50 The Irish Naturalist. 



Mr. S. A. Stewart has been good enough to name the shells 

 which I put before him ; these were collected hurriedly, and I 

 feel sure do not represent all the species common in the 

 mounds ; most, if not all, of these were present in great 

 numbers : — Patella vulgata, Cardium edule, Littorina litoria, 

 Mytilus cdulis, Ostrea edulis, Pccten opercula?'is, Pectc7i maximus, 

 Buccinum undatum, Solen siliqua, Cyprina islandica, Lutraria 

 elliptica, Purpura lapillus, Venus verrucosa. Mr. Stewart adds : 

 — " Venus verrucosa is a southern species, and has not, I believe, 

 been found as a recent shell in the North of Ireland. It is 

 not uncommon on the southern and western coasts of Eng- 

 land and in the Channel Islands, and also in the south-west of 

 Ireland. It lives at five to ten fathoms on a sandy bottom. It 

 is plentiful in Clare, and is said to be used there as food." 



In the shell-mounds, the limpet and Periwinkle (locally 

 called Wilk) were by far the most numerous, outnumbering 

 all the other species together. Man}' of the shells were of excep- 

 tionally large size, while all were mature specimens. In one 

 hollow place there was an extraordinary accumulation of the 

 shells of Lutraria, but all broken into small pieces, and three 

 or four large stones, which probably served as the blocks upon 

 which they were broken, were in and near the heap. 



The Mussel-shells, which were numerous, were much de- 

 cayed ; this shell seems to be more perishable and to break 

 up more easily than any of the others named. The claws of a 

 large crab (Cancer pagurus) were among the specimens sub- 

 mitted to Mr. Stewart. I saw man} 7 other fragments of the 

 shells of crabs, but they were all in a crumbling state. 



The bones of large and small animals were literally in 

 thousands; the box of those which I brought to Belfast has not 

 yet been carefully examined, but the more apparent bones are 

 those of the Ox, Horse, Sheep, Pig, Dog, and Red Deer ; many 

 jaw-bones were quite perfect, while great numbers of large 

 teeth were scattered everywhere ; the long bones were generally 

 split lengthwise for extraction of the marrow. One blade-bone 

 had been deeply cut with some sharp tool. Birds' bones were 

 common, and an awl or spear-head made from the leg-bone of 

 a large bird, and ground to a sharp point, was found. A few 

 fish-bones were mixed with the shells, &c, showing that the 

 people had the art of fishing. 



