218 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



area is for the most part formed of or covered by mud flats 

 derived almost wholly from material deposited and brought there 

 by the influence of the River Forth itself, and are therefore not 

 taken into account in describing the deposits. 



From Queensferry to Inchkeith the deposits consist for the 

 most part of dark sandy muds in the North Channel. Drum 

 Sands and Flats, as the name indicates, are made up of sandy and 

 shelly muds, merging into pure sands, between Hound Point and 

 Cramond Island ; those on the middle bank comprise muddy 

 sands to pure sands, and sand, gravel, and shells. In Leith 

 Roads the deposits are made up of sandy mud to brown unctuous 

 mud, which again gradually merges off into sandy muds and 

 sand, as the water shallows, south of the south channel. 



Nine stations have been laid down on the chart by the Fishery 

 Board for special observations, over which zoological, physical, 

 and other work has been carried on from time to time. As these 

 stations are fairly well distributed, the deposits found at each 

 station may be taken as typical examples of the district in 

 question. I consider it as important, therefore, not only to give a 

 detailed description of the deposits from each of these stations, 

 but also lists of the animals obtained, so as more fully to ascertain 

 what bearing, if any, the deposits, and their condition as we now 

 find them, have upon the " Benthos " (animals that live on the 

 bottom), the movements of the fish and their food supply, the 

 results of which will be found in the following pages. 



These stations, with the exception of VIII. and IX., which 

 lie a little to the south-east of the Isle of May, are all situated 

 between Inchkeith and the May Island, their positions are given 

 in the following table, but may be better understood by reference 

 to the accompanying chart on which they are represented : — 



