42 PROCEEDINGS OP THE 



daiigliter of Sir Thomas "Woollastou "White, Bart., of AValling- 

 wells, Notts. She took much interest in natural science, and 

 more especially in bird-life and in geology. 



James Mainland's attention was turned to fish culture by 

 Prank Bucklaud in 1873, and in the latter part of that year he 

 began operations on a burn in bis father's property of Sauchie 

 near Stirling. He first made a box on the plan recommended in 

 the 2nd edition of Francis Francis's ' Fish Culture.' He then 

 got some slate trays on which to hatch trout ova, and he built 

 a plank pond, 9 ft. long, 2 ft. 5 ins. wide, and 1 ft. 2 ins. deep 

 (outside measurements). During the winter he found frost a 

 trouble, and consequently iu 1874 he built a hatching-house. 

 During the same season, 1874-75, he made a pond near the 

 burn which flows from Loch Coulter to the Bannockburn. The 

 site selected was close to a disused water-mill, and was known 

 as the Howietoun, It was admirably adapted for fish-culture : 

 year by year ponds were added, and the whole establishment 

 received the name of the Hovvietoun Fishery. 



It is interesting to note at what an early period Maitland 

 struck out on the lines upon which he was to work to the end. 

 The rectangular plank pond was followed in 1874 by very 

 similar plank-ponds, 20 ft. long and 2 ft. deep, and in 1887 by 

 others 130 ft. long aiid 7 ft. deep : and even when the ponds 

 had earth or rock sides, the rectangular ground-plan was nearly 

 always retained though the sides sloped to the bottom instead of 

 being perpendicular. 



Then the leaf-screen and the safety-screen were invented by 

 Maitland for the 9 ft. plank-pond, the former of which is prac- 

 tically the same as the leaf-screen now used for the intake at 

 Howietoun, and safety-screens are fitted to every box in the 

 hatching-houses. 



From the first, too, he realized that his ponds must be so 

 constructed that fish could neitlier get in nor out, and the inlet 

 and outlet consequently received special attention ; and in order 

 to avoid any possibility of flood, the ponds were placed a little out 

 of the course of the stream, and were well protected by an over- 

 flow above them. Maitland at a very early period realized the 

 importance of the production of ova from earel'uliy selected 

 breeders, and was the first carefully to rear a stock of eight- or 

 nine-year-olds in order to breed from them. 



His original stock of breeders was raised from eggs taken at 

 Lochleven in 1874 and 1875, and from some eggs of the trout 

 of the burns on his father's Sauchie Moor, v/hich were laid down 

 in the latter year. As the fish grew older he found that the 

 size of their eggs increased and that the fry from them were 

 each season bigger and stronger, and he thus came to the con- 

 chision that the ova of old trout were the most valuable. 



After the first year or two he used a form of glass grille 

 invented by liimself on which to hatch his ova, for thou^-h 

 they are rather expensive and take up a good deal of space, he 



