Appendices to Twenty -fourth Annual Report 

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that an obstruction existed in the fish-pass itself, concerning which 

 objection had been raised. The pass itself I found to be a simple 

 shoot faced with cement and containing two breaks placed in an al- 

 ternate manner, as in the old-fashioned Smith's and Gail's structures. 

 In breath it was 3 feet 11 J inches at the sill, and in depth 1 foot 

 7^ inches or thereby. The depth of the opening or slap at the sill 

 of the weir had, however, been reduced by the introduction of a 

 stout wooden board measuring 13 inches in height, so that the 

 actual slap for the passage of water down the pass at the sill of the 

 weir was 6g inches. This board had been introduced for the pur- 

 pose, not of preventing the passage of salmon, but of securing to 

 the adjoining meal mill a better supply of water. The actual result, 

 from a salmon fishing point of view, was, in my opinion, to nullifj 7 

 the existence of the pass, because any fish trying to ascend the pass 

 after entering and swimming through the unnecessarily rough and 

 broken water, would be brought up against the perpendicular 

 board. To leap the obstruction was impossible, there being no 

 " take off" in a shallow pass of quick water. Such a fish would, 

 in my opinion, be forced back to the foot of the weir, and any 

 subsequent ascent, if successful, would be over the crest of the 

 dam-dyke itself during times of moderate flood. The gradient of 

 the down stream face is one in three. Without the board in the 

 pass, and also, in my opinion, without the breaks in the pass, fish 

 would not experience much difficulty in making the ascent, but if 

 it is necessary to restrict the water flow, I consider that it would 

 be better to construct a new pass than to resort to the present 

 device of an obstructing board, or to level up the already too steep 

 gradient of the existing pass. 



After discussing the matter with Mr. Drew, as representing the 

 owner of the dam-dyke, I suggested that the rather higher level of 

 river bed which forms the channel near the right bank should be 

 utilised for the construction of the new pass. The gap in the sill 

 of the dyke might with advantage be close to a large rock which 

 protrudes through the substance of the weir near the right bank. 

 The course of the pass would then curve slightly towards the centre 

 of the channel in conformity with the bank below the dyke, thus 

 enabling a length of 30 feet to be easily obtained. The gradient 

 of such a pass would be one in ten. I subsequently entered into 

 details respecting the requirements which seemed to me necessary 

 for a suitable pass in the position referred to. 



On the day of my inspection the sluices at the intake of the 

 mill-lade were being renewed, and I noticed that a very satisfactory 

 heck had been provided to protect this intake. I understand that 

 a heck on the tail-race below the mill-wheel is also to be erected. 



I also inspected the four dam-dykes which appear to exist above 

 this weir in this district — one in the Bladenoch proper, and three 

 in the tributary Tarff. The dyke in the upper Bladenoch is at the 

 Borhoise Meal Mill, the property of Captain Hamilton. It is a 

 structure of loose stones varying in height from 2 to 4 feet. At 

 the date of my visit the whole water of the river, exclusive 

 of the water in the lade, was passing through the structure of the 

 dyke, the level of the pool above the dyke being more than a foot 

 below the uneven crest of the weir. There is a shallow slap in the 



