18 



Appendices to Twenty -fourth Annual Report 



ment or pollution. There seemed, moreover, to be a considerable 

 amount of evidence pointing to the presence of chlorine in 

 the water, although, no doubt, the amount varies considerably 

 from time to time. The presence of chlorine is most injurious 

 to fish life, and, even when not sufficiently strong to be fatal, 

 gives a marked ''iodoform flavour." I had good proof given me 

 during last summer that fish taken in the Clyde just outside 

 the mouth of the Leven were uneatable owing, apparently, to 

 this characteristic taint from chlorine or some kindred substance, 

 such as iodine or bromine. I am informed also that the fish 

 netted at this spot were found to be unmarketable about the time 

 of my visit. A very small percentage of chlorine is sufficient to 

 taint fish, and it is extremely important that the escape of this and 

 of any kindred substances into the river be entirely prevented. 

 Otherwise injury to the salmon fisheries is inevitable. 



The remaining point to which I desire to refer is the quantity of 

 boiled and therefore unoxygenated water which passes into the 

 Leven. This affects the river in two ways — (1) in depriving the fish 

 of oxygen necessary for their respiration and incidentally making- 

 it less possible for various substances found in the pollutions to be 

 rendered inocuous by union with the river water, and (2) in locally 

 raising the temperature of the river to an abnormal degree. The 

 first is the more important. All the works pump large quantities 

 of water for use in the dye vats and for washing dyed material and 

 apparatus. It may be said that most of the works require all the 

 water they can get, and that the works on the lower river cannot 

 get this water in a very satisfactory condition owing to the pollu- 

 tions above. In one or two of the works a certain amount of 

 washing is done in the lade as it passes below the wash-houses, but 

 in the majority this appears to be impossible. At some works the 

 coloured discharges occur in the lades, where steam from the 

 pumping engines may also be blown, in others the discharge pipes 

 are carried out on the bed of the river as far as mid-stream. From 

 the processes employed in the various works it is inevitable that 

 most of the water lifted from the river is raised to a very high 

 temperature. In dyeing, 120° to 130° F. is usual, and in the 

 clearing and fixing processes 190° to even about 200° F. may be 

 reached. With such high temperatures, all air is expelled from 

 the water, and a fluid results which, even without the introduction 

 of impurities, is quite incapable of supporting any animal life. 

 But for the fact that the river Leven contains a large volume of 

 pure water from Loch Lomond, the many discharges from the 

 works would have a much more serious effect. I was informed by 

 the Manager of one of the works that about three and a half 

 million gallons were passed through his work in twenty- four 

 hours. From the similarity of the processes in all the works, 

 excepting the Millburn Chemical Works, where the distillation cf 

 wood spirit is conducted, and, I understand, the acids and lime, 

 &c, used in processes of the other works are made, we may, 1 

 think, fairly estimate that not less than twenty-five million gallons 

 of water are used in the Vale of Leven dyeing and printing works 

 each day, and that almost all this, plus much impurity, is returned 

 quite destitute of oxygen to the river. 



