24 LOOHLETEN TROUT. 



be small in si^e, and if the fish again be very large it may be 

 taken for granted that, the water could easily support a few 

 more. It is well known, for instance, that the superiority of 

 the herrings caught in the inland sea-lochs of Scotland is owing 

 to the fish finding there a better feeding-ground than in the 

 large and exposed open bays. Look, for instance, at Lochfyne : 

 the land runs down to the water's edge, and the surface water 

 or drainage carries with it rich food to fatten the loch, and put' 

 flesh on the herring ; and what fish is finer, I would ask, than 

 a Lochfyne herring? Again, in the bay of Wick, which is the j 

 scene of the largest herring fishery in the world, the fish have 

 no land food, being shut out from such a luxury by a vast sea j 

 wall of everlasting rock ; and the consequence is, that the Wick 

 herrings are not so rich in flavour as those taken in the sear-lochs 

 of the west of Scotland. In the same way I account for the 

 fine flavour and beautifiil colour of the trout of Lochleven. 

 This fish has been acclimatised with more or less success in 

 other waters, but when transplanted it deteriorates in flavour, 

 and gradually loses its beautiful colour — another proof that 

 much depends on the feeding-groijnd ; indeed, the fact of the 

 trout having deteriorated in quality as a consequence of the 

 abridgment of their feeding-range, is on this point quite conclu- 

 sive. I feel certain, however, that there must be more than 

 one kind of these Lochleven trouts ; there is, at any rate, one 

 curious fact in their life worth noting, and that is, that they 

 are often in prime condition for table use when other trouts are 

 spawning. 



The powan, another of the mysterious fish of Scotland, is 

 also considered, to be a fresh-water herring, and thought to be 

 ■confined exclusively to Lochlomond, where they are taken in 

 great quantities. It is supposed by persons versed in the sub- 

 ject that it is possible to acclimatise sea fish in fresh water, 

 and that the vendace and powan, changed by the circum- 

 stances in which they have been placed, are, or were, un- 

 doubtedly heiTings. The fish in Lochlomond also gather into 

 shoals, and on looking at a few of them one is irresistibly forced 

 to the conclusion, that in size and shape they are remarkably 

 like common herring. The powan of Lochlomond and the 

 poUan of Loch Neagh are not the same fish, but both belong 

 to the Coregoni : the powan is long and slender, while the 

 poUan is an altogether stouter fish, although well shaped and 

 beautifully proportioned. 



