of the Fishery Board for Scotland, 



09 



APPENDIX IV. 



S A.LMON M A RK ING RESU LTS. 



[Fourth Paper.] 



by 



W. L. CALDERWOOD, 

 Inspector of Salmon Fisheries for Scotland* 



Since making my last year's report on this subject thirty-one salmon 

 and four sea trout recaptures have been secured. Before, however, 

 referring to the details of those recaptures I desire to mention the occur- 

 rence of two rather peculiar circumstances, and to refer to the parti- 

 cular information respecting the life-history of the salmon which, in the 

 annals of salmon-marking, makes the past twelve months memorable. 



Those who are acquainted with the history of salmon-marking are 

 aware that the late Duke of Atholl attached copper discs to the tails of 

 many Tay fish about 50 years ago. A very few recaptures were 

 obtained and were mentioned in the historical summary which I gave 

 in my first paper on the results of salmon-marking [Twentieth Annual 

 Report, Part II., Appendix II.]. Last summer I received as a present 

 from Mr. Douglas Johnston, Montrose, one of those old Tay marks. It 

 had long been in the possession of the late Mr. James Johnston, and 

 after his death was kindly sent to me. It is now in the possession of the 

 present Duke of Atholl, who informs me that another mark of this 

 series was dug up in a garden in the north of England — probably 

 dropped there at an earlier date by some Tayside gardener. The fish 

 was marked at Dunkeld on 30th March 1863 : a kelt 5| lbs. in weight 

 and 28 inches in length. It was recaptured at the Rossie fishings of 

 Messrs. Johnston, in Montrose basin, on 17th July 1863, i.e., the same 

 year as that in which it was marked. In the note accompanying the 

 mark, and written at the time the recapture was made, the fish is 

 described as a lanky male " bull trout " of 7 lbs. The fact that it was 

 regarded as a bull trout bears out the view that these so-called Tay bull 

 trout (which are really salmon) exhibit their spotted appearance and 

 have their gill maggots because they have, after only a short interval in 

 the sea, entered estuarial water before entirely changing from the 

 spotted kelt appearance to the silvery sheen of the clean fish. 



The other peculiar circumstance to which I may refer occurred at 

 Grimersta, in the island of Lewis. I have supplied marks on one or two 

 occasions to those who fished the Grimersta and to Mr. Pople's head 

 keeper there — John Mackay. Other marks were made privately, of the 

 same pattern as those supplied to the Fishery Board, to the order of 

 Mr. Byres- Leake. These were distinguished by the letters " J. B.-L." 



