THE LOCHY 343 



side of the lower river. A new channel for the river in its 

 course from the loch to its junction with the river Spean had 

 therefore to be formed ; hence at the present time this section 

 of the river Lochy is purely artificial. 



The conveyance by George Cameron of Letterfinlay to the 

 Canal Commissioners of part of the lands of Mucomer, " being 

 the ground appropriated for a lockhouse and for a towing-path 

 between the said lockhouse and Loch Lochy . . . and for a 

 new water -course for the said river Lochy," may be seen in the 

 Record Office. (27th September, 1811. P.R. 20-14.) From 

 a perusal of it, it appears that the solum of the ground was 

 conveyed without any express reservation. For all purposes, 

 therefore, the Canal Commissioners are the owners of the 

 artificial upper part of the river Lochy. They are at the same 

 time, I understand, owners of the road bridge which crosses 

 the channel above the fall of Mucomer. 



The old junction of the Spean with the Lochy may still be 

 clearly made out close to the canal bank, at the bend of the 

 river below Gairlochy. The new water-course was cut con- 

 siderably to the east, and joins the river Spean at Mucomer 

 Pool. Between Mucomer and the old junction has now to be 

 considered as part of the river Lochy rather than part of the 

 Spean. 



From the old junction to Loch Lochy by the original river 

 was a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, with an easy 

 gradient and uninterrupted channel. Without question the 

 spring fish of the Lochy ascended through the old channel to 

 the loch instead of turning off into the colder waters of the 

 Spean. It was therefore only after the making of the new 

 water-course that spring fish accumulated in Mucomer Pool. 

 The water flowing from a large loch like Loch Lochy may be 

 considered without dubiety to be similar to water from Loch 

 Ness and Loch Awe, which have been carefully tested x and 

 have been found to be in winter and spring invariably warmer 

 than the waters from tributaries draining from land unfed by 

 large lochs. In these comparatively warm waters spring fish 

 readily ascend, provided no serious obstruction stops their 



1 " Water Temperature in Relation to the Early Annual Migration 

 of Salmon from the Sea to Rivers in Scotland." Twenty -first Annual 

 Report Fishery Board for Scotland, Part ii., Appendix v. 



