of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 335 



and traversed and examined the Coulter Burn from its source to its con- 

 fluence with the Bannock, and thence to the Forth, a distance of between 

 10 and 12 miles, — and it is chiefly from his notes and the material he 

 collected that this Report is prepared. 



The scheme of work to which I have referred, and which was adhered 

 to as closely as possible, was as follows : — 



1. Loch Coulter. 



2. The Coulter Burn from the Loch to Craigquarter Wood. 



3. The Coulter Burn from Craigquarter Wood to the Hatching 



House (connected with the Howietoun Fisheries). 



4. The Coulter Burn from the Hatching House to the Ponds at 



Howietoun, including as far as possible an examination of the 

 Ponds. 



5. The Coulter Burn from the Ponds to Goldenhoof Dam, including 



an examination of the Dam. 



6. The Coulter Burn from Goldenhoof Dam to its confluence with 



the Bannock. 



7. The Bannock Burn from thence to the Forth. 



In stating the results of the examination of the loch and its effluent 

 it will perhaps be better to refer to each section separately, as this will 

 to some extent simplify and localise the information secured. 



1. Loch Coulter. 



In our examination of Loch Coulter, the tow-net, hand-net, and dredge 

 were used. We first of all used the tow-net, towing it for a time 

 just under the surface of the water, when we soon ascertained that the 

 water all over the loch was teeming with Entomostracan organisms. 

 The tow-net was then fixed to the dredge rope, the dredge being 

 used as a 'sinker,' and towed close to the bottom. Various parts of 

 the loch were examined in this way, and Entomostraca were again 

 observed to be abundant ; in fact, on looking over the side of the boat, 

 they could easily be observed in great numbers swimming about near the 

 surface. The bottom was next examined by means of the dredge, and 

 the results showed that the depth of the loch did not much exceed 5 

 fathoms at the deepest part, which was near the east end. At this end 

 the bottom was hard aud stony, and appeared to be unsuitable for the 

 existence of Mollusca or other non-pelagic organisms, as very few were 

 obtained at this part. Towards the north end the bottom was found to 

 consist, more or less, of fine vegetable mud, on which several species of 

 Molluscs appeared to live, a few of them being common, while others 

 were more sparingly distributed. The examination of the mud also yielded 

 a number of species of Ostracoda ; the individuals of this group were, 

 however, not very plentiful, the macrospores of Isoetes lacustris — an 

 aquatic plant allied to the Clubmosses — were very common in the mud. 

 As Entomostraca were observed to be so abundant in the water of Loch 

 Coulter, we endeavoured to ascertain whether the fish in the loch were 

 feeding on them. For this purpose efforts were made, by means of hook 

 and line, to capture some of the fish, but a few perch only were obtained ; 

 and though the stomachs of these were carefully examined, no Entomos- 

 traca were observed, a few insects being the only objects discernible. 

 Though trout were noticed swimming about in the water, they appeared 

 to be very shy, and none were caught ; I am, therefore, unable to say 

 whether they were feeding on the Entomostraca or not. The following 

 is a list of the Mollusca and Crustacea observed in and round the sides of 

 the loch : — 



