538 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



ness ; and spinning schools were opened all over the island. 

 Aberdeen merchants sent annually large quantities of flax 

 to a trustee in Stornoway, who distributed it among the 

 various parishes in Lewis to be spun. The trustee's salary 

 was paid by the proprietor and the S.P.C.K. It is probable 

 that the spinning of linen yarn proved a profitable source 

 of revenue, until the competition of cotton rendered the 

 industry unremunerative.* Straw plaiting was introduced 

 to Lewis by the last Lord Seaforth, and still subsists in 

 North Uist. From the hemp in Lewis, of which there 

 appears to have been a large quantity grown, all the nets 

 required by the fishermen were made, and Dr. Walker 

 testifies that they were of an excellent quality. The linen 

 industry has its counterpart to-day in the manufacture of 

 tweeds in Lewis and Harris, which has been greatly stimu- 

 lated in recent years by the exertions of the promoters of 

 home industries, among whom the Duchess of Sutherland 

 takes chief place. Harris tweeds, the manufacture of which 

 owes its origin to the Countess of Dunmore, are known all 

 over the world, and Lewis tweeds are now sharing in their 

 renown. 



The fishing industry has already been dealt with in 

 detail. In 1765, Lewis had about 100 fishing boats, 

 employing about 500 men ; Harris did not export a single 

 barrel of herring ; North Uist had not a herring net in the 

 island, although in the seventeenth century, 400 boats had 

 been loaded in Lochmaddy in one season ; South Uist was 

 noted for its ling, but Macdonald of Boisdale was the only 

 person who took an active interest in the fishing. Barra, 

 too, had a valuable ling fishery on the east coast of the 

 island, but its development was greatly retarded by the 

 smallness of the boats employed, and the defective nature 

 of the fishing tackle. For many years before 1720, there 

 was a great abundance of cod-fish, but after the year 1730, 

 few or no cod were seen. When the cod disappeared, the 



* The Hebrideans appear to have been famous spinners at a very early 

 period. A skald, describing the dress of a warrior of the seventh century, 

 remarks: " Sudreyans spun the web." 



