io 4 LOCH CRERAN. 



covered his tail, and into which he could not withdraw 

 his shell-clad body. He knew well his awkward position, 

 for no sooner did we bring him aboard than he bolted 

 out of his stolen abode, and tried the " injured innocence " 

 trick. But his appearance was decidedly against him, 

 like the battered nose of a prize-fighter, as he had lost 

 pieces not joints off two of his legs, while one of his 

 big claws had also been torn off. This last had just 

 commenced to grow again, about three-sixteenths of an 

 inch long, while the other nipper was two inches long. 

 We picked up a bundle of barnacles on Saturday last 

 that proved to be on an old whelk shell, while well 

 inside the aperture a serpula tube was growing with the 

 live annelid in it. On our return home we found the 

 further presence of a hermit crab that had seemingly left 

 the worm in possession as a " blind " to hermit hunters. 



Last week we noted a crab with a plentiful supply of 

 roe, another instance, if more were required, of the 

 almost continuous " seedtime " of some marine creatures. 



The herring have once more paid a visit to our 

 southern shores, and yielded a second harvest to the 

 more enterprising residents on Ardmucknish Bay ; but 

 coming in the midst of severe weather, the success of the 

 fishermen was not so pronounced as it might have been. 

 Many of these herring were in roe in various stages of 

 progress some almost ready to be thrown, and some 

 not in a state to be deposited for a month or two. The 

 herring were also of all sizes, one that we assisted in find- 

 ing safe quarters for, measuring i3in. long and 3in. deep- 

 We were lately discussing the " great herring question " 

 with a venerable and experienced fisherman, more 

 especially with reference to the name of garvies. He 

 described the herring sile as being occasionally driven 



