FISHES. 369 



cessfuily ascertained. Tro' its, carps, and pei'ches, are subject 

 to various cutaneous diseases. Durino- severe winters, when 



gin, and eat limpets from the hand of a little boy, the son of the keeper. 

 They appeared white, and rather sickly. One was diseased about the eyes. 

 " 3. Coalfish, (G. carbonarius.) Some of these were of a large size, ex- 

 ceeding in dimensions the largest cod in the pond. No fish has received so 

 many different names as the coalfish. When young, it is called at Edin- 

 burgh, podley ; in the northern islands, sillock ; in Galloway, blochan. 

 When a year old, it is styled cooth or piltock, in the north ; and glasson in 

 the south-west of Scotland. When full grown, it is named sethe in the 

 north, and stenlock in the south-west. Accordingly, we were now told, that 

 these stenlocks were mere blochans when they were put in. They were be- 

 come of a fine dark purple colour. They were bold and familiar, floating 

 about slowly and majestically, till some food was thrown to them : this they 

 seized voraciously, whether it consisted of shell -fish or ship biscuit. We 

 were informed, that they, too, occasionally approach the margin, and take 

 their food from the keeper's hand. 



" 4. Whiting, (G. merlangus.) These were scarce in the pond, and very 

 shy. 



" J. Pollack, (G. pollachivs.) This was pretty common, and has been 

 found to answer very well as a pond fish. It is generally called Layde or 

 Lythe. 



" Besides these five species of gadus, we are told that the ling (G. mdva,) 

 had occasionally been kept in the pond. 



" 6. Salmon. {Salmo salar). This was the wildest and the quickest in 

 its motions of all the inhabitants. When a mussel or limpet, freed from the 

 shell, was thrown on the surface of the water, the salmon \cry often darted 

 forward and took the prey from all competitors, disappearing with a sudden 

 jerk and turn of the body. I suspected this to be the salmon-trout (,S. tiu- 

 ta) ; but was assured that it was the real salmon, which is occasionally 

 taken in the bay. 



" 7. Flat-fish or flounders, of two sorts, were also in the pond ; bat they 

 naturally kept at the bottom, and we did not sec ihem. From the descrip- 

 tion given by the people, we concluded that they were dab and young plaise. 

 " The food given to the fishes consists chiefly of sand-eels and of shell- 

 fish, particularly limpets and mussels. In the herring-fishery season, they 

 cut herrings in pieces for this purpose. 



" It is remarkable, that all the kinds of sea-fish above enumerated, seem 

 to agree very well together. No fighting had ever been observed by the 

 keeper, and seldom any chasing of one species by another. 



VOL. II. A a 



