The Sun.
London, England, 1829-10-21 00:00:00

SALMON FISHERY.

(From the Inverness Courier.)

Our readers will observe in our Paper this
week, and in some of our recent numbers, ob-
servations from correspondents on the late Act
for regulating Salmon Fisheries in Scotland,
which, coming as they do from intelligent and
practical men, are entitled to sonic considera-
tion. By prohibiting all fishing until the Ist of
February, the Act has certainly pressed with great
severity on the Northern fishers, and we know
of one gentleman who ha 2 lost at least 5001. per
annum by it. The Ness is one of the earliest
fishing rivers in Scotland, being from the im
mense depth of the lake from which it derives
its source, considerably milder in temperature
than almost any other stream. Hence it is early
frequented by the fish, and its proprietors had
an almost undivided monopoly of the market for
fully two months in every season. One of our
correspondents, Mr. Fraser, of Dochnalarg, has
we are glad to find, been 0 long engaged in minute
observations on the natural history and habits of
the salmon, and has accumulated a vast variety
of curious information on the subject, which we
trust he will lay before the public. Natural
history of all kinds is one of the most pleasing
and interesting of studies, and, as honest Izaak
Walton says of Angling, " it is like the mathe-
matics, never fully learned, or at least never
without room for new experiments." The at-
tachment of the salmon to his native stream, like
that of young pigeons to their first dovecote, is
well known, and the struggles he will undergo
from weirs, waterfalls, &c. to reach it, is equally
remarkable. His rapid growth is also a curious
trait in his history. Mr. Fraser informs us that
in February last he marked several young salmon
by cutting off part of their fins, and then re-
committed them to their native element, the pure
waters of Loch Ness. On the first of September
following, he again caught two of the fish, pre-
cisely at the same spot, and though neither of
them when first taken could weigh more than
five pounds, they had in the interval, after their
pilgrimage to the sea, almost trebled their bulk,
each weighing about fourteen pounds. Mr.
Fraser has also discovered that the fry will fre-
quently remain alive at least four months—from
Ist April to Ist August—buried amongst sand
and shingle in the spawning beds, till a swell in
the river penetrate their recesses and afford them
the means of extricating themselves. Minute
facts and observations of this sort all tend to
illustrate the secret operations of nature, and
should not be lest. They are valuable too, in
pointing to useful conclusions, for it is obvious
that by attending to the condition of the spawn-
ing beds, and supplying them when dry with a
lead of water, the fish might be multiplied almost
ad infinitum.

To the EDITOR of the INVERNESS COURIER.

Sut,—ln a former letter I promised to submit to
your readers a plan by which the evils attendant on
the late Act for regulating our Scottish Fisheries
would be wholly obviated. Regulations of this
kind are easily framed, but the following are the
result of long experience and observation, and would
tend to increase the number of salmon on a river
with the same certainty and facility that I can in-
crease my flock of lambs by adding to the number
of ewes.

First—All rivers producing clean salmon should
be allowed to be fished from St. Andrew's day
to the 10th August in the first year; to the 26th
August in the second and third years; and in
the fourth year to return to the same period as
the first. The fish left in the first year would in
the second and third years return full grown sal-
mon, and would when taken early be worth fully a
shilling per pound to the tacksman, whereas they
are not worth more than 3d. per pound when taken
in August or September.
Second—Taeksmen or their overseers, or the
river keepers, ought to visit the spawning beds on
all rivers occasionally, from December to the Ist of
August, in order to draw a small lead of water from
the nearest high water on such of the spawning
beds as appear on dry ground. By this means the
ova would be kept fresh ; and one man in ten mi-
nutes might preserve thousands of ova and living fry
in their respective
i seasons. For want of such as-
sistance the loss n fish has hitherto been incal-
i culable, and I am therefore disposed to consider