206 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



But it is in Zoology that we particularly require new labourers in a 

 prolific field which has as yet lain almost uncultivated, notwithstanding 

 the labours of the distinguished men who have passed away from us, 

 and those who yet remain zealously working here and there in their own 

 localities. Our coasts have been very partially examined, except in the 

 most cursory manner. The neighbourhoods of Dublin, of Belfast, of 

 Youghal, of Cork, of Galway and Roundstone, and of parts of the coast 

 of Clare, have yielded the great proportion of the observations yet made 

 in marine zoology : because each of these has had its representative na- 

 turalist or naturalists who have patiently, from year to year, worked 

 out its Fauna. Cursory visits to other parts of the coast have shown that 

 excellent localities remain almost unnoticed, and particularly along the 

 western shores. It is very desirable that the exact ranges of all the spe- 

 cies found in the west, which are regarded as southern types, should be 

 ascertained. Many of these are known to go as far north as Galway and 

 Mayo ; but it is uncertain at what point of the coast they cease in a 

 northern direction. Even among the commoner of these Asturian types, 

 such as JEchinus lividus, exact geographical information is still required: 

 as, where is this species (or such other) most abundant ? — and how far 

 does it extend, with what varying abundance, either to the north or 

 south of its supposed centre ? The tidal limits inhabited by each spe- 

 cies should also be carefully noted, as was first systematically done by 

 Professor Edward Forbes, when he divided the coast-line into zones of 

 depth, each characterized by peculiar zoological or botanical features. 

 Some species, it is true, inhabit more than one of his zones, but many, 

 perhaps most, are strictly limited to particular depths of water ; never 

 straying much beyond a well-marked region. The relation between the 

 nature of the locality — as respects soil and exposure, and that of the 

 animals that inhabit it — often yields curious as well as important mat- 

 ter for observation. It is well known, for instance, that particular 

 species of fish are of finer flavour and of larger size in one place than 

 another ; probably from differences in the nature of their feeding-ground. 

 The same is true of the Mollusca : oysters from different localities vary 

 enormously in size ; and I suppose an epicure would distinguish by its 

 flavour only, and with his eyes shut, a Carlingford from a Cork Harbour 

 or a Burren oyster. So, also, there has recently been a discussion on 

 Ahera bullata : whether the specimens brought by Dr. Farran from Bir- 

 terbui Bay be identical with those found in Dublin Bay, and which are 

 of so much inferior size and fatness. I am not at all disposed to regard 

 mere size, in such a case, as an evidence of difference of species ; and I 

 hope that some more exact characters may be ascertained, on re-inspec- 

 tion of the animal in its living state, than have yet been made out from 

 the preserved specimens. As to she, the locality may very much effect 

 it in Alcera bullata, as well as in the common oyster. Birterbui Bay is 

 peculiarly fitted to foster animal and vegetable life in luxuriance ; and 

 I can bear witness to the large size which many of the Algae attain to in 

 it, owing, as I believe, partly to its situation, for it forms a quiet reser- 

 voir of uniform depth, land-locked, and running a considerable way in- 



