of the Fishery Hoard for Scotland. 135 



Second Series. 



Names of the Lochs. 



Dates of Examination . 



18<)7. 



1898 



Loch Locliy, .... 

 Loch Oich, .... 



Aug. 6 

 6 



i» 6 



Oct. . 27 



„ 28 



not exam- 

 ined. 



Dec. 8 

 ,, 0" 



Jan. 24 



„ 25 

 „ 24 



Aug. 4 

 „ 4 



Oct. U 

 »> 6 



* Loch Ness was tow-netted at three places— off Castle Urquhart, off Foyers, and off Port Clair. 



I. FIRST SERIES OF LOCHS EXAMINED. 



Description op the Results. 



In describing the results of the examination of the first series of lochs, 

 I propose to consider them in the following order : — Loch Lomond, Loch 

 Arklet, Loch Katrine, Loch Achray, Forfar Loch, Loch Leven, Dudding- 

 ston Loch, and Loch Doon. 



(1) Loch Lomond. 



Loch Lomond, besides being the largest, is also the deepest of the 

 series of lochs now under consideration. Its elevation above the sea 

 is also less than that of the others, being, according to the Ordnance 

 Survey map, only twenty-three feet above sea level. The chain of islands 

 that stretches across the loch from Balmaha to a little south of Luss 

 divides it into two unequal portions that differ greatly from each other 

 not only in general outline but also as regards depth of water. The 

 greatest depth of that portion south of the islands appears not to be more 

 than thirteen or fourteen fathoms, but on the upper side the depth rapidly 

 increases to over thirty fathoms, and from Rowardennan to the head of 

 the loch depths of eighty and ninety fathoms are reached in several 

 places. The deepest part, however, is about a mile to the south of 

 Inversnaid Hotel, where, according to the Admiralty chart, soundings of 

 one hundred and one fathoms have been obtained. It is probable that 

 there may be parts of the loch between Tarbet and Inversnaid even deeper 

 than this, for I have heard it asserted by one who was a very careful 

 observer that he obtained a sounding considerably beyond one hundred 

 fathoms. 



The shores of Loch Lomond, especially of the upper portion of the 

 loch, are not very favourable to the existence of an abundant shore fauna. 

 There is comparatively little vegetation along the sides of the loch amongst 

 which the non-swimming organisms can find shelter. Parts of the 

 shore at the lower end were found to be better adapted as a habitat for 

 such forms, and, when examined, yielded fairly good results. 



The lower end of the loch — from Balloch Pier northwards toward the 

 island of Inclimurrin — was tow-netted on 18th August and 24th November 

 1897 ; and from Balmaha to outside of Clairinch Island on March 22nd 

 and 21st June 1898. The upper end of the loch off Inversnaid was tow- 

 netted in August, November, March, and J une. Different portions of the 

 shore were also examined. That portion extending between Luss and 

 Inverbeg was examined on 20th August 1897, under very unfavourable 

 conditions as to weather, there being a more or less steady downpour of 



