148 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



But everyone who has any interest in the Spey and its salmon 

 knows that for many years a very strong feeling has obtained 

 amongst proprietors that a too heavy toll of the fish was taken by 

 net in the lower reaches, and that the proportion of fish which were 

 allowed, or which were able, to pass the nets and to afford sport to 

 the upper proprietors was unduly small. 



Certain steps had been taken in the past by the proprietor of the 

 net fisheries to benefit the district stock. In 1851 twenty-three bag 

 and fly-nets were removed from the coast at the mouth of the river, 

 so as to leave an estuary of larger dimensions than laid down by 

 statute. In this way a stretch of coast between four and five miles 

 long, and containing the mouth of the river, became free of fixed 

 nets, and has remained so ever since. In 1883 a cruive dyke, which 

 used to be fished, was removed. In 1888 the weekly close time at 

 the Orton water that is where the top nets were fished was 

 increased from 36 to 42 hours, and in 1897 a more direct mouth to 

 the river was cut through an extensive gravel bank. These measures, 

 however, did not satisfy the other proprietors, and in 1894 a lease of 

 the Orton net was taken for six years at an annual rent of 175. 

 The benefit from this was not, however, considered to be in proportion 

 to the price paid, and the arrangement was not renewed. 



It is possible to obtain some idea of the angling results of the 

 upper proprietors in question from the evidence which the late Sir 

 George Macpherson Grant of Ballindalloch gave before Lord Elgin's 

 Commission in 1900. Returns were put in from six of the fishings. 

 Those returns Sir George did not vouch for, and for purposes of com- 

 parison it is possible to use only four of them, and to restrict the 

 period from 1887 to 1899 inclusive; but regarding them in this way, 

 we have four very representative waters, viz. Ballindalloch, Knock- 

 ando, Wester Elchies, and Aikenway. The figures are : 



Year. Ball. Knock. W. Elchies. Aiken. Total. 



1887 



]888 



1889 



1890 



1891 - 



1892 



1893 



1894 - ' 



1895 



1896 



1897 



1898 



1899 



