PEARL FISHING. 99 
corner of High Street and the short and narrow street known as 
Union Street, the Council Chambers of the time being on the 
opposite side of the latter street. 
Another ancient inscribed stone on the wall of the same 
summer-house (fig. 2) was probably also taken from the town of 
Dumfries. 
Il.—Fearl Fishing in the South-West of Scotland. 
By Mr JAMES 8. THOMSON. 
The ignorance existing upon this subject was brought home 
to me by the following letter in the Scotsman :— 
“In the ‘Lord of the Isles’ there is a beautiful description of 
Edith of Lorn in the hands of her maids preparing for her wedding 
with Lord Ronald. The pearls with which she was adorned came 
from Loch Ryan. 
‘ These strings of pearl fair Bertha wound, 
That bleached Loch Ryan’s depths within, 
Seemed dusky still on Edith’s skin.’ 
All the books at my command speak of British pearls as being found 
in fresh water mussels, and make no reference to the arms of the sea. 
Is there a Loch Ryan on the mainland, or did Sir Walter know of 
something on the subject that is thus far hid from specialists ?” 
To this letter there was no answer. I set about trying to 
learn the localities where these pearls were found. Although 
well acquainted with the fresh water pearl, I knew little of their 
habitat. Although found in streams, I concluded that the natural 
locality for their growth was the lochs, of which there are so many 
in Galloway. In quest of this information, I first visited Carling- 
wark, near Castle-Douglas, where I was told they were in thou- 
sands, and formed the opinion that they were bred there, and 
although destitute of pearls, or nearly so, when in the loch, the 
hardships of the river and accidents caused the formation of the 
pearl. But on reaching the loch I could find no trace of them, not 
even an empty shell; but, on the other hand, the loch was crowded 
with the common (Anadanta Cygnea) Swan Mussel, numbers of 
which were to be seen on the banks of the water. These have 
sometimes a few small pearls, but are of no value for setting. In 
Loch Ken, Loch Skerrow, and the chain of lochs around Dalry (the 
‘‘ Raider” country) Mr Millroy assures me that he never heard of 
any being found, and he himself never saw any; and all with whom 
