am not a competent judge, as I am acquainted with too few rivers
to pretend to decide. I may, however, just remark that the Hodder,
though it is a much smaller river than the Ribble, is always much
better stocked with Salmon, Morts, Sprods, Smolts, and Par than is
the latter river, which I attribute to the fact that more fish
spawn in the river Hodder, which runs for many miles through the
Forest of Bowland (the property of the Duke of Buccleuch) and
other large estates, and the fish are much better protected there
than in the Ribble, where, with one or two exceptions, the
properties are very much divided, and few people think it worth
their while to trouble themselves on the subject. Dr. Fleming, in
his letter to Mr. Kennedy (Appendix to the first Rep., 1825),
seems to doubt that Salmon enter rivers for any other purpose than
of propagation, but lest I should misrepresent his opinions, I
will quote what he has said on the subject:--"In the evidence
taken before the Select Committee during the last season of
Parliament, and appearing in the report, there are several
statements of a somewhat imposing kind, which, as they appear to
me to be erroneous and apt to mislead, I shall here take the
liberty of opposing." He then enumerates several opinions
expressed before the Select Committee, one of which is, that
Salmon enter and leave rivers for other purposes than those
connected with spawning (see the evidence of Messrs. Little,
Halliday, and Johnstone).

First, "That they enter rivers to rid themselves of sea lice
(_Monoculus piscinus_);" secondly, "That they forsake rivers to
save themselves from being exhausted by residence in fresh water,
and from having their gills devoured by a maggot (_Lernaea
salmonea_)." The whole history of the Salmon contradicts this