af the F/'sI/cr/j Board for Scotland. 
335 
and traversed and examined the Coulter Burn from its source to its con- 
fluence with the Bannock, and thence to the Forth, a distance of between 
10 and 12 miles, — and it is chiefly from his notes and the material he 
collected that this Report is prepared. 
The scheme of work to which I have referred, and which was adhered 
to as closely as possible, was as follows : — 
1. Loch Coulter. 
2. The Coulter Burn from the Loch to Craigquarter Wood. 
3. The Coulter Burn from Craigquarter Wood to the Hatching 
House (connected with the Howietoun Fisheries). 
4. The Coulter Burn from the Hatching House to the Ponds at 
Howietoun, including as far as possible an |examination of the 
Ponds. 
5. The Coulter Burn from the Ponds to Goldenhoof Dam, including 
an examination of the Dam. 
6. The Coulter Burn from Goldenhoof Dam to its confluence with 
the Bannock. 
7. The Bannock Burn from thence to the Forth. 
In stating the results of the examination of the loch and its effluent 
it will perhaps be better to refer to each section separately, as this will 
to some extent simplify and localise the information secured. 
1. Loch Coulter. 
In our examination of Loch Coulter, the tow-net, hand-net, and dredge 
were used. We first of all used the tow-net, towing it for a time 
just under the surface of the water, when we soon ascertained that the 
water all over the loch was teeming with Entomostracan organisms. 
The tow-net was then fixed to the dredge rope, the dredge being 
used as a 'sinker,' and towed close to the bottom. Various parts of 
the loch were examined in this way, and Entomostraca were again 
observed to be abundant ; in fact, on looking over the side of the boat, 
they could easily be observed in great numbers swimming about near the 
surface. The bottom was next examined by means of the dredge, and 
the results showed that the depth of the loch did not much exceed 5 
fathoms at the deepest part, which was near the east end. At this end 
the bottom was hard aud stony, and appeared to be unsuitable for the 
existence, of Mollusca or other non-pelagic organisms, as very few were 
obtained at this part. Towards the fiorth end the bottom was found to 
consist, more or less, of fine vegetable mud, on which several species of 
Molluscs appeared to live, a few of them being common, while others 
were more sparingly distributed. The examination of the mud also yielded 
a number of species of Ostracoda ; the individuals of this group were, 
however, not very plentiful, the macrospores of Isoetes lacustris—aji 
aquatic plant allied to the Clubmosses — were very common in the mud. 
As Entomostraca were observed to be so abundant in the water of Loch 
Coulter, we endeavoured to ascertain whether the fish in the loch were 
feeding on them. For this purpose efforts were made, by means of hook 
and line, to capture some of the fish, but a few perch only were obtained ; 
and though the stomachs of these were carefully examined, no Entomos- 
traca were observed, a few insects being the only objects discernible. 
Though trout were noticed swimming about in the water, they appeared 
to be very shy, and none were caught ; I am, therefore, unable to say 
whether they were feeding on the Entomostraca or not. The following 
is a list of the Mollusca and Crustacea observed in and round the sides of 
the loch : — 
