24 THE WESTERN ISLES. 



two lochs, sluices for the mill-leads pretty effectually prevent the 

 sea-trout from getting access to it. Though large sea-trout enter 

 the Sourin burn, these are generally poached by people who are on 

 the watch for them, and the only one we ever caught on the island 

 was about one pound weight, and not far from the sluice on the 

 Muckle Water. 



The house of Westness is remarkable for being surrounded by 

 perhaps one of the largest, if not the largest, plantations in the 

 Orkneys. The trees are principally sycamore and wych elms, but 

 they are bent and stunted by the salt-laden strong westerly gales, 

 which would never allow a thing to grow at all were it not for the 

 protection of a high wall, and it is only towards the centre of the 

 plantation that the trees attain to any size. None of the coui ferae 

 seem to thrive at all in fact, scarcely even start a growth. Yet 

 that trees did flourish naturally at one time is evident by the 

 remains that exist on the west side of Westness, where, when the 

 tide was out, under a very thin layer of sand, we found peat, and 

 in it the remains of their roots. Naturally this plantation is a 

 great attraction to the small birds, who build and roost there in 

 numbers, though the absence of Chaffinches, except as winter 

 visitants, is not a little remarkable. 



Often as it has been described, yet to a lover of nature there 

 is always something new or grand in looking upon such an ocean 

 as the Atlantic, and when a heavy sea was running we have 

 often gone to Scabra Head, near Westness, as close to the cliff- 

 edge as we dared, to see the breakers coming in. This was not 

 always an easy matter, as, although the cliffs are some 80 or 

 100 feet high, the spray was so thick and heavy as to drench 

 one in a moment. Choosing a spot where the full force of the 

 Atlantic breakers was somewhat broken by an intervening rock, 

 we would sit down and enjoy the sight, though the earth shook 

 with the concussion of each huge wave. It was very interesting 

 to watch the Cormorants and Shags not far from the foot of the 

 rock ; just as a huge green wave was apparently about to immolate 

 them, the birds dived and were seen the next minute swimming 

 quietly in the trough between it and the next roller. This was 



