94 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



and pectoral fins had not escaped participation in this 

 singular condition. 



Mr. Harvie-Brown likewise informs me that he had 

 about the year 1856 or 1857 been in the habit of catching 

 similar trout in the Gonar Burn at Abington in Lanarkshire, 

 and I quote the following from a note with which he has 

 kindly supplied me, " As is well known, the trout of Gonar 

 Burn, as is remembered by me personally, were (or are, if 

 they are not now extinct) invariably deformed and had tails 

 as in the Islay specimens and those also from Loch Enoch, 

 and quite as pronounced. These little trout were very fat 

 and otherwise in prime condition." It is to be regretted that 

 none of these trout from Gonar Burn have been preserved, if 

 they are now extinct, as Mr. Harvie-Brown thinks is probable, 

 whether from poisoning by washings from lead-mines or 

 otherwise. 



But from Mr. Harvie-Brown I have acquired the know- 

 ledge of yet another locality for trout with deformed tail-fins, 

 of which he had fortunately procured specimens, for the 

 possession of which the Museum is now indebted to his 

 generosity, as it has been in so many other instances. This 

 is the River Carron near Larbert in Stirlingshire, though it 

 will presently be seen that the condition of the caudal fin in 

 these specimens, though somewhat resembling that in the 

 Islay and Kirkcudbrightshire fish, is nevertheless not precisely 

 the same. 



Mr. Harvie-Brown having greatly interested himself in 

 these peculiarly malformed trout, for which the term "Docked- 

 tailed," is altogether more appropriate than " Tailless," has 

 been at very great trouble not only to obtain specimens of 

 the fish themselves, but also to procure analyses of some of 

 the waters in which they existed, in order to put to test the 

 validity of a wide-spread notion that the quality of the water 

 may have something to do with the causation of the malfor- 

 mation in question. And in inviting me to return to the 

 subject once more, Mr. Harvie-Brown has not only presented 

 to the Museum all the specimens of deformed trout in his 

 possession, but has also placed at my disposal a quantity of 

 correspondence and other documents relating to the matter. 

 The following is a description of the specimens 



