156 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



of the lake, and flushed with the natural currents. 

 And, after all, it seems certain, in the case of 

 rivers and lochs, competition waters being doubtful 

 exceptions, that no amount of legitimate fishing 

 will seriously lessen the number, or do more than 

 help to increase the size of those that are left. 



Loch Leven is a lowland sheet of water, simply 

 gathered into a hollow on the surface deposit. 



The Highland loch lies in a clear stony basin, 

 scooped out for it in the solid rock. The scratching 

 of the great ice plough, which did the work as it 

 grated along, and bit its way down, is still in some 

 places not quite erased, and may be seen in Loch 

 Tay. It is too deep to be drained, and, if laid bare, 

 would probably prove too barren to be of any use. 

 Happily, too, it is of much .more value as a 

 picturesque element in the scene, and a substantial 

 addition to the sporting attractions of the district ; 

 otherwise there is no telling what might happen. 

 Whether the tail-stream will fret the channel so 

 deep as to run it all away, and expose the bare bed, 

 as tail-streams have done for a thousand other lochs, 

 we may leave to the future, and rejoice meantime 

 in the romantic charm. 



Just as no Scots burn is without its resident 

 trout, so no Scots stream, with its lakes, unless 



