2 Sir W. Jardine's Observations upon rare 



those who have written within the last few years, — ^with the guiniad, 

 Salmo Laimretus, Linn. The extreme locality of the species may 

 be advanced as some excuse for this error; but the time ought to be 

 long since gone by, when one individual was satisfied with copying 

 from the observations of another, without actually re-examining for 

 himself. The guiniad appears to range abundantly in many of the 

 lakes of Britain and Europe, and, as far as our present knowledge 

 extends, is confined in distribution to these countries. The only 

 locality that I am aware of for the Vendace is the lochs in the 

 neighbourhood of Lochmaben, in Dumfries-shire. I have heard it 

 said that it was an inhabitant of some lake in Wales, but have no 

 opportunity of ascertaining the accuracy of this assertion. Lin- 

 naeus gives several lakes in Germany and Silesia as habitats ; and I 

 have seen specimens from the Lake of Geneva, in Switzerland. 

 The Vendace also seems entirely European ; it is not referrible to 

 any of those described in the Appendix to Capt. Franklin's first 

 voyage ; and, having been examined by Dr. Richardson, it is found 

 to be equally at variance with any of those procured during the 

 last northern expedition. 



In the district of Lochmaben some traditions and curious opinions 

 exist regarding it. It is well known to almost every person in the 

 neighbourhood, and if, among the lower classes, fish should at any 

 time form the subject of conversation, the Vendace is immediately 

 mentioned, and the loch regarded with pride as possessing some- 

 thing of great curiosity to visitors, and which is thought not else- 

 where to exist. The story that it was introduced into these lochs 

 by the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots, as mentioned by Pen- 

 nant, in his description of the guiniad, (and it is likely that his in- 

 formation was derived from this vicinity,) is still in circulation. 

 That the fish was introduced from some continental lake I have 

 little doubt ; but would rather attribute the circumstance to some 

 of the religious establishments which at one time prevailed in the 

 neighbourhood, and which were well known to pay considerable at- 

 tention both to the table and the cellar. Mary would scarcely pre- 

 fer a lake so far from even her temporary residence, for the preser- 

 vation of a luxury of troublesome introduction, and leave her other 

 fish-ponds destitute of such a delicacy. 



An idea prevails, that this fish, if once taken from the water, will 

 die, and that an immediate return would be of no avail ; and it is 

 also believed that it will not exist in any other water except that 

 of the castle loch. These are of course opinions which have gra- 

 dually, from different circumstances, gained weight, and have at 

 last been received as facts. The fish is of extreme delicacy, — a 

 circumstance which may have given rise to the first notion, — and 

 the introduction of it must have taken place by means of the spawn ; 

 the fish themselves, I am confident, could not be transported alive 

 even a few miles. As to the second opinion, they are not con- 

 fined to the castle loch, but are found in several others, some of 



