PREFACE. Til 



refer to a letter in the Appendix, from Mr. 

 Wallace, late M.P. for Greenock, in which he 

 states the reasons of the decline of the salmon, 

 the injustice of the existing law, and the attempts 

 he made when in Parliament to get that law 

 altered, and the selfish ends that operated against 

 the alteration. 



I explained how the salmon paired in autumn, 

 and the way they went on with the work of 

 spawning ; that they first dig a hole in among the 

 sand and gravel, by the male and female working 

 alternately and forcing the stones aside with 

 their snouts, and when the hole is deep enough 

 to receive part of the spawn, the female emits a 

 portion of the ova (all the part that is fully ripe 

 at the time), and when that is done the male 

 approaches the trench, and by emersion of the 

 ripe quantity of milt impregnates the eggs 

 that had been laid. When that is done, they 

 begin again to dig up against the stream, for the 

 twofold purpose of covering the laid ova, and also 

 for making another bed for the next quantity to 

 be deposited. Thus they continue digging, de- 

 positing, and covering alternately, until the whole 

 ova and milt of the pair is laid down and securely 

 covered. Also, a full account of beds' making 

 and spawning process will be found in the Ap- 



