London to John O'Groafs. 365 



the thousands of rivers in both hemispheres will not 

 be suffered to run to waste through another century. 

 The utilitarian genius of the present age will turn 

 them into pasturage worth more per acre than the 

 value of the richest land on their banks. Just think 

 of the pasturage of the Tay. It rents for 14,000 

 a year ; and those who hire it must make it produce 

 at least 50,000, or $240,000 annually. Let us assume 

 that the whole length of this salmon-pasturage is fifty 

 miles, and its average width one-eighth of a mile. Then 

 the whole distance would contain the space of 4,000 

 square acres, and the annual rent for fishing would 

 amount to over 3 13s. per acre. This would make 

 every fish-bearing acre of the river worth 100, calcu- 

 lated on the land basis of interest or rent. 



Having heard of the Stormontfields' Ponds for 

 Breeding Salmon, I had a great desire to see them. 

 They are situated on the Tay, a few miles above Perth, 

 and are well worthy of the inspection and admiration 

 of the scientific as well as the utilitarian world. The 

 process is as simple as it is successful and valuable. 

 A .race or canal, filled with a clear mountain stream, 

 and constructed many years ago to supply motive 

 power to a corn-mill, runs parallel with the river, at 

 the distance from it of about twenty rods. At right 

 angles with this stream, there are twenty-five wooden 



