4 



Appeoidices to Twenty-first Annual Report 



shoot to the wheel, appear to bo provisions against flooding, which would 

 be unnecessary if the lade were properly sluiced. In this way much 

 water would be saved to the fish-pass in the weir. 



Kinrea Weir, T3alcross, the property of The Mackintosh. This is 

 again a low, irregular structure about two feet in height, supplying water 

 to a small meal mill on the left bank. The statement made wifch reference 

 to Colchunaig Weir is applicable in every particular to this weir and lade. 

 A gap and pass in the centre of the weir should be provided, and an 

 upper and lower heck placed on the lade. Like the Colchunaig Weir, 

 however, it is even noAV not a serious obstruction. 



Cantray Weir, the property of Major Davidson of Cantray. This is 

 a more important structure than either of those mentioned. It is in good 

 repair, of an average height of about three feet — the sill sloping to a 

 lower level at the left bank — with a down stream face of about nine and 

 a half feet, and a well-formed apron extending some distance on the bed 

 of the stream below. Even in low conditions of water a good stream 

 descends close to the left bank, which being, as already stated, lower than 

 the rest of the sill, provides the requirement of the gap. At this point, 

 therefore, a slight arrangement of the down-stream face would provide a 

 suitable pass for ascending fish. The lade is carried off from the opposite 

 or right bank. It is properly sluiced, and has also a suitable heck. For 

 the supply of a saw mill and a farm mill which stand together, but with 

 separate wheels, the lade bifurcates. Unfortunately, however, after the 

 confluence of the divisions, the water of the lade reaches the river below 

 another weir, to be next mentioned, thus depriving that weir of the 

 water of two lades instead of one. In defence of this condition I was 

 shown a letter from an engineer, who had been employed to take levels, 

 reporting that the level of the lade below the wheels did not permit of the 

 return of the water above the next weir. The outflow of the lade at 

 present allows the water to fall down two and a half to three feet into the 

 bed of the Nairn at this point. It is provided with a wooden heck, 

 which, while being suitable as regards the spacing of the bars, is set with 

 its foot, or lower margin, swinging loosely in a down-stream direction. 

 An evident objection to this is that the heck can be easily raised and 

 propped up so as to be useless for the purpose for which it is intended. 

 The foot of the heck should, in my opinion, be fixed in a rigid position, 

 and the top or upper margin made to hang over if it is found necessary to 

 clear the heck of leaves, &c., but an upright fixed heck would, in all 

 probability, be sufficient in this case. 



Holme Rose Weir, the property of H. F. Rose, Esq. of Holme Rose. 

 This structure is in good repair, has a height of about three feet, and a 

 gradient of about one in three. There is no gap or fish-pass, nor is the 

 sill lowered towards one bank as in the Cantray Weir. It is, in my 

 opinion, a distinct obstacle to the ascent of fish, and, since it is deprived 

 of an extra amount of water, is an obstruction which should certainly be 

 provided with as good a fish-pass as possible. The natural lead up of the 

 channel below indicates that the gap to supply the pass should be situated 

 about twenty yards from the right bank, or that the entrance to the pass, 

 for fish coming up the river, should be about this point. 



The lade is carried off" from the left bank to a farm mill at some little 

 distance. The intake to the lade is sluiced, but is unprovided with 

 a heck. The tail race has a fixed wooden heck, but the spacing between 

 the bars is too great, being from two and a half to three and a half 

 inches. 



Budgate Weir, at Kilravock, the property of the Earl of Cawdor. 

 This is formed of boulders and large stones below a wooden sill having a 

 slight angle across the stream. There is no apron, and the river has 



