94 WESTBOTHLAND- 



of the wood was given me to eat, by way 

 of a bait. It had been shot this spring 

 and dried in the sun, without being previ- 

 ously cooked ; neither had it so many 

 lono'itudinal cuts as that I have described 

 in the foregoing pages. 



As we proceeded further we saw seven 

 or eight large white swans lying on the 

 water, making a loud noise, and biting one 

 another with their beaks. Cranes also are 

 found here. The rower said he had shot one 

 and nailed it up against the wall, with all its 

 flesh and feathers on. What an absurdity ! 



The peasant who was my rower and 

 companion had placed nets all along the 

 shore, in which he caught plenty of pike. 

 He had upward.s of thirty small nets. The 

 money with which he pays his taxes is 

 chiefly acquired by fishing. A dried pike 

 of twenty pounds weight is sold for a dollar 

 and five marks, silver coin. 



In one of the nets he found a large male 

 Goosander caught {Mci^giis Merganser). 



The bill of this bird was long and nar- 



