FEBRUARY 51 



diffuses itself, plainly perceptible at a distance of more 

 than fifty yards. 



The fish, as soon as landed, are neatly packed in 

 small boxes, and sent off to the great towns, where they 

 command a high price 3s. or 4s. a pound. But by 

 the time they arrive at their destination they will have 

 lost much of their delicate texture and exquisite 

 flavour, which we shall presently be savouring in the 

 inn parlour close at hand. 



The smelt is an exclusively estuarine fish. In March 

 it ascends to the limits of brackish water, and sheds its 

 spawn profusely on stones in the river-bed. There is 

 no close-time provided for these fish by law ; hence in 

 some rivers the Annan and the Nith, for example 

 where they were plentiful in former times, they have 

 been netted to the verge of extinction, and the industry, 

 once very profitable, no longer pays. All fishermen to 

 whom I have spoken on the subject agree that a close- 

 time is desirable ; but so long as it is not made binding 

 upon all alike, none is willing to hold his hand, while 

 others may be fishing at other parts of the same 

 stream. 



