32 EEMINISCENCES OP THE LEWS. 



There is one great drawback to the stalking 

 of the Lews. The stags are not fit to shoot — 

 at least as far as heads are concerned — till at 

 least a month after the mainland. The velvet, 

 as a rule, is never off the horn till the very end 

 of August, and rarely completely till the middle 

 of September — at least, that is my experience ; 

 and though you may shoot stags till the middle 

 or ] 9th of October (though their necks swell 

 long before that), yet, taking the lateness of 

 the season and the climate into consideration, 

 the stalking season is both late and short. Of 

 course there are the hinds, and, as far as skill 

 goes, every one knows how much more difficult 

 those fit to kill are to stalk than stags ; yet 

 few, I should think, would care much for 

 stalking, if there were nothing but hinds to 

 shoot. 



Our fishing was almost entirely loch-fishing ; 

 for though there were short streams running 

 from Loch Georgium and Loch Stroundavat 

 to Loch Seaforth, we scarcely ever got fish 

 in them. Sea-trout were caught, and good 

 ones, in these two lochs, but seldom salmon 

 — why or wherefore I never could make out, 

 for there were fish. There were also in 

 the Park the Skipnaclet Lochs, the Eischkin 

 Lochs, and Loch Larcastal — to my mind, the 



