320 The Irish Nahiralist. [Dec, 



wash of the waves that the steamer's stern was sucked in 

 towards the rock, and the captain had to put on full speed 

 ahead to get her clear. We tried dredging, but as usual the 

 dredge was torn clean away — the ground around the rock 

 must be very foul. However, we caught a fine Cole-fish on 

 a "murderer," a welcome addition to our larder, and then 

 steamed away lo miles, to try to find smooth ground to trawl 

 in. Sounded at 2.0 p.m. in 100 fathoms 10 miles south of 

 Rockall, and sent down the Agassiz trawl. It came on deck 

 at 4.0, with a lot of very old broken shells, and a few fresh 

 valves, but no living specimens. Among them were several 

 examples, including a fine fresh valve, of a very fine Pecten 

 4 inches across, and in shape and sculpture like a young 

 P. usio^ ; also Terebratula caput- serpentis. Craiiia anomala, Pecteji 

 tigrinuSy Lima Loscombii, Mytilus modiolus, Vemis casina, V. 

 fasciata, Mya, Saxicava, Buccinum. Also a number of small 

 pebbles, chiefly black, and apparently composed of basalt, but 

 also one of quartz, and another which bears a .marvellous 

 resemblance to the riebeckite-granophyre of Ailsa Craig. '^ A 

 few star-fishes completed the haul. A second haul is just now 

 completed in no fathoms 14 miles south of Rockall, and the 

 trawl is coming aboard. 



8.0 A.M., Tuesday, June 16. — Our second haul yesterday 

 yielded a very small quantity of material, but a good variety — 

 starfishes, sponges, corals, pol3"zoons, &c. ; several Scaphaiider 

 alive, and Saxicava burrowing in dead coral. The sky cleared 

 in the evening and the welcome sun came out. The wind 

 slackened, and the sea began to go down. After dinner we 

 again steamed up to the rock. Heavy seas breaking on it con- 

 tinuously. Harvie- Brown shot a Great Shearwater for 

 dissection in quest of ova, and also one of the immature 

 Kittiwakes that haunt the rock. The dinghy was low^ered 

 without mishap, and Green and one of the men picked up the 

 birds ; they got safely on board again with nothing worse than 

 a wetting from spray. We remained near the rock under 

 easy steam all night, in hopes that the w^eather would at the 

 last moment permit of an attempt to land. This morning we 

 were on deck at 6.0. A gloriously bright morning, but with a 

 strong S.W. wind, and a most outrageous sea. A lot of Great 



' P. islandicus. 



^This pebble was lost during the working out of the materials. 



i 



