of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
43 
upwards of 5 millions of salmon, grilse, and trout, or a yearly average 
of nearly 140,000 — a yield which I believe to be greater than that of any 
river in the United Kingdom at the present day. 
On four occasions during this first period, the river produced upwards 
of 200,000 fish in the course of a single year, and on three occasions 
upwards of 100,000 grilse in the same time. The largest number of 
salmon in any one year was in 1814, when 58,890 were captured ; of 
grilse in 1816, when 120,594 were taken • and of migratory trout in 
1844, when 99,256 were landed.* 
During the second period of 39 years — from 1847 to 1885, both 
inclusive — only about 2| millions of fish were captured or a yearly average 
of about 64,000 or less than half the average of the first period. The 
largest catch of salmon in any one year was in 1882, when 17,575 fish 
were got; the biggest take of grilse was in 1848, when 97,102 were 
captured ; and the best year for trout was 1847, which yielded 67,796. 
Some curious results with regard to the increase in the proportion of 
bull-trout to salmon and grilse in the last period of 39 years as contrasted 
with the first are afforded by the above Table. From 1808 to 1816, with 
the exception of 3 years, the number of trout was less than that of either 
salmon or grilse; and from 1808 up to 1829, the number of salmon and 
grilse combined always exceeded that of trout. 1829 was the first year 
when the trout exceeded in number the salmon and grilse combined. 
Between 1839 and 1885, this has happened in 18 years, and in one of 
these years — 1869 — the number of trout was considerably more than 
double that of salmon and grilse united — certainly not a healthy symptom 
of a salmon river. Yet it will be found, on reference to the Table, that 
although the take of salmon and grilse has so greatly fallen off in the last 
half of the period tabulated as to be often surpassed by the take of trout, 
that even the number of trout during the last period is not nearly equal 
to what it was in the first period ; as up to 1848, the take of trout varied 
from 12,439 to 99,250 and averaged 50,000 annually, whereas since 
1848, the largest take has been 49,701 and the smallest 14,222. 
As was pointed out by Mr Walpole and myself in our Eeport of 1875 
on the operation of the Tweed Fishery Acts of 1857 and 1859; there is 
a remarkable coincidence between the general drainage of the Tweed 
valley that followed upon the advance of money on easy terms by 
Parliament in 1846 to the landlords of the United Kingdom, and the 
falling off in the productiveness of the Tweed Fisheries. The character 
of the floods was changed. The land instead of being like a sponge 
which is gradually squeezed out became intersected by a network of 
drains which discharged the active rainfall into the river in a few hours. 
The river now rises suddenly and falls suddenly, instead of being in 
flood, more or less, for a week ; so that migratory fish like salmon, which 
run in floods or rather when the water is beginning to subside and clear 
after a flood, have far less opportunity than formerly of entering the 
* The most productive year on the Tweed of which any record exists was 1816. 
In that year, 54,041 salmon, 120,594 grilse, and 62,074 trout, or 236,709 fish were 
taken. But upwards of 208,000 fish were taken in 1820, and a take of 150,000 fish 
was not uncommon. Upwards of 58,000 salmon (excluding grilse) were taken in 
1814 alone ; and this take exceeds the aggregate taken in any 5 consecutive years 
since 1846. Again, the take of grilse in 1816, exceeds the take of the 8 years, 1867 
to 1874. These surprising figures are corroborated by a letter in the Edinburgh 
Magazine of April 1888. The writer states the rental of the Tweed fishings for 
14 miles from the mouth of the river at upwards of £5400, and the expenses of 
fishing at £5000, and calculates that to pay these sums the fishings must have pro- 
duced 208,000 salmon annually, exclusive of grilse and trout. The highest rental 
of which we have any record was in 1816, when the fisheries were assessed at 
£13,705, 6s. 3d. 
