igoS. CoLGAN. — Dublin I\Ia7ine Biological Committee. 107 



A few scrapes of the dredge were made along the northern 

 shores of Howth Head, from the Bailey to the Nose, in water 

 ranging in depth from 12 to 15 fathoms. Here, too, the 

 ground proved to be extremel}^ foul, in the usual, not the 

 nautical sense of the adjective, and was almost destitute of 

 the marine life which the known depth and the assumed 

 cleanness of the bottom had led us to expect. The foul 

 ground here is evidently formed of drifted matter from the 

 Corporation hopper barge, which for 3'ears past has discharged 

 daily at a considerable distance off the Howth promontor}' all 

 the rubbish of Dublin City. 



Greatly disappointed with our trawling here, we put about 

 after mid-day and tacked southward across the Bay till we 

 reached 15 fathom ground off the Muglins. About here several 

 scrapes of the dredge were made. In one of these the dredge 

 bag came up filled, and indeed overflowing with a writhing mass 

 of creepers," Ophiocoma rosula, a species which so pullulates 

 in parts of Dublin Bay as sometimes to fill and break the trawl 

 nets of the fishermen. Other scrapes about here gave us a 

 fair variety of MoUusca, including living examples of the fol- 

 lowing : — Leda minuta, 3, Cardiiun fasciatum^ 4, and C 7iodosum, 

 2. Along with these were the common Phasianella pzdltis, 

 Nucula 7iucletcs, and Scrobicttlaria alba, all three of which were 

 brought up living in large numbers. 



Jui.Y 20. — The same three members of the Committee 

 as in the preceding trip made an early start from Kingstown 

 in the " Emma Mary." It was a perfect morning from a lands- 

 man's point of view, but most execrable sailing weather. Only 

 the lightest airs stole over the surface of the harbour, so that, 

 with all sail set, it took us fully twenty minutes to clear the 

 mouth. Outside, the weather improved slightly, and we crept 

 slowly across the bay towards the Howth promontory, the way 

 on the boat being for short spells sufficient to drag the tow- 

 net, which, together with a small beam-trawl, now formed part 

 of our equipment. When first brought on board the tow net 

 yielded us an abundance of the beautiful Cydippe pomiformis. 

 The contents of the pocket were thrown into a white glazed 

 milk-pan half filled with sea water, and while the smack 

 lounged across the Bay in a lazy roll, the Committee amused 

 itself in attempts to seize and transfer to glass tubes a few 



A 2 



