debouchement in the sea; and flow, but a few miles asunder, through a flat and moory country. That the fish of these sister streams should differ so much is surprising, and can only be attributed to one circumstance: Aughniss is a union of mountain-streams, Goolamore flows from an extensive lake, and affords an outlet to the waters of Carramore. Judging from the constant supply of white fish which Goolamore yields all through the year, one would conclude that the lake offers better food and winterage to the salmon, than the shallower and colder waters of Aughniss.

Our expectations were fully realized; we found the pools in excellent order. Independently of a west wind, being a favourite point for the angler—in these rivers, it blows against the current of the stream, and consequently increases the ruffle on the surface of the water, which, in salmon fishing, is so favourable. My cousin, who is perfectly acquainted with the local haunts of the salmon, placed me where I seldom failed to rise or hook a fish. What splendid angling this wild country offers! It spoils one in after-life, however.

The man

The fox

who has held a salmon on his line disrelishes the inferior amusements of the craft. hunter will seldom condescend to ride to beagles; the deer-stalker will not waste time

and powder in a rabbit-warren, and the disciple of Izaac, who has once indulged in the exquisite delight of salmon-fishing, will feel little satisfaction in the commoner pursuits and lesser pleasures of the gentle art.

We landed five salmon, besides taking a pannier full of sea-trouts. Had I been an adept, or better appointed than I was, we might have killed double the number of salmon. My flies were unluckily tied on London hooks, and from their defective quality and formation, several fish escaped me. Repeated failures caused me to examine the hooks, and I ascertained that they were both ill-shapen and badly tempered. My cousin had warned me against the consequences of using them, but I believed that he was prejudiced, and concluded that this department of my London outfit must be unobjectionable. The event, however, proved that I was deceived. My kinsman rarely lost a salmon, and mine broke from me continually. I find, by sad experience, that in hook-making the Irish are far before us; our workmen either do not understand the method of forming and tempering hooks, or they do not take sufficient pains in their manufactory. It is strange, when so much of the angler's pleasure and success depends upon the quality of his hooks, that more attention is not bestowed upon their fa

brication. The art of forming,* and the process of tempering them, appears simple enough; and that little difficulty is required to attain it, is evident from the fact that many fishermen make their own hooks. For my own part, however, I consider hook-making to be an unnecessary accomplishment for the angler, as the best hooks in the world can be procured without trouble, and at a trifling expense, from O'Shaughnessy of Limerick.‡

"I have even made a hook, which, though a little inferior in form, in other respects, I think, I could boast as equal to the Limerick ones."-Salmonia.

"I never use any hooks for salmon-fishing except those which I am sure have been made by O'Shaughnessy of Limerick; for even those made in Dublin, though they seldom break, yet they now and then bend; and the English hooks, made of cast-steel, in imitation of Irish ones, are the worst of all."-Ibid.

LETTER X.

Salmon.-Fishing described.-Draughting.-Fishing precarious.-Change of season and condition.-Poaching.— Private Distillation.-Size and weight of Salmon.-Sir H. Davy. Migration of Salmon.-Natural History.-Anecdotes and experiments.-Lernææ Salmoneæ.

To those unacquainted with the method of taking salmon, a brief detail may not be uninteresting: premising that in other fisheries different means are employed, yet the simplest and general method is that used at Aughniss.

About March fly-fishing commences, and a strong and active spring fish will then frequently be killed, if the river is sufficiently supplied with water, and the wind brisk and westerly. As the season advances, the fishing materially improves; and from the month of April, salmon in the highest condition, with red and white trout, will rise, here, freely at the fly.

In June, however, the regular fishing with nets commences. The wear is raised to stop the passage of the fish, and the river water vented through a small aperture provided with a trap, or, as it is technically called, a box. By these traps and artificial canals, in other fisheries, the salmon are principally taken; but here, except some straggling fish, the box produces little.

The fishing is confined to the estuary, where the river meets the sea. Here, according to naturalists, the salmon undergo a probationary course, before they exchange the salt for the fresh water, as a sudden change from either would be fatal to the fish, and a temporary sojourn in water of an intermediate quality, (brackish) is supposed to be requisite, before they can leave either the ocean or the river.

The draughting is carried on at the last quarter of the ebb, and during the first of flood; five or six boats, with as many men in each, are necessary. When the salmon are seen, the nearest boat starts off, leaving a man on shore, with a rope attached to one extremity of the net, which is rapidly thrown over, as the boat makes an extensive circle round the place where the fish are supposed to lie. Returning to the shore, the curve of the net is gradually decreased. Stones are flung in at each extremity, to prevent the salmon from escaping; the