12 Mr. Landsborougii's Account of a Ih'edging Excursion. 



22d January, 1845. — The President in the Cliair. 



Mr. Robert Barclay was elocted a momber of the Society. Mr. 

 Johnston read a note on Steam Boilers. The following communica- 

 tion was read : — 



IV. — Abstract of"An Account of a Dredging Excursion in the Frith of 

 Clyde. By tho Rev. David Landsborougii." Read 22d January, 

 1845, by William Gourlie, Jun. 



In August, 1844, I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Smith 

 of Jordanhill for a few days in a Dredging Excursion, in his yacht, 

 the Raven. On the 13th August, we sailed up the Kyles of Bute, 

 Opposite to Rue-Bodach, the dredge brought up hundreds of Ophiuroz; 

 — 0. tcxturata ; 0. albida; 0. rosularis ; 0. granulata, and 0. Bellis. 

 There were also a few good specimens of Emarginula fissura, and two 

 specimens of the rare Trochus millegranus. 



That evening, and also next morning, we visited a newer Pliocene 

 deposit discovered at Rue-Bodach and Balnacoolie some years ago, by 

 Mr. Smith and Mr. Sowerby. The shells are deposited in thick clay. 

 The shells found by us were, Mya truncata, Venerupis virginea, Cyprina 

 Islandica ; Nucula rostrata ; Pecten Islandicus ; Tellina proxima ; and 

 what we valued most, because very rare, Panopcea Bironce. 



On the morning of the 14th we visited a vitrified fort discovered 

 some years ago by Mr. Smith, on one of the little islands in the Kyles. 



The weather was delightful, but too calm for dredging. A little 

 breeze having sprung up, we had a few hauls. We got a good speci- 

 men of Laomedea dichotoma, and of Antennularia antennina var. ramosa. 

 "We got, moreover, a fine large specimen of Brissus lyrifer, the fiddle- 

 heart urchin, first discovered by Professor Forbes when dredging in 

 the Kyles with Mr. Smith. It was 2\ inches in length, by 2 inches 

 in breadth. 



On the 15th we sailed for Lamlash. We had more than enough of 

 wind next morning, but we were able to dredge a little. On Laminaria 

 saccharina we got some good specimens of Lepralia annulata, first found 

 by me in Britain ; we got also Goniaster Templetoni, Sohster papposa, 

 Comatula rosacea, Uraster glacialis, Echinus sphcera, Echinus miliaris, 

 and Echinocyamus pusillus. 



As the steamer in which I was to return home was beginning to 

 send up volumes of smoke, we had time only for another haul. The 

 dredge came up laden with shelly sand. We had not time to examine 

 it, but fortunately I remembered that Mr. Bean of Scarborough had 

 asked me to send him some shelly sand, and I wrapped up a little, 

 which I sent him, reserving a handful of it for myself. As I was not 

 well acquainted with microscopic shells, he has kindly, at my request, 

 named those found in the sand by himself, and also those found by me 



