The Scottish Naturalist. 291 



collections of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. By 

 superintending and adding to the Natural History collections of 

 the Polytechnic Institution in Falmouth, he earned enough to 

 purchase a microscope in 1844, opening up to him new possibilities 

 of work. 



In 1849 began his connection with Scotland. In that year he 

 was appointed Comptroller of Customs in Peterhead, with a salary 

 of £120; and in 1853 he was transferred to Wick, where he re- 

 mained on duty until changes in the Customs Department caused 

 him to retire in 1867. He removed from Wick to Edinburgh in 

 1865, and made his home there for the remainder of his long and 

 active life. 



Peterhead is favourably situated for investigations in marine 

 zoology ; and to these Peach directed his chief attention during 

 his stay in that town ; the neighbourhood being less attractive 

 geologically. He discovered several fishes not previously found 

 off the north-east of Scotland, and watched the habits of such 

 animals as could be observed in the rock-pools with which the 

 coast abounds. 



From Wick he had to travel round a great extent of the northern 

 coast of Scotland in search of wrecks; and he never lost an oppor- 

 tunity, while on these journeys, of investigating the rocks for fossils. 

 He was intimate with Robert Dick, the Thurso baker, botanist, 

 and geologist ; and kept up a close correspondence with him, 

 much of their work being done in common. Peach's attention 

 was now again specially directed to geology ; though zoology was 

 not laid wholly aside. In 1854 he made a most important dis- 

 covery of shells and corals in the limestone rocks of Durness in 

 Sutherland. Previous to this discovery, it had been supposed that 

 the rocks of the Highlands and of the north-west of Scotland were 

 entirely devoid of fossils ; for though obscure remains had been 

 found by Macculloch in the quartz rocks of Sutherlandshire, their 

 nature had been far too obscure for determination even as of or- 

 ganic origin. The Durness fossils were of such a nature as to 

 show that the formation containing them must belong to the 

 Lower Silurian. This discovery has given rise indirectly to the 

 very interesting controversy carried on for the past two or three 

 years in regard to the Scotch Highlands, which has been noticed 

 on several occasions in this Magazine, from 1883 onwards. In 

 1858 he accompanied Sir Roderick Murchison to the Orkney and' 



