ii6 BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



pose' of this curious tale, the origin of which can 

 only be understood by a visit to this part of 

 Scotland, which may almost be regarded as 

 dedicated to Queen Mary, so numerous are the 

 castles where she stayed, the hills by which she 

 rode, and the ports whence she embarked, according 

 to local traditions. 



The idea once prevalent that if a Vendace was 

 taken from the water it would die, and its immediate 

 return prove of no avail, was disproved by keeping 

 some alive for an hour or two in a bucket of water, 

 and I was told that some had even been transported 

 and turned alive into Lochleven, but that nothing 

 more had been seen of them. The belief that these 

 fish were able to exist without food was due no 

 doubt to the fact that they were never seen feeding, 

 and could not be caught by bait. 



The lochs at Lochmaben contain a number of 

 other species of fish, including Perch, Roach, Chub, 

 Bream, and Pike ; the last named is said to be very 

 destructive to the Vendace. The right of fishing in 

 all the lochs was granted to the burgh of Lochmaben 

 by a charter of James VI, and this privilege is still 

 enjoyed by the townspeople. 



The Cumberland Vendace {Coregonus 

 gi'aciliof) inhabits Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite 

 lakes ; it is of the same size as and is closely 

 related to the Lochmaben species, but as a rule 

 has a more slender body, a shorter head, and smaller 

 fins, whilst the dorsal fin has usually more rays. 

 The number of scales in a longitudinal series (sixty 

 to seventy-two) and of branched rays in the anal fin 

 (nine to twelve) is the same in both forms. The 



