120 AUTUMNS ON THE SPEY. 



simply oval, without any prominences whatever 

 to indicate the position of either extremity. The 

 Cheiracanthus was covered with small enamelled 

 scales, and possessed hut one fin on the hack, 

 though several helow. Their construction was 

 remarkable ; each seemed to consist of a single 

 strong spine, to which a thin membrane was 

 attached, so that in fact, as Miller says, "its fins 

 are masts and sails, the spine representing the 

 mast, and the membrane the sail." 



In most examples of this little fish the head is 

 very imperfect, doubtless from its having been 

 composed principally of cartilage, but there is a 

 good specimen here, only slightly foreshortened, 

 in which the head is in an unusual state of 

 preservation, the mouth being wide open, and the 

 outline of both jaws distinctly portrayed. 



Having now briefly described a few of the more 

 striking of these ichthyolites, I will ask you to 

 accompany me to the spot where, after the lapse 

 of countless centuries, they were at length dis- 

 covered, and exposed to the light of day. Were 

 I more of a geologist or less of a sportsman, I 

 might perhaps be ashamed to confess that, if the 

 Spey had during that week been in a more propi- 

 tious state for angling, the attractions of Salmo 

 salar would have eclipsed those of Cheirolepis or 



