124 Appendices to Second Annual Report 



miles, the bottom of the Stinchar is formed of a succession of tine 

 gravel beds admirably suited for spawning. But these are apt to 

 shift with floods, and near the mouth of the river there is a gravel 

 bar running parallel with the sea, extending from the harbour to the 

 Downan Point, and forming a bank of considerable height, which, 

 however, varies somewhat with the direction of the wind and the 

 character of the weather. The Stinchar flows through this bank 

 to the sea. In summer, when the river is very small, its outlet to the 

 sea through the gravel bar entirely closes, and it continues in that 

 condition until there is a flood of sufficient force to clear away the 

 obstruction. Below the bridge at Ballantrae, the north bank of 

 the river is not sufficiently substantial, and in floods the stream 

 frequently breaks through and finds a new channel for itself to the 

 sea through the gravel bar. It will thus be seen that the mouth 

 of the river is continually changing. The natural place, however, 

 for the Stinchar to empty itself into the sea would be at the Downan 

 rocks, and this would be the only place where it would be possible 

 to keep its mouth always open. This could be done by driving in 

 piles on the north side of the river beyond the gravel seawards. 

 The Stinchar is a very late river, the first fresh-run fish not appear- 

 ing until May or June ; and it is stated by Mr Wason, Postmaster 

 at Ballantrae, who is an experienced angler, and thoroughly ac- 

 quainted with the river, that the heaviest and finest fish do not 

 come up until late in the autumn, and that they are in good con- 

 dition until the middle of November. Were it not, unfortunately, 

 the case that salmon caught during the extension of time for rod- 

 fishing may be legally sold in open market in Scotland — though 

 such sale is prohibited in England and on the Tweed — angling until 

 the 15th November might be safely permitted on such rivers as 

 the Stinchar and on several of the Solway rivers. 



The Girvan. 



The Girvan has its source in some small lochs in the parish of 

 Straiton, about eight miles above the village of that name. It 

 is nearly 30 miles in length, and has a catchment basin of 96 

 square miles. It falls into the sea 21 miles south-west of Ayr, 

 nearly opposite the bold rocky island of Ailsa Craig, which is 

 10 miles distant. Its name is said to be derived from Garv-avan, 

 or Garvan, signifying a rough or rapid stream, which is highly 

 descriptive of the physical characteristics of the Girvan. Bag nets 

 are permitted to fish, and do fish, within 300 yards of the mouth 

 of the river ; and there are upwards of forty such nets in the 

 Girvan district, which has a coast-line of about sixteen miles. The 

 leaders of the nets nearest to the river's mouth are 80 yards long. 

 Since Mr Buckland and I inspected the river in 1870, the 

 numerous dams that then obstructed its channel have been greatly 

 improved, and the fish have now a better chance than formerly of 

 reaching the upper spawning waters. The lowest mill-dam on the 

 river is at Bridge Mill. It is 196 feet long, and has a gradient of 

 1 in 6. It used to be a very serious obstacle. But as the recom- 



