THE NITH 411 



East Cluden and West Cluden Meal Mills, and there is a likelihood 

 that the two Dalgoner dam dykes further up the same main tribu- 

 tary will be removed or else provided with passes. The waterfall 

 usually called the " Cluden Kocks " still remains an obstruction. 



The fact remains, however, that the salmon of the Nith are deprived 

 of all the tributaries except the Cluden or Cairn, and that even this, 

 the most important tributary, is obstructed. So long as the stock of 

 the salmon remains low, it is very likely the case that the upper 

 part of the main river can quite easily accommodate all the spawning 

 fish ; but it should be recollected that a tributary very commonly 

 offers the most advantageous situation for spawning, having not only 

 suitable gravel but a less volume of water. Fortunately the head 

 waters of the Nith are of fine character, although some pollution 

 does exist, but a salmon river will never reach its greatest perfec- 

 tion, will never maintain the stock of fish it might have, if excellent 

 spawning tributaries are cut off by precipitous dam dykes. The 

 Carron has two total obstructions, the Enterkin has another ; the 

 Minnock, the Crawick, the Scaur, and the Shinnell have dykes built 

 across them without any regard to the bye-laws of the Salmon Acts. 

 Complete powers exist for bringing these into the condition they 

 should be, but these powers which can only be exercised by the 

 District Fishery Board might be more widely utilised. 



An excuse commonly made in the district is that so long as the 

 Dumfries Caul is not right it is not much use dealing with obstruc- 

 tions above, but although advice has been received and plans have 

 even been drawn, the Dumfries Caul remains as before. It is a 

 thousand pities that the Dumfries Caul was ever allowed to be built 

 in its present form. If it was a dyke slanting away up-stream from 

 the right bank, and with a complete gap for an uninterrupted run of 

 water at the left bank after the fashion of all the weirs, say, in the 

 Vale of Leven where an enormous amount of water is taken to the 

 Turkey-red Works, the Nith would not have suffered in its main 

 channel. 



Above Dumfries Caul the river is held up for a considerable 

 distance, the gradient being naturally very easy. About a mile out 

 of the town the Cluden joins at the right bank, and here the pictur- 

 esque ruins of Lincluden Abbey stand. 



" Ye holy walls, that, still sublime, 

 Resist the crumbling touch of time ; " 



The Cluden in its upper part is called the Cairn water, but at Moni- 

 aive three head streams unite, the Dalwhat, the Craigdarroch, and 



