THE LOCH PROBLEM 183 
out of proportion to the results obtained, but in 
one case, and one case only, the results have been 
phenomenal, not only in my own experience, but 
also in that of my keeper, who, like myself, has 
all his life been keenly interested in and familiar 
with trout-fishing in the North. In the case of 
those lochs where no good result has been achieved, 
I have at least learnt something from my failure. 
The loch upon which I experimented with such 
wonderful results must have been a veritable 
larder of food for the trout when I put them into 
It, for there was a large quantity of water lizards, 
leeches, frogs, and above all, fresh-water shrimps ; 
there were also various kinds of insect life, water 
beetles, notably the coch-y-bundhu, and a smaUer 
beetle with a silver body which moves with a 
swift darting movement. It is impossible for 
the trout to spawn effectively, as there is no burn 
coming into or going out of the loch and no water 
continually moving over a shingly bottom. The 
loch is not more than six acres in extent, and is 
about 500 feet above the level of the sea. At 
the time, just thirteen years ago, when I began to 
put fish into it, there were no fish in it, and so 
far as I know there never had been any, except 
some years ago when a few trout were put in. 
