THE POWAN OF LOCH LOMOND 



( C oir^oints c/ii/>coidcs) 



PowAN are found in large numbers in Loch Lomond, and are said to 

 attain to the weight of 2 lbs. None of the specimens I have seen, 

 however, weighed more than i lb. The powan is a beautiful fish. 

 The head and back are light olive brown, and the fins light slate 

 colour. The scales above the lateral line are well defined in eight 

 rows, while below the lateral line to the anal fin there are also eight 

 well-defined rows. The scales are silvery like those of a grayling, 

 and the belly is white and covered with scales. The eyes are very 

 large, and the upper edge is on a level with the head. The centre of 

 the eye is black and is surrounded by silver, while the side of the head 

 is like burnished silver intermingled with irradiating pink colour. The 

 number of rays on the fins are as follows : the dorsal eleven ; the 

 second none ; the pectoral seventeen ; the anal ten ; the ventral ten ; 

 the caudal twenty. The specimen figured was 12 inches long, and 

 weighed three-quarters of a pound. Like all the others I examined, 

 its stomach was full of daphni^e. This is their principal food, although 

 I have occasionally found them to feed on the larva; of the blood- 

 worm. The scales are like those of the salmon, except that the rings 

 continue right round. The rings are well defined, showing that the 

 feeding has been rich. From the number of rings I make the age 

 of the specimen shown to be four years. 



Powan are rather coarse for the table. Large numbers are 

 netted in Loch Lomond and sent to the markets, and occasionally 

 they are caught by the angler. Loch Lomond is of \'ast size, 24 miles 



