THE DON 123 



of the river, where the lade is made, as it were, to cut the corner. 

 Owing to the natural configuration of the river bed, there is but 

 slight obstruction here. 



The next structure is, however, most formidable, being Mugie- 

 moss Paper Mill Dyke, already referred to as just above the last 

 netting station. The structure has an elliptical form, the down- 

 stream face sloping from each side towards the centre of the river. 

 Here a huge flat apron, covered with cement, has been formed. It 

 fills up the space between the extremities of the curved dyke, and 

 measures about 60 feet in length. It ends quite abruptly above the 

 very deep water of the pool immediately below. This pool I very 

 nearly examined more closely than I wished to ; for at my first 

 visit, when wading about on the flat apron, the water being dirty, 

 as, alas, it always is in this much-abused river, I pretty nearly 

 waded plump into the foul depths of the pool below. I am sorry 

 for salmon that cannot get out of that pool. 



Down the central line of the sloping down-stream face a so-called 

 fish pass has been formed. It is quite simple, being an unbroken 

 chute 45 feet long, with a gradient of 1 in 5. When the flat 

 surface of the apron has insufficient water to allow a fish to swim 

 over it, the water in the chute is not very formidable for good 

 strong fish. Unfortunately, however, the shallowness of the water 

 on the apron quite prevents a fish getting to the pass under these 

 conditions. When the water on the apron has become deep enough 

 for fish to move along it without difficulty, the water in the chute 

 has become a raging torrent, which washes the fish back into the 

 pool again. 



Salmon congregate in the pool below in great numbers both in 

 the spring and towards the end of the season. I have known of 700 

 fish being netted on the opening day. The District Board have 

 repeatedly in autumn hired the Aberdeen water carts, driven them 

 to Mugiemoss, filled them with water, and then with salmon, and 

 given the fish a drive beyond these dangers. 



Next in order come the Waterton and Stoneywood dykes, made 

 famous by reason of the abstraction-of-water-case, which was carried 

 to the House of Lords before a decision, in favour of Lord Kintore 

 and others, would satisfy the defenders. Neither lade is really 

 high above the bed of the river, but the two lades have only one 

 conjoint outlet below the lower dyke. Before the decision referred 

 to, and before the Court of Session had arranged for the proper 

 amount of compensation water to the river, it was usual all through 



