CH. XXXII. DESTRUCTION OF SALMON. 195 



other valuable tackles — and yet he is the person 

 usually blamed as the destroyer of the salmon, 

 whereas, in fact, he is actually compelled, in self- 

 defence, to take every fish he can catch, in every 

 possible manner, as the only chance he has of 

 meeting all these heavy expenses. At the same 

 time it must be remembered that no one single 

 proprietor can do anything towards putting down 

 this ruinous system unless the neighbouring owners 

 on the same line of coast co-operate with him. A 

 pause for a few years in this wholesale destruction 

 would bring the salmon back to something like 

 their former numbers, and enable proprietors of 

 rivers to ask and obtain the same rents as they now 

 do, from English and other sportsmen who come 

 northwards for angling. At present, fly-fishing, 

 in many rivers which were formerly abundantly 

 supplied, is not worth the trouble — a mere umbra 

 nominis — excepting during the run of grilse ; 

 and this can only be remedied by a system of 

 unanimous and general preservation of the fish. 



There is no necessity for restricting the sport 

 of the fly -fisher. Salmon will never be injured 

 to any great extent by this mode of taking them ; 

 and were the net -fishing better regulated, and 

 diminished, higher rents would not be grudged by 

 the sportsman. 



