WEEDS. 47 



keep his head of water above and to get rid of 

 the tail water below his wheel. The usual policy 

 of the lessor and miller is to do nothing until 

 the stream is almost choked up by their growth, 

 and then put on a few men to run chain scythes 

 rapidly down the river and make a clean sweep 

 of them altogether. The result of this treat- 

 ment is, that during the latter part of the spring 

 a considerable portion of the water is unfishable, 

 and in the hot weather, when the protection of 

 the weeds is of the greatest advantage to both 

 fish and fishermen, every particle has been 

 swept away. The general idea of the lessor 

 when undertaking weed-cutting is to get an 

 increased rent in consideration of this expense 

 being spared to the lessee, and his policy then 

 is to put this extra rent into his pocket instead 

 of expending it on the work he has contracted 

 to do. Although indefensible from a moral 

 point of view, yet tactically it is occasionally 

 good policy for the tenant, under such circum- 

 stances, to offer to pay for the labour of weed- 

 cutting ; he will then secure the control of the 

 question, subject, of course, to the rights of 

 millers or other riparian occupiers. 



On the assumption that it is a covenant of Weed cutting 



tav the Icsscg 



the tenant under his lease or agreement to cut 

 the weeds, or that he has voluntarily under- 

 taken this duty as suggested in the last para- 



