307 



The fluctuations in the spring catches, from only 11 fish in 1908 

 to 14s fish in 1911, are indeed remarkable. 



As the Hendersyde property ends on the north bank, the Earl 

 of Home comes in with the celebrated Birgham Dub at the top of 

 his angling. On the south or English side of the river are the 

 Upper and Lower Carham waters, let to the Earl of Home on a 

 lease which expires in 1902, so that the Earl has command from both 

 banks of twenty-eight splended pools, their nearness to the sea en- 

 suring a continuous supply of fresh fish both in spring and autumn. 



In April 1900, Lord Dunglass had ten fish during a week, five 

 of which were got on the same day. 



The big scores of the past that were made from Birgham Dub 

 are associated with the recollections of many good fishermen, 

 before whose names one has, alas ! to write, " the late," notably, 

 Mr. Alfred Dennison, Lord Alexander Paget, and Mr. Malcolm 

 of Poltalloch, whose deeds are duly sung by Mr. Liddell in his 

 " Lay of the Last Angler " ; while he himself, in 1887, took upwards 

 of 200 fish from this one cast, when days of eight to thirteen fish 

 were quite common events. 



The Wark water follows that of Carham, usually let, and also 

 the property of the Earl of Home ; then Mr. G. T. Marjoribanks 

 comes in with the Lees or Lady Kirk water of eight good pools. 



This is followed on the English side by Mr. CoUingwood's 

 Comhill stretch, on which there are nine casts, all pretty good. 



On the Scotch bank is the Earl of Haddington's Lennel water, 

 commencing at Coldstream and going eastwards for about a mile. 



Below this comes the Paxton water of Colonel D. Milne-Home, 

 which brings us to the tideway, where the angling is not of much 

 account. 



About a mile below Paxton House on the left bank, the White 

 Adder, noted for its trout, falls into the Tweed. 



From the foregoing details it will be seen that the cream of the 

 Tweed angling commences a little above Melrose and comes down 

 to Coldstream — thirty miles of splendid water, the angling of 

 which, if spring fish were only as plentiful as autumn ones, would 

 bring in a far larger sum than is now obtained from the letting of 

 the nets. Therefore, I can see no reason why the proprietors of 

 the Tweed should not form a " combine " and follow the example 

 of the Tay Syndicate. 



The Tweed opens for the rod on the ist of February, closing 

 on the 30th of November — the longest open time of any river in 



