of the Fishery Board for Scotland, 



9 



three cauls on this river, viz.: — One at Kirtlebridge, belonging to 

 Colonel Irvine of Burnfoot; a second at Beltenmount, of which Miss 

 Beattie, residing at Annan, is proprietrix ; and a third at Rigg, in the 

 parish of Gretna, which is owned by Lord Mansfield. The first and 

 second are used for the purpose of meal mills, but the third is not used 

 for milling purposes at all, the mill in connection with it having been 

 done away with a number of years ago, and the mill lade allowed to 

 silt up. It would seem, therefore, that it is simply an obstruction to 

 the passage of salmon, and that any person having the right of salmon 

 fishing in the river may sue for its removal. In the case of the cauls 

 at Kirtlebridge and Beltenmount the provisions of the Commissioner^' 

 bye-laws (Schedule G, 31 and 32 Vic. cap. 123) are totally disregarded. 

 There are no fish-passes on the cauls, no hecks on the mill lades, and 

 the water is allowed to run to waste when the mill is not working, 

 instead of being sent over the mill dam as provided in the bye-law. 

 The attention of the District Board has been directed to the condition 

 of these cauls. 



The Nith District Board have had under consideration the best Nith. 

 method of dealing with some of the dam dykes which at present 

 greatly obstruct the passage of salmon to the upper waters. By the 

 direction of the Fishery Board I attended a meeting of the District 

 Board when these matters were being discussed, and subsequently made 

 an inspection of the river from Sanquhar to Dumfries, and of the 

 various tributaries flowing into it. 



In point of size the Nith ranks as one of the largest of the 

 second-class salmon rivers of Scotland. But its salmon fishings, 

 judged by their rateable value (see Note Y.) would seem to be among 

 the least productive, if those of such rivers as the Clyde, in which 

 «almon are entirely extinct, are excluded. Nor is this surprising, 

 seeing the difficulties with which the parent salmon have to contend in 

 ascending the river and the large extent of spawning ground from 

 which they are entirely excluded. During the open season compara- 

 tively few salmon escape capture, owing to the serious obstruction 

 caused by Dumfries cauld and to the netting which, I am informed, is 

 prosecuted in the confined waters below. During the close season those 

 salmon which succeed in ascending Dumfries cauld are cut oflf by impas- 

 sable obstructions from the spawning grounds in most of the tributary 

 streams. In fact, since I first visited Sand's river in 1888, I have not 

 seen a salmon river where greater difficulties have been placed in the 

 way of salmon reaching the natural spawning streams, or where, 

 if steps were taken for the improvement of the fishings similar 

 to those adopted on Sand's river, they would be more likely to 

 lead to the same successful results. The steps referred to are 

 described in Note II. of the Eleventh Annual Beport of the Fishery 

 Board for Scotland, Part II., and the results up to and including 1893 

 in Note VI. of the Board's Thirteenth Annual Report. Since 1893 the 

 improvement of the fishings is even more marked than before. With 

 regard to these steps and their results, it is sufficient to say here that 

 the facilitating of the passage of fish over the several obstructions and 

 the placing of the net fishing under such regulations as enabled a 

 portion of every run of fish to reach the upper waters and secured 

 their protection when there, was followed by the net fishings yielding 

 nearly three times the quantity of fish which they formerly did ; whilst 

 first-rate angling was obtained in the river, where previously only few 

 fish were caught. The account given in these Reports, as well as that 

 given with regard to the Dee (Aberdeenshire) and the rivers of the west 

 coast of Sutherlandshire on pp. 7 and 8 of the Fourteenth Annual 



