Fishery Board for Scotland, 



Ixxvii 



ladder for facilifcatiug the passage of salmon over the Falls of the 

 Tummel, which there is every reason to believe would be entirely 

 successful. But, owing to difficulties with the proprietors of the 

 Falls, there seems at present to be but little prospect of Colonel 

 Macdonald's design being carried into effect, although it would open 

 up 20,000 acres of lochs and 50 miles of rivers to the migratory 

 Salmonidse, and so immensely increase the productiveness of the 

 Tay by developing new and extensive spawning grounds. Full 

 particulars with regard to the waters which would be opened up by 

 placing an efficient salmon-ladder on the Falls of Tummel will be 

 found in Mr Young's Eeport to the Board on the subject, dated 

 4th May 1884. The estimated cost of the Macdonald Fish way on 

 the Falls of Tummel is £344. 



Two rivers have been rendered accessible to salmon in the course Rivers opened 

 of last year, viz., the Ericht and its tributaries above Blairgowrie, j^^the coursT 

 and a small stream termed the Ballanachist in North Harris and of last y°eaT 

 the lochs belonging to its basin. Macdonald Fish ways have been Encht at 

 placed on two impassable dams on the Ericht, and improvements and thTBai- 

 have been made in some other weirs on that river by the Tay lanachist in 

 District Board, with the consent and co-operation of the manu- ^^^'^ ^'^'"^* 

 facturers at Blairgowrie. These dams were inspected by several 

 members of the Tay Board and by Mr Young, on the 21st of 

 October last, and since then it has been stated on good authority 

 that salmon have been seen 10 and 12 miles above the uppermost 

 dam. There are no fewer than 5 weirs on the Ericht at Blair- 

 gowrie which have been operated on with the view of enabling 

 salmon to ascend to the upper waters of the Ericht, and also to 

 the Ardle and Shee which unite to form it, and which together 

 have a drainage area of 150 square miles. The lowest weir is 

 just above Blairgowrie Bridge, and the uppermost one at Westfield 

 is about 2 miles farther up the stream. The lowest weir is not 

 a serious obstruction, and it will now be easily passed by the 

 narrow channel which has been made in it, and which concentrates 

 in a limited space the outflow of water over a considerable length 

 of dam. 



A wooden shoot has been constructed near the left bank of the 

 river, on the second dam which is about 400 yards above Blair- 

 gowrie Bridge. A massive log runs along the crest of this dam, 

 and the notch or sluice-way which has been cut in it for a 

 depth of 6 inches should either penetrate entirely through it, so 

 to allow a free and direct passage for the fish after ascending the 

 wooden shoot, or if it be objected that this might weaken the dam, 

 then the face of the log should be bevelled off, so as to be at the 

 same angle as the face of the wooden shoot. 



The third dam is 1300 yards above Blairgowrie Bridge, and is 

 about 5 feet from water to water. A narrow channel concentrating 

 the water flowing over the dam has been formed in it. Between 

 the two last mentioned dams there are natural falls, or rather 

 rapids, called the Eeith, where there used formerly to be a 

 productive and valuable salmon fishery now extinct. 



By far the worst obstructions, however, are still farther up the 

 river. They consist of two perpendicular dams — the lowest at 

 Ashbank, being 10 feet in height, and the highest at Westfield, 



