas we find that these 34,730 square miles do 

 not produce more than 30,000 annually in money 

 value, or 17s. 3|d. per square mile. 



The facts above stated are taken from the printed 

 Reports and Evidence of Fishery Commissioners. 



We can scarcely be surprised that our ancestors 

 for 500 years should have passed such stringent laws 

 for the protection of salmon as an article of food, 

 when we see the loss this country has sustained. 



At the time the Act of 1714 was passed, 

 Parliament required that the navigation of our rivers 

 should not be intercepted by mill weirs, and that the 

 salmon should also have a free passage to their 

 spawning grounds the only motive powers then in 

 use being by windmills and water wheels. 



About the end of the last century, steam power 



