Dk Archii'.ald's •■ Curiosities of Dumfries." 57 



and on the banks Brassica marina ; upon the opposite coast, on 

 hig-h rocks, crithmuiu, called Pespire. 



Fishes in this coast might be more observable if we had 

 fishing. I give the names as here called : Salmon, crowner, 

 keiling, sturgeon, whiting, cockle, mussel proans (which they call 

 garnets in Holland, or g'aren), cleurks, which I did never see 

 elsewhere — they are like these prans in figure, and above all 

 things resemble the smallest and roughest of horse corn ; they 

 are clear and transparent, with a forked tail and two long cornua 

 stretching from their head straightforward. The manner of 

 catching them is this : In the entrance of the River Nith into 

 the sea the poor people goes, when the sea is ebbing, into the 

 water middle deep, two by two, carrying betwixt them a long 

 sheet or blanket, and with one hand they hold deep beneath the 

 water the one edge of the sheet or blanket, and carry the other 

 upon the surface of the water ; thus walking against the stream 

 they catch pockfuls of these vermin-like fishes, and the country 

 people hold them most wholesome and appetising, being boiled 

 with leeks and sprinkled with salt and eaten with bread. Oysteis, 

 sole-fliouks, turbot-flouk, eels sometimes three ells long or more 

 (I have the head of one more than a large fcot in length), skate 

 or flounder, etterpyles like a small burn trout, with a large head 

 and broad shoulders, carrying three stings on the back and one at 

 the corner of each side of the mouth. It is a pleasant fish for 

 eating, but its stings are so tormeuting that the pricked person is 

 scarce able to stir, but must be carried home, and after a while's 

 pain, as three days, it ceaseth and the swelling falleth. They 

 fiat these pricks down upon their backs, and raise them at 

 pleasure or when irritated. Skeddan, a fish so called, but 

 esteemed an anchove. These two are found in the Annand 

 water and Solway sands into the sea, or close by the east of 

 Annandale's House, Xewbie, where he dwells. Haddock's 

 herring, not very much desired because they banish these 

 other fishes a long- time. Sea-adder, thornback, lamprey with 

 a beck (beak) stretching- like a whaap's, hirlings, seaneedle, 

 which has a long beck three inches in length ; its body is the 

 length of a Viurn trout and much like a whiting with a forked 

 tail, each fork an inch long, with fins and scales. Rush-fish, 

 called so from their smell and colour, being sea-green coloured 

 and smelling like a bundle of green rushes. There seem 



