312 Transactions of tJie [Sess. 



This latter qualification I make no pretensions to whatever ; but 

 my excuse for that deficiency must be, that if an interest in Orni- 

 thology is to be aroused among the members of our Club, it must 

 be done, in the first instance, by simple description, and not by 

 dry details or wearisome statistics. To myself personally, it 

 would be a source of gratification if more of our members showed 

 a desire to become acquainted with bird-life. It only needs a be- 

 ginning to prove how fascinating the subject really is. Of all the 

 lower animate creatures on this earth, surely birds are the fairest 

 of God's handiwork ; and we need never suppose, as the ignorant 

 are too prone to do, that time spent upon the acquisition of know- 

 ledge is lost, as nothing can be more enjoyable, or more calculated 

 to elevate our minds above the dull and sordid cares of everyday 

 life, than the study of Natural History in its various branches. 



XII.— NOTES ON MARINE EXCURSIONS. 



[Read Feb. 19, 1886.) 



I. GRANTON. 



By Mr JOHN LINDSAY. 



On a raw, cold day of last month — Saturday, Jan, 16 — a small but 

 enthusiastic band, representing the Biological section of the Club, 

 found their way to Granton. Our destination was a reef of rock, 

 not far from the shore, near Caroline Park, and covered by the 

 tide at high water. This reef, we had good reason to believe, 

 would prove a fair '' hunting-ground " for marine specimens, and 

 in this^hope we were not disappointed. It must be stated, however, 

 at the outset, that nothing which could possibly be called " rare " 

 was found ; and the design of the following brief remarks is simply 

 to record the varied forms of life that may be observed in such a 

 situation, and in a comparatively small compass, both of time and 

 space ; and to furnish, perhaps, some guidance to others who may 

 follow in the same work. 



The Mollusca may first be noted. We gathered the ten follow- 

 ing species and varieties — viz., the Common Limpet [Patella 

 vulgata), the Tortoise-shell Limpet [AcmcBa testudinalis), the Com- 

 mon Whelk [Buccinum undatum), the Common Periwinkles [Lit- 

 torina Uttorea and L. riidls), the Dog Whelk (Purpura lajMllus), the 

 Spindle-Shell or '' Buckie" (Fusus antiquus), the Grey Top-Shell 

 (Trochus cinereus), the Common Scallop-Sheil (Pecten operadaris), 

 and the Edible Mussel [Mytilus edidis). The popular names of com- 



