87 



Three times the grey cock flapp'd his wing, 



To mak the morning lift his ee ; 

 And thrice the passing spirit said, 



" Sweet Mary, weep nae mair for me !" 



Passing from the Dee, and proceeding westward, 

 we meet with the river Cree, which springs out of 

 Ayrshire, passes through Loch Cree, and, after a 

 course of about twenty miles, falls into Wigton Bay, 

 near the town of Creetown. The Minnick enters it 

 a little above Loch Cree, and is a good trout stream. 

 In the higher parts of both streams, the trout are 

 very numerous, but they run small ; and the best 

 fishing waters for the salmon and grilse are below 

 the town of Newton Stewart. 



The Bla^denoch Water is one of a similar charac- 

 ter to that of the Cree. It springs out of the same 

 locality, runs parallel with it, and then enters Wig- 

 ton Bay a few miles west of Creetown. Near to Kirk- 

 cowan, the Bla^denoch receives the Tarf Water, 

 which comes from the same mountainous range on 

 the borders of the county of Ayr. Both streams 

 have a good share of trout in their higher waters, 

 but not many salmon or salmon- trout. The scenery 

 upon many parts of their banks is very fine and pic- 

 turesque. The flies we have used in these waters 

 have generally been of a brown and black-bodied 

 cast. But our impression is, that the fish here are 

 not very particular as to colour, only size is of some 

 moment. 



The Fleet and the Luce, both entering Luce Bay 

 at a short distance from each other, are streams 



