THE ICHTHYOLOGY OF BANFFSHIRE, 229 



It will afford me much pleasure to supply, to the best of my power, 

 parties with whom any of the plants already noticed, or afterwards to be 

 noticed, as occurring in the Mona-Eua and Locbnagar groups, may be 

 desiderata, with the specimens still in ray possession. 



(To be continued.) 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ICHTHYOLOGY OF BANFFSHIRE. 



BY W. 

 ( CoJicluded from page 210, vol. V.^ 



The Salmon, (Salmo salar,) forms valuable fishing in the Spey and 

 Deveron. 



Grey Trout, (Salmo eriox.) — "Bull Trout." A pair was caught two 

 years ago in the Deveron. 



Salmon Trout, (Salmo trutta.) — '^Tinnock." Quite common. 



Common Trout, (Salmo fario.) — This is abundant in all the streams in 

 the county. It varies very much in colour, according to the water it 

 inhabits. 



Herring, (Clupea harengus.) — The Herring-fishery forms what the fishermen 

 appropriately call their 'harvest.' During the other seasons of the year 

 much of their time is spent in preparing for it. The women and younger 

 members of the family are employed during a great part of winter and 

 summer in mending and weaving nets, while the men during the spring 

 and summer months are engaged in overhauling the boats, and 'barking' 

 the nets and sails. The engagements they may make, the stations at which 

 they may fish, the success they may have, form the subject of a great 

 part of their conversation when together, and when alone of their thoughts, 

 their hopes, and their fears. They depend in a great measure on it for 

 their subsistence; they run up accounts with their merchants from one 

 fishing to the other; if the fishing is defective, all their golden expectations 

 are disappointed, and a hard winter follows; if the fishing is prosperous, 

 old debts are cleared off, the children are newly clad from top to toe, and 

 sent to school during the winter months, and the spare money is either 

 deposited in the bank, or expended in building a house; for every fisherman 

 has the laudable ambition of having a "biggin o' his ain;" marriages are 

 celebrated in numbers, and come off with great eclat; altogether the close 

 of a successful herring-fishing is a time of great festivity and rejoicing with 

 the fishermen. But it is not advantageous to the fishing population alone; 

 it affords occupation to great numbers of women in salting and curing 

 herrings, to the carters in driving them to the curing-houses, and in taking 

 the nets to and from the fields. A fishing-station during the season is a 



