APPENDIX. 129 



2557 VISCOUNT HUTCHINSON: It has been stated to 

 the Committee, as the opinion of one of the witnesses who 

 have been examined, that those earlier fish in the Scottish 

 rivers are barren fish. You do not coincide in that opinion? 

 I can answer for it in Ireland, that they are not barren 

 fish. I have tried many experiments about it. Before 

 we allowed January fishing in the Carra, my colleague, 

 Mr Barry, and I went down, and we caused the cruives 

 to be put down in the river Carra, which is one of the 

 earliest rivers. We assembled the Board of Conservators, 

 the fish brokers, and all the people interested in the river. 

 We had the cruives put down at night on the 23d of 

 November, and in the morning we had seventeen salmon. 

 Fifteen of those salmon were as beautiful marketable 

 fish as could be. There were only two bagots among 

 them. We opened every single fish. We had a post 

 mortem examination on the spot before all these people, 

 and every one of those that were female fish (they were 

 about in equal proportion) had the ova quite developed. 

 Of course it was very small, smaller than mustard seed, 

 The lobe was perfectly formed, and the little seed in it. 

 The milt of the males was in a corresponding state. I 

 have tried them upon many occasions, and there is no 

 doubt about it, that they are not barren. 



2558 LORD POLWARTH: That spawn would have 

 ripened and developed in the fresh water? Quite so. 



2560 EARL DUCIE : You say those fish you caught in 

 November had imperfectly developed ova in them? Per- 

 fectly developed; it was very small. 



2561 Those were the ova which would have been 

 deposited in the succeeding October? Yes; I have seen 

 the salmon taken, and I have caught them myself in the 

 early lakes quite a copper colour ; the ova not very far 

 advanced ; not a good-looking fish to send to market, but 

 a right good fish to eat. 



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