REPORTS ON EXCURSIONS. 251 



drainage — which at times takes place during westerly and south- 

 westerly gales, with heavy rain — on sinking to the bottom, forms 

 layers of fine mud, from a -J to 1 inch in thickness, over a large 

 area of its surface, and is traceable out to the extreme limits. 

 Many of the dead and living animals brought up by the dredge 

 or trawl often showed distinctly a thin coating of this material, 

 which mostly resembles river mud. Further investigation is 

 necessary to determine the exact quantity of the solid matter in 

 suspension, and would be of great importance in determining 

 decisively as to whether the introduction of so much solid and 

 detrital matter is the true cause of the destruction of the marine 

 life. It is quite probable that it chokes off great quantities of 

 the invertebrate animals mentioned as inhabiting the floor of the 

 Forth, and in the deposits themselves, causing them to become, as 

 I have said, polluted and unfit for the maintenance and existence 

 of marine life, causing the destruction of the feeding grounds, 

 and migration of the fish. . Hence it;, ii~io tjhe more open waters, 

 or where the deposits are clean, that '••Such;- agencies above 

 mentioned cannot affect them "to such a degree, that we may, 

 by reasonable methods,^ expect a constant andplentiful supply of 

 both vertebrate and invertebrate marine life, 



Further and systematic investigations on this subject in 

 the Firth of Forth and other localities is necessary, and would be 

 of great interest and importance in discussing these matters more 

 fully. 



Reports on Excursions. 



Camis Eskan, 1st September, 1900. — A party of fifteen, under 

 the guidance of Mr. D. R. Somerville, visited this old residential 

 estate on a fine afternoon. The estate of Colgrain, together with 

 Meikle and Little Camis Eskan, belonged to the family of 

 Dennistouns before 1377, and continued in possession of the 

 family for nearly 500 years. In 1836 it was sold to Mr. Colin 

 Campbell, third son of Mr. John Campbell of Morreston, 



