14 Notes on the Natural History of Lochfynehead. Sess. 
character, being either composed wholly of felspar with only a 
few crystals of quartz or lighter-coloured felspar, or found 
with hornblende quartz and some portions of mica. Dykes of 
greenstone also traverse the porphyry and mica-schist. The 
chlorite rock occurs in beds of great extent, and masses are 
strewn over the mountains. It sometimes feels soft and 
soapy, when it yields easily to the tool of the carver, whose 
designs may be seen in primitive forms on the copestone of 
the bridge at the head of the loch. It is used as a building- 
stone, the Duke of Argyll’s castle being constructed of it; 
and close to the church at Inverary a monument of it is 
erected to commemorate the execution without trial of seven- 
teen gentlemen of the name of Campbell in 1685. 
Bird life is very plentiful throughout the district, and the 
following were seen in August :— 
Golden eagle. | Barn owl. 
1 plover. Crossbill. 
Common heron. Carrion and hooded crows. 
Solan goose. Tree-pipit. 
Black-headed gull. Titlark. 
Lesser black-backed gull. Blue, cole, and long-tailed tits. 
Goatsucker. Ring ouzel. 
Spotted flycatcher. Water ouzel. 
Corn and reed buntings. Kittiwake. 
Oyster-catcher. Tree-creeper. 
The loch abounds in a great variety of excellent fish. There is 
a tradition that there was at one time a regular sturgeon fishery 
in Lochfyne. The herring fishery on the loch is still a thriving 
industry, and affords employment to many. The superiority 
of the Lochfyne herring is well known, and their improved 
condition is said to take place after their entrance to the loch, 
and to consist not so much in size as in flavour. Banks, 
especially near the top of the loch, covered with rocks or 
stones, with an abundant coating of seaweed, are instinctively 
selected by the herring as the best ground for depositing their 
spawn. The fishing generally begins about the end of June, 
and continues till the beginning of January; and the fleet of 
fishing-boats with their brown sails and yellow hulls is a pic- 
turesque sight on the loch at the height of the season. 
The district is not distinguished for a great variety of 
flowering-plants, nor is it remarkable for many rare alpine 
forms, but it is specially rich in clubmosses and ferns. The 
