178 AN ANGLER'S RAMBLES 



the eriox and albus, exhibit, when they have the opportunity, a 

 strong hankering in favour of the above-mentioned accessories, 

 preferring the lateral to the direct course ; whereas the salar, or 

 true salmon, gives preference, as a general rule, to the main or 

 leading stream. It is also worthy of notice, as illustrative of the 

 habits and instincts of the sea-trout, that this disposition in 

 favour of the lateral forms a distinctive feature in the whole 

 course of its approach towards the breeding grounds. Thus, 

 after having entered the Earn, and pushed up as far as Comrie, 

 it again deserts the direct, and hugs a lateral water, viz., the 

 Ruchil, leading towards the recesses of Glenartney ; so also in 

 the case of Till, it forsakes the direct course for that of the 

 Bowmont, and, guided by the same instinct, abandons Teviot for 

 the Kale, Jed, Ale, Rule, and Borthwick ; Whitadder for the 

 Dye, etc., etc. 



With the capacities still possessed by it of being restored to 

 the list of salmon rivers, on which it formerly flourished, the 

 Devon at present possesses little or no claim to that distinction. 

 When I first knew it, it enjoyed the repute of being visited, as 

 far up as the Cauldron Linn, by summer stragglers, and in the 

 pairing season by black fish. One stream in particular, not far 

 from the village of Dollar, at the Vicar's Bridge, was supposed 

 to be rendered attractive to spawning salmon on account of its 

 connexion with a mineral spring or dropping well, the water of 

 which, iron and sulphate of alumina predominating, is powerfully 

 astringent. 



A portion of the valley through which the Devon or Dovan 

 flows has been termed the Arcadia of Scotland. The scenery 

 it presents is unquestionably of a very picturesque description. 

 There are fine combinations here and there of the sylvan, the 

 pastoral, the fluvial, and the arable. There are slopes and 

 summits, grassy and heathery ; rocks of commanding altitude ; 

 glens, waterfalls, and all the other essentials of inviting land- 



