178 DREDGING REPORTS. 
XIII.—Report of Dredging Operations on the Coasts of Northum- 
berland and Durham, in July and August, 1863. Edited by 
Grorce S. Brapy. 
Art the meeting of the British Association, at Cambridge, in 
1862, a renewal of the previous year’s grant was obtained for 
dredging the Dogger Bank, and the coasts of Northumberland 
and Durham. It was, however, found impossible to organize 
an expedition extensive enough to carry out the entire scheme ; 
and under these circumstances the Committee entrusted to Mr. 
Hodge and myself a portion of the grant for use upon a more 
limited area. Our plan was to make Holy Island our head 
quarters, and from that point as a centre to dredge out, begin- 
niug at a moderate depth, into the deepest water that could be 
found off our coast, hoping by this means to include all possible 
depths and varieties of bottom. But, as will presently appear, 
our designs were frustrated by bad weather,—weather, bad at 
least for dredgers, though possibly good for every one else. On 
this exposed coast a brisk wind from any quarter raises the sea 
so quickly as to preclude all possibility of successful dredging. 
Having engaged a suitable steam-tug,—the ‘ Heather-bell,” 
we started from Sunderland early on the morning of Monday, 
July 20th. There had been a long continuance of fine weather, 
and though the sea this morning was too rough to be pleasant, 
we were assured by all nautical and weather-wise people that the 
gale was over, and that we were going to have fine weather. 
About one o’clock, we reached the Fern Islands, and under their 
lee found for the first time water smooth enough to dredge in. 
The dredges were accordingly put down in about seventeen 
fathoms, and brought up several species of Mollusca, Crustacea, 
and Echinodermata, all of them well-known inhabitants of our 
coast. The water was not deep enough nor the bottom rough 
enough to reward us with anything very remarkable. The next 
day was equally unfavourable; the wind blew so strong, that on 
the open sea, there was no chance of keeping the dredges down ; 
all we could do was to make the best use of our time in the 
sheltered water inside the Ferns. In the channel which separates 
