

CONCLUSION. 115 



the deadly spear is suffered to " operate unseen," 

 screened by the shades of night; and whilst 

 impervious weirs, small meshes * to nets, fish 

 locks, injudicious close times, and such other 

 unwarrantable contrivances as are already par- 

 ticularised, which obstruct the free passage of 

 the fish, are suffered to exist, this subject will 

 never present any thing but a forlorn hope. Ex- 

 clusively of the impolicy of such conduct, there 

 is something absolutely bordering upon brutality 

 in thus destroying the salmon, when they are out 

 of season and unwholesome ; when they seem to 

 court the protection of man by placing themselves 

 in his power ; and when, just about to shed their 

 roe, the destruction of one is the destruction of so 

 many thousands. 



I am, however, given to understand, that I have 

 greatly overrated the produce of the salmon; it is 

 very possible ; but it signifies little to the ge- 

 neral question ; the bearing of which is, that a 

 most extensive abuse exists, and demands to be 

 corrected. It is not at all unlikely that there 



* I have this very day, 26th August, seen the fishermen in 

 the Dart, between Totnes bridge and weir, "sweeping the 

 whole river with a net, the mesh of which was not an inch 

 broad. I took the net in my hand and examined it. How can the 

 fishery survive, thus abused ? Not a drop of water running over 

 Totnes weir, but the whole stream conducted into the mill- 

 leat. Such fish, great and small, as come up the river, are 

 stopped at the weir, and are there taken either in the lock or 

 by the small-mesh net. 



