IN THE SCOTTISH ISLANDS AND HIGHLANDS. 85 
Perth-shires, and other parts of the Scottish mainland. The evidence in 
question proves that the domestic use of lichen-dyes is prevalent over 
whole districts in Scotland, even in and around large seaports, which 
have steam communication with Glasgow and Edinburgh, sometimes 
two or three times a week, and which may be presumed, therefore, to 
be well supplied with the cheapest and most abundant products of 
British manufacture. 
During a visit to the Lewis (Outer Hebrides) in May, 1866, I made 
special inquiry as to the use of Lichens as dye-stuffs among the 
peasantry. The result was the discovery that “ Crottle " is universally 
known and used throughout the Long Island, even in and around 
Stornoway, a large and much frequented seaport, which is one of the 
chief centres of the herring fishery in Scotland, is in regular and fre- 
quent steam communication with Glasgow and Edinburgh, and, more- 
over, is largely peopled by an immigrant population from the mainland 
of Scotland. The Crottle in common use in the Long Island was 
pointed out to me in its place of growth, by Mr. Macrae, of Uig 
(Myavik), whose wife is experienced in its tinctorial applications. 
I was enabled to identify it as the ordinary saxieolous form of Par- 
melia saxatilis; dark grey, but not furfuraceous, usually sterile. 
Young Crottle is preferentially collected by the peasantry,—that which 
adheres closely to the stones or rocks on which it grows, and has no 
attached soil or impurity, a preference which appears to be grounded, 
at least partly, on the circumstance that this young condition of the 
plant saves cleaning and picking. The plant is rare about Stornoway, 
but would appear to be abundant in the parish of Lochs, where, in the 
Lewis, it is chiefly collected. It is applied in dyeing with various 
shades of brown or reddish-brown—including claret, heather, and chest- 
nut tints—home-spun yarns made from the wool of the sheep fed on 
the island. ‘These yarns are either woven or knitted into various 
ege which include chiefly— 
l. “ Kelt,” a home-made cloth (woven), used for trousers, shirts, 
vests, jackets, and kilts; a material which, I believe, would outwear 
many tweeds, but which is manufactured only for home use, and is so 
scarce in the local markets, if it occur at all, that I could procure none 
to purchase. Kelt for coats or jackets is, however, usually dyed 
blue with indigo (imported) ; but trouserings and vest-pieces, on the 
other hand, are generally heather-coloured by Crottle. 
