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Faunistic Notes. 



By 



E. J. Allen, B.Sc, W. Garstang, M.A., E. T. Browne, B.A., 



and T. V. Hodgson. 



Notes on Dredging and Trawling Work during the latter half of 

 1895. — During the summer and autumn of the year 1895 it was 

 possible, with the aid of a grant made for the purpose by the Govern- 

 ment Grant Committee of the Eoyal Society, to carry on dredging work 

 with some regularity in deeper water, and at greater distance from 

 Plymouth Sound, than had been possible in previous years. Our efforts 

 were concentrated upon the grounds lying between Start Point and 

 the Eddy stone, with a view to compiling a chart showing the nature 

 of the bottom at each spot, and the animals and plants which live 

 there. For this purpose samples were taken, as far as possible, of 

 every species brought up by the dredge and trawl, and preserved 

 for identification, note being made of the relative abundance of each 

 species. With the exception of the Polyzoa and Polychsetes, the 

 material collected has now been worked over, and lists of the animals 

 obtained at the different spots drawn up. It would not, however, 

 be advisable to publish the full details at the present stage, as it is 

 our intention to work the same grounds again during the first six 

 months of 1896, at the end of which time the results of the year's 

 work will be combined, and a detailed chart drawn up. Many 

 conclusions, gathered from a study of the rough charts already made 

 out, require to be checked, and others, perhaps, will require modification. 



Broadly speaking, the district under investigation can be divided 

 into three principal regions, characterized not only by the nature of 

 the bottom, but also by the animals which live there. The first 

 of these comprises the grounds around the Eddystone, where the 

 bottom is, for the most part, composed of broken shell ; the second, a 

 broad stretch of sandy ground, extending from a couple of miles 

 east of the Eddystone to a line drawn about north and south, and 



