8 



Appendices to Eighteenth Annual Report 



any attempt to rebuild the structures named, and probably the dam at 

 the disused mill on Menock Water might remain unrepaired, full 

 provision should be made for the requirements of Schedule G of the 1868 

 Act (31st and 32nd Vict., c. 123). At the same time the more serious 

 obstructions on the Cairn Water, as the first tributary to ascending fish, 

 should certainly be attended to without delay. These are : — The dams 

 at Cluden Mills, the so-called cruive in the same locality, reference to 

 which is made in Note III. of the 17th Annual Report, Part II., and 

 the natural obstruction at Gribton Sawmill. Much additional spawning 

 ground would thus be opened up in the Nith district. 



In attempting thus to indicate the evils which in my opinion injure 

 most seriously the salmon fisheries of the Nith district, I should like also 

 to be permitted to point out that the salmon fisheries of the Solway, so 

 far as the Scotch side is concerned, may- be regarded generally as injured 

 by the great extent to which netting by fixed engine in the estuary is 

 carried on. Whether the netting is by paidle nets up the mouths of the 

 rivers, or by recognised salmon stake nets of a legal sort in the estuary, 

 seems to me to make little difference, if we view the matter strictly in 

 the interests of the fisheries. All the old statutes which deal with the 

 question of fixed engines and their position, and which were reviewed 

 by the Lord Justice-Clerk in the case of Kintore v. Forbes, 31st May 

 1826 (4, S. 641), have acted as an interference with private right of 

 fishing in order to secure, as the primary object, the benefit of the 

 fisheries in general by the free passage of salmon from the lower to 

 the upper waters or spawning grounds of our rivers. At a very early 

 date it was decided to prohibit the use of fixed engines in estuaries ; yet, 

 owing to the geographical position of the Solway, and the special Acts 

 which deal with its fisheries, fixed engines were permitted to remain in 

 this special locality. In view of the present condition of the Solway 

 fisheries, this exception may serve as an indication that the provisions 

 which obtain in all other parts of Scotland are more beneficial in their 

 results. 



A request having been made by the Earl of Galloway that, in view of 

 certain points of difficulty amongst proprietors of the Cree district, the 

 Kirkpool dam dyke be inspected for the purpose of determining the most 

 suitable position for the erection of a salmon pass, as referred to in a 

 memorandum to the Fishery Board for Scotland, prepared by Mr. James 

 Drew, Lord Galloway's commissioner, I visited the Cree for the purpose 

 indicated. At the same time I had the opportunity of viewing the 

 fixed engines at the mouth of the Cree and at the mouth of the Fleet. 

 These are referred to in my separate report on the Coast Salmon Fishings 

 (Appendix I.). I also took the opportunity of viewing the yair nets of 

 the Dee in the neighbourhood of Kirkcudbright, as well as the doaches 

 of Tongueland and the hatchery conducted by Messrs. J. Anderson & 

 Sons, Edinburgh. 



At a subsequent date I visited the river Kirtle in the Annan district 

 for the purpose of inspecting Beltenmont fish-pass and Kirtlebridge 

 cauld. 



Beltenmont Fish-Pass. 



The cauld at Beltenmont has recently been repaired and rendered as 

 nearly as possible watertight, the crest or sill at the same time having 

 been finished off* with a broad and flat layer of cement. The fish-pass 



