,io6 The Irish Xaturalist. July, 



of these lishing grounds, for they had for a long time been 

 a bone of contention between the various classes of fisher- 

 men by whom they are exploited. The enterprise was a 

 formidable one, and it cannot be expected that such a 

 large undertaking could be carried out so as to be in every 

 respect satisfactory. Only a single steamer is available 

 for the protection, inspection and investigation of the 

 Irish Fisheries, and a work of that nature makes many 

 calls upon the energies of this vessel. Almost the whole 

 of Mr. Holt's report consists of " Trawling Records." 

 The various kinds of fish taken are denoted as far as 

 possible by vernacular names. This in itself is of interest 

 to the Irish naturalist, who finds often considerable diffi- 

 cult}^ in identifying local names of fish. Thus the " Tub 

 Gurnard " is generally known among Irish fishermen as 

 " Latchet," the Long Rough Dab as " Smeareen," and 

 so forth. 



Miss Massy 's report appeals even more to the zoologist. 

 The invertebrate organisms observed are roughly divided 

 into burrowing, fixed, and wandering categories, and the 

 records of the various hauls abound in facts of faunistic 

 value. Special attention of course has been paid to 

 species of economic importance, such as the so-called 

 Dublin Bay Prawn (Nephrops norvegicus), and there are 

 some interesting notes on the distribution of species. 



For the purpose of tracing the migration of fishes and 

 other economic organisms a knowledge of the salinity 

 and temperature of sea-water is of special significance. 

 Mr. Matthews^ was charged therefore with the investiga- 

 tions bearing on this subject. Mr. Matthews shows in 

 his report that the tides exert a great influence on the 

 distribution of salinity and temperature in the Irish Channel. 

 A current of salt warm water sweeps up the Irish Channel 

 from the mouth of the English Channel. Part of it is 

 deflected westward by a cyclonic circulation, the remainder 

 escaping northward through the Irish Channel. 



In order to test the assertion that the establishment 



^Matthews, Donald J. — ^The Salinity and Temperature of the Irish 

 Channel and the Waters South of Ireland. Fisheries, Ireland, Set. 

 Invest., 1913, iv. [1914]. 



