198 ANGLING. 



black. The bottom of this Loch is extremely stony, 

 and for the most part not more than two or three 

 feet deep for a distance of twenty or thirty yards 

 from the shore. The surrounding rocks, like those 

 of Lochs Craggie, Doulay, and ta-Craig, are gra- 

 nitic, but the waters of the first are by far the most 

 translucent. This Loch Bearnoch is a small and 

 solitary water a wild and dreary spot ; but the 

 distant view of the great mountain of Ben-y-Clibrich 

 bestows upon it a character of desolate grandeur. 

 Wild geese breed upon its islands. 



We must allude to still another loch in Suther- 

 land, called Loch Mallochorie, on the Benmore range, 

 above Inch-in-damff, which is also remarkable for 

 its trout. These are of a rather reserved disposi- 

 tion, at least are somewhat shy of the artificial fly, 

 and indeed till Dr. Greville and ourselves tried 

 them in the summer of 1833, they had not been 

 known to rise to that lure, but take pretty well 

 by trolling, and range in weight from three-fourths 

 of a pound to two and a half or three pounds. They 

 are beautifully, but not brilliantly coloured at 

 least we did not find them so in either June or 

 July but are very thick and finely formed, and 

 so remarkably fat, as almost to fall of their own 

 accord from the frying-pan into the fire. They are 

 about the best eating trout we have yet met with 

 here below. We noticed that the lake, w r hich is 

 high among the hills, abounded with the aforesaid 

 Gammarinoe screws or fresh water shrimps. But as 

 we intend to write a separate work one of these days 

 dedicated to the Secretary of the Royal Society of 



