Dec, 1897.] 309 



NOTES ON AN EXPEDITION TO ROCKAI.Iv. 



BY R. I.I,OYD PRAEGKR, B.E. 



[The fo]lowing brief diary of ten days spent in twice visiting the 

 oceanic islet of Rockall, may, perhaps, be of interest, as furnishing a 

 day-by-day account of the experiences of the party sent out in June, 

 1896, by the Royal Irish Academy to investigate the natural history of 

 this little-known and inaccessible rock, and of its vicinity. The official 

 narrative of the cruise, and the scientific reports, have been recently 

 issiied by the Academy,^ and to these the reader is referred for full 

 information on the results of the cruise. The present notes possess, 

 perhaps, a touch of human interest, as being taken at the time and on 

 the spot. It only remains to add that no " editing " has been done ; the 

 notes are now printed just as they were jotted down, without alteration of 

 any kind. Any addition required for explanation is inserted as a foot- 

 note. The delay in the appearance of these notes is due to the fact that 

 the official account of the expedition, which had to take precedence of 

 any paper by a member of the Committee, came into the hands of 

 members only last month.] 



Tuesday, June 2, lo.o a.m. On board ss. Granuaile. — 

 Off Salthill, with Galway gleaming in the sunlight a couple of 

 miles behind us. A beautiful sunny morning, with slight 

 haze, and gentle S.E. wind. The " Granuaile " is a fine boat. 

 400 tons, 150 feet long, with a very pretty little saloon amid- 

 ships, and three good 2 -berth state-rooms — very different from 

 the " Lord Bandon,"^ where we had to sleep on the narrow 

 hard seat that ran round the dingy cabin, with a damp pilot- 

 coat for a pillow, and one man's heels hovering round the 

 next man's head. 



I came down from Dublin b}- the night mail last night, 

 having been summoned by telegram from Green^ at 2.0 in 

 the afternoon. He and I slept at the Railwa}' Hotel, made 

 some necessary purchases in Galway — spirit, oilskins, &c. — 

 and got on board at 9.0, and were off immediately. Green, 

 juniorS on board already, and Father Colgan, of Inishmore, is 

 a passenger. The work of the expedition does not begin till 



^ Trans. A\/.A., vol. xxxi., part 3, 1897. 



' The steamer in which the R.I.A. dredging expeditions of 1S85, 1886, 

 and 1888 were carried out. 



3 W. S. Green, M.A., F.R.G.S., H.M. Inspector of Fisheries, in charge 

 of the Expedition. 



* Charles Green, amateur photographer, 



A 



