THE HIGHLANDS. 339 



be better to use them for feeding sheep. I can understand 

 such an argument when the question concerns England, 

 where certain wealthy proprietors still persist in keeping 

 waste for their shootings large tracts of land in the middle 

 of populous districts, that might otherwise bear crops ; 

 such, for example, is Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, 

 which contains nearly fifteen thousand acres ; but in the 

 Highlands of Scotland I can scarcely believe that the loss 

 is very great. A few thousands of sheep more or less 

 would be no great addition to the national food ; and then, 

 again, the last remains of savage nature in Great Britain 

 would be gone. Nothing but sheep is rather monotonous ; 

 nor are we called upon to give way to a mania. To rob 

 country life of all its poetry, is going rather too far even 

 in the interests of farming ; and should we not hesitate 

 before destroying the greatest charm which entices the 

 wealthy out of the towns \ 



The Highland fishings are no less famous than the 

 shooting grounds. In a country abounding everywhere 

 with streams, fish naturally are plentiful ; the salmon 

 especially has given rise to a very large trade. Shortly 

 after the pacification of Scotland, it was a fortune to any 

 one who possessed a fall upon a river. Simond mentions 

 a fishing on the Tay which before 1800 was rented at five 

 guineas a -year, and in 1810 was let for 2000. " It is 

 not because the fish are more plentiful," he says, " but 

 there is more attention paid to catching them, and there 

 are more consumers." So much has been done in this 

 way, that salmon and trout are not found in such quan- 

 tities as formerly. Of late, however, a new art artificial 

 fish-breeding gives fresh hopes. The present Duke of 

 Atholl is one of those who devote great attention to the 

 means for re-stocking the lakes and rivers, and numerous 

 experiments prove the success of the measures employed. 



