THE BLADENOCH 391 



more water-power to the mill. The pass, I believe, does moderately 

 well, but at the right bank, where the river bed is naturally 

 suitable, an excellent pass might without much difficulty be formed. 



One other dyke exists in the Bladenoch at the Borhoise Meal 

 Mill, about a mile and a half above the junction of the Tarff. It is 

 not a formidable affair, being composed of loose boulders, and varying 

 in height from 2 to 4 feet ; but it is, or was when I last saw it, 

 extremely leaky, so that much water flowed through the substance 

 of the rough dyke instead of over the top of it. A more efficient 

 pass than formerly existed has now been constructed here. 



The Tarff, as already indicated, is more seriously interfered with. 

 The three dykes are in the neighbourhood of Kirkcowan, a short 

 distance above the junction. The first is the Tarff Sawmill Dyke, 

 an irregular concrete structure of considerable height, without a pass, 

 and capable, in moderate conditions of water-level, of sending all the 

 water of the stream down the lade. This structure requires modi- 

 fication to make it more passable. Above this the next dyke is 

 that of a wool mill. It is not high, but is a serious obstruction 

 through the great abstraction of water drawn from a deep pool im- 

 mediately above it. The stream here is rocky, and the dyke is 

 formed of concrete, with smooth cement facing on top of the rocks 

 .at the tail of the pool. The lade is deep and capable of drawing 

 water to such an extent that in moderate conditions even a pass with 

 the statutory 6 inch slap in the sill can be left dry. 



Above this another wool mill exists, indeed the mill stands on the 

 steep bank overlooking the large pool just referred to, but the dyke 

 is quite half a mile up-stream. A turbine at the mill is able to 

 receive water from a height of some 21 or 22 feet. Action in the 

 Sheriff Court was recently taken for the observance of the Salmon 

 Fishery Bye-laws. As a result, hecks have now been placed on the 

 lade, and the firm have undertaken to see to the due and proper 

 closing of their sluice when the water is not required. Also a fish- 

 pass has been formed by the firm in their dam-dyke in virtue of a 

 special arrangement entered into between them and the salmon 

 fishery proprietors. 



In 1907, in the Bladenoch district, 1019 fish were taken in Wig- 

 town Bay by fixed net, 2H at the mouth of the river by sweep net, 

 and 56 fish were taken by rod. 



