32 
Appendices to Tenth Annual Report 
Last spawning season, like the preceding, turned out to be rather a poor 
one, and for the same cause, viz., scarcity of grilse. I have, however/ good 
reasons to believe that, during the coming season of salmon spawning, we shall 
surmount the grilse dearth of last two spawning seasons, and have one of the 
best grilse spawning seasons on the high reaches that we have experienced 
during the early part of the season since 1888-89. My reasons for anticipat- 
ing this, are, that since the first week of July, owing to the excessive amount of 
rain which has fallen, causing the river to run high, and often in spate size, 
grilse have since then been clearing off the sea coast and making their way up 
the river much earlier and in larger numbers than that seen for many years. 
The two last spawning seasons come so near each other in the total number of 
spawning beds counted upon the different tributaries, that I do not think that 
it is necessary for me to make further comparisons between the two. 
From 16th October till middle of December all the tributaries ran high in 
size, and continued dark or brown coloured, and during all this time, which 
almost completed the height of the spawning over the higher tributaries, it was 
seldom that the spawning fish could be seen by the bailiffs, and, by the time the 
streams returned to their normal size, the fish had spawned and left their 
' redds,' which were then to be seen and counted by the bailiffs, notwithstand- 
ing that the fish themselves had disappeared again after spawning, and returned 
down the streams and joined the Spey. When spawning beds are counted in 
this way by the bailiffs, after a continued period of brown coloured water, the 
men are very cautious not to give in a list of anything but what they are pre- 
pared to swear were proper spawning beds, each of which had been spawned 
upon by at least one pair of fish, consequently doubtful beds are left out of 
count, but, all the same, may have been properly formed and spawned upon had 
a sight of them been attainable when they were being wrought. On the Spey 
the spawning was not so good as that of the previous year of 1889-90, and 
owing to the high state of the river, a sight of the fish at work was scarcely to 
be got from end of October till end of December, by which time the most of 
the spawning had ceased. 
Spawning continued on the Spey till into month of March. From middle 
till end of December there was a very severe frost, which froze over the pools 
and spawning fords of Spey, Avon, and Fiddich, but this frost and ice wore 
away again without causing any injury to the spawning fish or spawning beds. 
Another severe frost continued during January, and again froze up the pools 
and spawning fords. Avon on this occasion, was most severely frozen up, and 
upon the breaking up of the ice, after a thaw set in, some thirty spawned fish 
were found dead in said river, and these had evidently been killed by the ice. 
There is no doubt but that some damage had been done to the spawning beds 
upon the Avon by the breaking up of the ice on said occasion. 
11. — Smolt Season. 
The appearance of smolts while descending the rivers last season was as good 
as that of former seasons. Eight watchers were on duty for six weeks, com- 
mencing 27th April, protecting smolts and parr over the whole district, and the 
Superintendent, Inspector, and one Constable continued protecting parr during 
all the summer. Twelve dozen of printed notices, cautioning persons against 
taking or killing smolts, parr, or the young of salmon, were posted up at con- 
spicuous places along the sides of the river Spey and tributaries, over the whole 
district. 
III. — Disease among Fish. 
Fungoid disease was more prevalent during ; last winter or late spawning 
season than that of the season of 1889-90. On the Fiddich, during the season 
1889-90, the number of spawning beds counted was 545, and the number of 
dead diseased fish removed from the same stream was 64. During last season 
(1890-91) the number of spawning beds was 535, or 10 fewer than the previous 
year, and the number of dead diseased fish that were removed and buried was 
92. The percentage for dead diseased fish on the respective numbers of beds 
upon the Fiddich during the two spawning seasons previous to the last one 
