In
1424 it was enacted that "Quha sa ever be convict of Slauchter of
Salmonde in tyme forbidden be the Law, he shall pay fourtie shillings
for the unlaw, and at the third tyme gif he be convict of sik Trespasse
he shall tyne his life." But the law had fallen into disuse--was, in
fact, a dead letter; practically there was no "tyme forbidden," or at
least the close season was as much honoured in the breach as in the
observance, and, especially in the upper waters of Tweed and her
tributaries, countless numbers of spawning fish were annually
destroyed.
But as the salmon fisheries of Great Britain grew in value, so were
various destructive methods of capturing the fish declared to be
illegal, and many a practice that in earlier days was regarded as
"sport" may now be indulged in not at all. Some of those practices were
picturesque enough in themselves, and brimmed over with excitement and
incident; indeed, as portrayed in the pages of _Guy Mannering_, they
were, to use Sir Walter's own words, "inexpressibly animating." Such,
for instance, were "burning the water" and "sunning." Others, such as
rake-hooking, cross-lining, and decking salmon out of shallow water,
were mere poaching devices with little redeeming virtue, commending
themselves to nobody, except as a means of filling the pot.
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