of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 287 



2. — Report on Tow-net and other Material from certain Suther- 

 landshire Lochs, collected and forwarded by W. S. 

 Caine, Esq., M.P. 



Introductory Note. 



The material so kindly forwarded by Mr W. S. Caine, and which on 

 examination proved of considerable interest, comprised tow-net gatherings, 

 samples of aquatic plants, and trout and trout's stomachs from Loch Mul- 

 lach Corrie (Maol a Choire); samples of aquatic plants and trout and trout's 

 stomachs from Loch Awe; and trout and trout's stomachs from LochAssynt. 



These lochs are all in the district of Assynt, Sutherlandshire. 



Mr Caine when he forwarded the material, sent also at the same time 

 a short and graphic description of Loch Mullach Corrie and of Loch Awe, 

 as well as a sketch of each of these two lochs to illustrate some of the 

 points referred to in his description, and as the description and sketches 

 are of interest they are reproduced in the sequel. 



In the following remarks the lochs are noticed in the order in which 

 they are referred to above. 



First. — Loch Mullach Corrie (Maol a Choire). 



This is a small loch and is situated in a limestone district about 2J 

 miles from Inchnadamph Inn. Loch Mullach Corrie is reported to 

 contain what are called ' Gilleroo ' or ' Gizzard ' trout, though some 

 writers are inclined to question this, but be that as it may, the beauty of 

 the coloration and of the form of the Loch Mullach Corrie trout are 

 undoubted and their edible qualities are also reported to be excellent. 



Description of the Loch. 



Mr Caiue's description of loch Mullach Corrie is as follows: — 'The 

 1 loch is commonly known as the " Gilleroo " Loch because it contains 

 ' " Gilleroo "trout. No one is able to explain how they came there ; they 

 1 are said to be the only trout of their kind found in Scotland, though 

 ' very abundant in Irish lakes, especially in West Meath. The loch is 

 1 about 5 furlongs in length by 2 J furlongs in width. I have sounded 

 1 its depth in 35 places ; in a direct line through its length, in the 

 'middle; and in two direct lines across, at equal distances apart (as 

 1 shown in the sketch — fig. 1). Along the length the soundings are 3 

 « feet, 41, 4£, 4J, 5, 5|, 5J, 6, 6, 6, 5J, 5, 4J, 4J, and 4f feet. Across 

 1 the first line (a) the soundings are 6J feet, 9, 8, 6, 6, 5J, 5J, 5, and 4| 

 ' feet. And across the second line (b) 4 feet, 6, 5f, 5f, 5 J, 5 J, 5 J, 6, 

 1 6^, 6, and 3J feet ; so that the average depth of the loch is about 

 ' 5£ feet. The bottom, round the edges, is gravel and stones ; along one 

 1 side the stones and gravel are clean and bright, along the other side 

 ' they are covered with a slimy vegetable deposit. The bottom of the 



Fig. 1. 



1 basin of the lake is soft black mud . . . from this mud spring dense 

 * masses of weed of three varieties. The loch is fed with spring water, 



