350 HISTORY OF THE 



The coaft of the Pentland firth, 



Ditto from Cape Wrath to the Mull of Cantire, 

 , All the Hebride iflands, and 



The coaft of Airlhire, Galloway, and the Solway 

 firth, where the rivers, bays, or lakes are open. 



The principal markets for the Scottilh falmon are 

 London, Holland, France, Spain, and the Medi- 

 terranean. London, as before obferved, ufes the 

 fifh pickled ; a few only are fent alive in wells made 

 in the holds of the fmacks. 



Having formerly given fome particulars relative 

 to the Tweed filhery, and modes of curing; the prac- 

 tice of the Aberdeen fifhers may be equally interefling 

 to perfons in that branch through both kingdoms. 



The feafon of fifhing at Aberdeen, is from the 

 joth of November to the 8th of September; but 

 few fifh come into the rivers before the ift of 

 January,, from which time, to the middle of May, 

 the falmon are boiled and kitted, f for the London 

 market; and fent off almoft every week, by fwiftfail- 

 ing (loops, called fmacks, retained for the purpofe. 



Thofe caught through the fummer are faked for 

 exportation to Holland, France, Spain, or where- 

 ever there is a demand for them ; but from the de- 

 cline of the fifheries in other parts, and the high 

 price lately given by the London ftlhmongers, it is 

 probable that the foreign trade will decreafe in a 

 proportionable degree. No falmon is fuffered to be 

 barrelled and cured, except by the town's coopers, 

 who are obliged to put the initial letters of their 

 name on all the barrels they make, nor can they be 

 fhipped for exportation till the letters A. B. D. have 

 been burned on each barrel, by an officer appointed 

 for that purpofe. No filh that hath been bit by 

 feals, none under a certain fixed weight, nor any 

 that have been damaged in the carriage from the 

 river, are to be put into a barrel, without having 

 the word rebate burned on the end of the cafk. 

 The barrels are of a certain fixed fize, containing 

 about 250 pounds of fifli, and fo carefully packed, 



that 



