PROTECTION OF PARR.. 217 



capture in an hour three or four dozen of trout; 

 but then there comes a stop, and though he were to 

 fish all day in the same place he would get very 

 few more. Let him transfer his operations to the 

 foot of the pool, and he may capture as many more, 

 showing either that the trout cannot detect the 

 presence of roe a hundred yards above them, or 

 that they cannot be troubled to go so far for it 

 and as they take it as readily in April as November, 

 there is no reason why they should not go as far 

 to seek it in the one month as the other. Another 

 point which the framers of the next bill upon the 

 salmon-fisheries should keep prominently in view 

 is the protection of the young salmon or parr. 

 During the months of April and May, when they 

 are changing into smelts and migrating to the sea, 

 killing them is an offence liable to heavy fines ; but 

 for the rest of the season, the poor silly parr is at 

 the mercy of every boy who can muster twopence 

 to buy gut and hooks ; and thousands of them are 

 slaughtered in Tweed every day during summer, 

 and not by boys only, but by grown men pre- 

 tending to be anglers. If such have not sufficient 

 skill to capture trout, we hope the law will step in 

 to prevent them massacring the innocents in this 

 manner.* 



* Since we wrote the above passage both roe-fishing and 

 killing parr have been made illegal ; but as we believe both 

 are still carried on, if not so openly, nearly as destructively 

 as ever, we have allowed the passage to stand, and hope all 



