THE LOCH FYNE FISHERY. 143 



herring ; for it appears that a Lord Breadalbane, in 1590, 

 received a portion of his rent from a Loch Fyne tenant 

 in Loch Fyne herrings. At length they became aware of 

 the full importance of the wealth which circulated to and fro 

 in their great sea-loch, and undertook the herring-fishery 

 with so much vigour that they gradually got it wholly 

 into their own hands, and raised it to the position of a 

 national interest. In Loch Fyne alone the annual value 

 of the fishery is computed at .25,000 ; and whoever has 

 ascended in the lona that most luxurious of river steam- 

 boats to Ardrishaig, must have seen the large fleet of 

 dusky boats which are engaged in it. 



The waters of Loch Fyne formerly teemed to such an 

 extent with the herring-shoals, that the Gaelic fishermen 

 were wont to say the loch was one part water and two 

 parts fish. We may remark, in passing, that the word 

 herring alludes to the abundance of the fish. It comes 

 from the German heer, a legion or army. As many as 

 20,000 barrels, each containing from 500 to 800 fish, and 

 each worth about fifty shillings, have been cured in a year 

 in the Loch Fyne district. In fact, the demand now 

 exceeds the supply, and the West Highland fishermen 

 have never any difficulty in disposing of their cargoes. 



At the head of the peninsula of Cantire, completely 

 shut in by bare and rugged mountains, stands the little 

 town of East Tarbert, with its small but secure harbour 

 opening into Loch Fyne. A secure harbour when once you 

 are in it ; but the approach, through broken and sombre 

 rocks, the resting-places of scores of gulls and gannets, is 

 so intricate, that no one but a Loch Fyne fisherman could 

 possibly carry his smack through the labyrinth ! As 

 Lord Teignmouth says, " The rude outworks of the 



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