30 THE MAINLAND. 



The remaining coast-line consists of rocks and cliffs of no great 

 altitude, the beach composed chiefly of stones and boulders covered 

 with sea-weed, a coarse shingle showing itself here and there above 

 the high-water mark. 



Unpromising as it sounds to a wild fowler, yet, except upon 

 the western part, a goodly number of ducks inhabit the coast, the 

 numerous small burns which run down through the cultivated ground 

 bringing with them, besides the attraction of fresh water, a consider- 

 able amount of food. There are, however, certain places along the 

 coast which offer still greater attractions to these birds, and the 

 different waders, in the shape of ooze-flats, partly covered with 

 zostera, the grass so greedily sought after by both geese and ducks. 

 Principal among these is Deer Sound, which, itself a bay, has within 

 it other bays well sheltered from almost every wind that blows, 

 and thus in every way perfectly adapted to the requirements of 

 wild-fowl. Another spot is the Bay of Ireland, which presents 

 pretty much the same characteristics as Deer Sound, with the addi- 

 tion that it is near the large fresh-water loch of Harray, and the 

 cultivated lands adjacent, which provide excellent feeding-ground. 



Lying in the west central part, and running from north to 

 south, is a chain of lochs of which Stenness and Harray together 

 form by far the largest area. Others of considerable size are 

 those of Swaimay and Boardhouse. The highest of all is Swannay, 

 which lies 137 feet above sea-level, and from it there is a regular 

 gradation until Stenness, the last of the chain, is reached, and to 

 this the sea has access at high spring-tides. Lochs Boardhouse 

 and Swannay run into the sea on the north-west, but a number of 

 smaller lochs are connected with those of Harray and Stenness, the 

 united waters of which run into the sea at the Bay of Ireland in 

 the south. 



The lochs of Stenness and Harray, which are only separated 

 from each other by a very narrow isthmus formed of rough masonry, 

 through arches in which the water runs, lie in a kind of shallow 

 valley surrounded by hills, highest on the westward side, and the 

 slopes of which elevations are mostly cultivated. Perhaps one of 

 the finest and most characteristic views in Orkney is from the 



