THE TWEED 17 



A beautiful run of river now goes on to Leaderfoot, spanned by 

 the high bridge which takes one from Melrose to Earlston. The 

 Leader, or Lauder, rises in the Lammermoors, and flows through its 

 dale with many a beautiful bend amidst woods and pastures. It is 

 obstructed near its mouth, but the trout are finer than those of 

 Tweed. A considerable discussion recently arose as to the benefit 

 of erecting a suitable pass in the Leader foot cauld. The view 

 upstream from Newstead, with its now famous Eoman Camp, is 

 typical of Tweed. The fishings go with Pavillion and Drygrange. 

 The best season at Drygrange was 1908, curiously enough, when 

 Mr. Koberts scored 112 fish. 



The Tweed now takes a series of quick bends. Between Glads- 

 wood and Bemerside it turns back in a south-westerly direction, 

 then getting a little to the east of south it passes Dryburgh Abbey, 

 embowered in its trees, where in Sept. 1832 Sir Walter Scott was 

 buried. Then a great S-shaped bend, and the river reaches the 

 beautiful stretch at Mertoun. It then flows steadily in an easterly 

 direction, but gradually trending slightly northwards. 



The nine upper pools of Mertoun have the right of fishing on each 

 bank. Lord Polwarth then continues on the left bank, the Maxton 

 Water being opposite, and then again Mertoun fishes seven remain- 

 ing pools from both banks. There are twenty-two pools in all. In 

 forty-three days' fishing in the autumn of 1908, from reports in The 

 Field, it appears that the middle stretch of Mertoun produced 116 

 salmon and 10 grilse. 



Eutherford Water then comes in with two miles and a half of 

 both banks. In the appendices to Part III. Section 2 of the report 

 of Lord Elgin's Commission a return is given for Rutherford Water 

 between 1887 and 1900. The average take for the fourteen years is 

 97 ; the range of variation being from 32 to 191 fish. 



At Makerston, next below, the channel narrows somewhat, has a 

 rocky bed, and the current becomes much more rapid. This is 

 practically the only part of the Tweed which is rough and broken 

 in character. Soon again the river assumes its more usual features 

 and sweeps past stately Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of 

 Roxburghe, to the weir at Kelso. 



Out of Makerston Water, in 1873, a single rod is reported to have 

 killed in one week the exceptional number of 73 fish. This is, I 

 think, the second best week's score in the river. It is very remark- 

 able in certain seasons, with a good stock of fish in the water, 

 how many big scores may occur in a single week of favourable 



B 



