OF THE SALMON. 13 



from the benefit and pleasure of eating them. This 

 clause in the bill might have been inserted by 

 Mr. Drummond from the best intentions, from ex- 

 pecting these early fish to become early breeders ; but 

 it is established without a doubt that the salmon that 

 go up rivers early in the spring are not breeders for 

 that season, at least not until they go to the sea and 

 return to the rivers at a later period. The bill also 

 changed the close of the fishings from the 26th of 

 August to the 14th of September, which is the very 

 worst and ruinous part of the bill. It is well known, 

 by all who have in the least studied the habits of the 

 salmon, that the principal and best part of the breeders 

 go up the rivers from the 20th of August to the latter 

 end of September ; indeed, very few come up after that 

 time ; therefore the present law allows the best part of 

 the breeders to be killed, and particularly those that 

 spawned early, returned soon after spawning to sea, 

 and were back to the rivers in winter and spring. A 

 few years told plainly that, from the effects of that 

 change, early salmon had entirely disappeared from 

 the rivers, and now not one in twenty are got during 

 spring in rivers that were formerly very productive. 

 These facts are clearly seen by all concerned in 

 salmon fishing, and the case was so ruinous on the 

 Tay that the proprietors of that river by mutual 

 agreement now close their fishings on the 26th of 

 August. But we may ask why such an Act should 

 be left one day on the statute-book, when it has been 

 proved without a shadow of doubt that it has been 

 ruinous to both public and private good ? 



In this Act, the penalty for fishing in closetime is 

 from one pound to ten pounds for each and every 

 offence ; from one pound to ten pounds for killing 

 smolts and the fry of salmon, or disturbing the 

 spawning beds ; from two pounds to ten pounds for 



