TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 7 



Autumn and the beginning of winter are the sea- 

 sons when beef and mutton are the most plentiful, 

 and consequently the cheapest, the farmers being 

 obliged to sell their cattle, not having fodder to sup- 

 ply them with. The poultry is very good and cheap 

 when there are not many vessels in the harbour, 

 the presence of shipping affecting the price consi- 

 derably. A goose may be bought for Is. 6d., a duck 

 for sevenpence or eightpence, and a hen for six- 

 pence, but the ducks are not generally liked : eggs 

 from twopence to threepence per dozen. There are 

 neither hares nor partridges in the islands : there 

 is an abundance of rabbits in some parts 5 in Ork- 

 ney they are sold at fivepence the couple, but in 

 Shetland they are not killed for the purpose of sale. 

 Fish at particular seasons is very abundant both 

 in Orkney and Shetland, and one kind or other 

 may always be had when it is moderate weather. 

 Halibut, haddocks, and flounders are the most 

 plentiful, excepting the young coal-fish called sil- 

 locks, which abound about these islands : they are 

 the principal food of the poorer classes, and may 

 be easily obtained at all times 5 a child five or six 

 years of age is able to catch as many in an hour or 

 two as will supply the family for a day ; a small 

 rod, two or three yards of hair line, and four or 

 five bent pins, with a piece of white feather attached 



