STOKMONTFIELD EXPEEIMENT. 91 



account the great quantity that is deposited dur- 

 ing floods on places that are left dry when the 

 river falls in, and also the numbers of redds 

 that are sanded up by large spates, we need not 

 wonder if only 1 in 1000 should ever become 

 marketable. The keeper this season January, 

 1862 has been employed for many days carrying 

 the spawn which has been deposited in places of the 

 river which have been left nearly dry, by the river 

 falling in, and spawn sanded up by the spates, and 

 placing it in the boxes to be artificially reared. 

 Hence the obvious advantage of artificial breed- 

 ing to rivers that have been overfished, or to 

 those that have been destroyed by poaching and 

 obstructions on the river to the ascent of the 

 spawning fish, etc., etc. 



That the smoults return again to the river in j 

 which they are reared, has also been proved by ' 

 the number of the marked grilse which have 

 been caught in the Tay since the experiment 

 commenced. If all the smoults which left the 

 pond since the first exodus in 1855 had been 

 marked by cutting off the second dorsal fin, 

 we are quite satisfied that scarcely a day dur- 

 ing the fishing season would pass without grilse 

 or salmon bearing the mark being captured; 



