1^0 The Irish Naturalist [May, 



favourable localities, and in many other ways, by the vicar of 

 Valencia (the Rev. A. Delap) and his family, who contributed 

 so largely in making our visit as successful as it was en- 

 joyable. 



Accepting Professor Haddon's suggestion, we landed on 

 Valencia Island last April, bringing sufiicient apparatus, 

 chemicals, and instruments to stock a small laboratory. Soon 

 after our arrival we obtained the use of the greater part of a 

 conveniently situated house close to the beach. One large 

 room we forthwith fitted up as our laboratory; in another 

 room we stored our tackle and gear ; and in a third we laid out 

 the results of the day's dredging and shore-collecting in 

 enamelled dishes. Dredging was carried on almost exclu- 

 sively in the harbour itself from a small rowing boat. We 

 hope on a future occasion to investigate the fauna of the 

 deeper water outside. 



Valencia Island (5 miles long and 2 wide) is bounded by the 

 Port Magee Sound on the south, by the extensive shallow 

 harbour on the north and east, and is open to the Atlantic on 

 the west. About 12 miles out to sea, in a south-westerly 

 direction, lie the fine Greater and I^esser Skellig Rocks. The 

 former is well-known on account of the intactness of the cells, 

 once occupied by the anchorites of the 8th and 9th centuries, 

 which occur upon it : the latter from the fact of its being the 

 chief nesting-place of Gannets in the neighbourhood. 



The upper reaches of the harbour, especially that part 

 known as Lough Mark, appear to be largely composed of 

 submerged peat-bog. The harbour itself is shallow, having a 

 depth of 8 or 9 fathoms only in certain spots. The bottom is 

 chiefly mud, and with here and there collections of shells, 

 but it becomes more sandy or gravelly as the mouth is 

 approached. Church Island lies between the harbour and 

 Lough Kay to the north, and we found the shore of this 

 island to be the most prolific locality for shore- work. Indeed 

 at low springs, Valencia Harbour is an exceedingly favour- 

 able district for the study of littoral animals. 



I will first give a description of the fauna between tide- 

 marks according to the localities we examined, and will then 

 proceed to detail the results obtained by dredging. In 

 considering these notes it must be remembered that our visit 



