40 LOCH C RERAN. 



interested in noting them. We allude to those that are 

 not deep-sea fish, and within the influence of the beam 

 trawl ; nor foreshore fish within the reach of the rambler; 

 nor such as will take a hand-line bait. They dwell 

 mostly near the coast, but perhaps in rocky ground, or 

 where the seine net alone will reach them, and the nonly 

 casually. We were assisting at the attempted capture of 

 a shoal of " herring " apparently, whose movements 

 rippled the water all about and around where we had 

 carefully spread the seine. Slowly the net came in on the 

 dark beach, with a bit of moonlight occasionally glinting 

 through the clouds, while those around anxiously awaited 

 the arrival of the expected haul. Again and again a hand 

 is withdrawn as sharply as it is lowered, when it finds 

 only the huge armed head of a bull-head (Coitus) in place 

 of a more edible prey. They turn out only to be 

 immature herrings of too small dimensions for the net, 

 only one having been foolish enough to remain entangled 

 in the meshes, accompanied with some small whiting and 

 a few rock cod and flounders. " Only a small flounder," 

 said a voice, as we lifted a little fellow ; but the darkness 

 did not prevent us distinguishing something about our 

 little capture that was not floundery. In the first place, 

 it was round and most remarkably plump ; and next, as 

 we peered at it in the dim light, we observed that its 

 mouth was turned towards the left hand, a sure indication 

 that it belonged to the turbot family, as all the flounders 

 look to the right. Only a little fellow truly, but how 

 plump and beautifully shaped when we come to have a 

 good look at him ! Among those flounders and dabs it 

 looks like the aristocrat it is, the scion of a noble family, 

 one of the genus Rhombus / Why should the fact of a 

 fish looking to the left, like the turbot and the brill, make 



