272 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



the enthusiasm of the hunt up to the moment of 

 slaying, and this unalloyed pleasure in addition of 

 quietly observing the drowsy Triton reposing on his 

 ocean rock, like an ancient sea king in his stronghold 

 of plunder, when withdrawing the finger from the 

 trigger I started him from his slumbers by a warning 

 shout that sent him plunging into his native element, 

 with a strong consciousness of his danger, and I hope 

 a grateful sense of my forbearance." 



Then in regard to the other great branch of sport, 

 fishing, both with rod and line, you will nowhere find 

 more ample scope for your energies and enthusiasm 

 than in Shetland. We have no large rivers of course, 

 and not many or very large salmon, but we have 

 abundance of magnificent sea and fresh water trout. 

 The former are generally angled for with fly in the sea, 

 and splendid sport it is, as you will allow, to bring 

 home, as you may often do without considering it 

 extraordinary, a basket of twenty or thirty beautiful 

 sea trout, averaging from two to three pounds weight. 



Then there are the hand-line and long-line fishings, 

 when your catch will consist of a great variety of 

 sea-fish, turbot, halibut, cod, ling, tusk, skate, eels, 

 haddocks and whitings. Mackerel also are plentiful 

 on the coast, and it is capital sport fishing them. 



The sillack and piltack fishing will receive a more 

 detailed notice than can be given here. I will merely 

 say that like the scientist and man of letters, the 

 sillack and piltack seem drawn by mystic spells to 

 the Old Eockj but they gather around its shores to 



