THE VENDACE, OR VENDIS. 325 



neighbourhood, and which were well known to pay considerable attention 

 both to the table and the cellar. Mary would scarcely prefer a lake so 

 far from her temporary residence for the preservation of a luxury of 

 troublesome introduction, and leave her other fish ponds destitute of such 

 a delicacy. 



"An idea prevails," says the before-quoted writer, "that this fish if 

 taken from the water will die, and that an immediate return will be of no 

 avail ; and it is believed that it will not last in any other water than the 

 Castle Loch. These are, of course, opinions which have gradually from 

 different circumstances gained weight, and have at last been received as 

 facts. The fish is of extreme delicacy a circumstance which may give 

 rise to the first notion and the introduction of it must have taken place 

 by means of spawn. The fish themselves, I am confident, could not be 

 transported alive even a few miles. As to the second opinion, they are 

 not confined to the Castle Loch, but are found in others, some of which 

 have no connection with that interesting one thought to be peculiar." 



"In general habits," he further goes on to say, "the vendace nearly 

 resembles the gwyniad, and, indeed, most of the allied species of the 

 genus. They swim in large shoals, and during warm and clear weather 

 retire to the depths of the lake, apparently sensible of the increased tem- 

 perature. They are only taken with nets, a proper bait not being yet 

 discovered, and the fact that little excrement has been found in their 

 intestines has given rise to another tradition, that they are able to sub- 

 sist without food. They are most successfully taken during a dull day 

 and a sharp breeze, approaching near to the edges of the loch and swim- 

 ming in a direction contrary to the wind. They spawn about the com- 

 mencement of November, and at this time congregate in large shoals, 

 frequently rising to the surface of the water after the manner of the 

 common herring, and making a similar noise by their rise and fall to 

 and from the surface. The sound may be distinctly heard, and the 

 direction of the shoal perceived during a calm, clear evening. They are 

 very productive. The lochs abound with pike, of which they are the 

 favourite food, but their quantity seems in no degree diminished, not- 

 withstanding that immense numbers must be destroyed. They are 

 considered a great delicacy, resembling a smelt a good deal in flavour, 

 and, though certainly very palatable, the relish may be somewhat 

 heightened by the difficulty of always procuring a supply. It appears, 

 also, that they are locally known as ' Loch Maben whitebait.' " 



Dr. Knox ascertained that the food of this fish consists, as is the case 

 with the subjects of immediately preceding chapters, of entomostraea of 

 exceedingly minute size. Yarrell examined the stomachs of several. He 

 found the contained mass was of a brownish yellow colour, and when 



