THE IRISH ARAN, 37 
just mentioned, and left many yards inland; and I was shown a 
place where a few years ago three nen had been blown off the 
cliffs while fishing, and drowned. The most striking example I 
saw of the power which may be exerted by water driven by the 
wind, was a block of stone, situated about half-tide mark, which, 
as shown by the grooves in the flat-topped rocks, had been moved 
between 50 and too feet. I measured this block roughly, and 
found it to contain about 48 cubic yards of stone. Mr. Nowers, 
however, measured it more exactly, and calculated that it weighed 
about 103 tons. 
The land Fauna is a scanty one, as might be expected from its 
insular position and lack of trees and streams. 
There is one very curious fact in connection with the Fauna. 
The common banded snails, He/ix nemoralts and hortensis are of 
comparatively enormous size and great thickness, being quite 
double the size of ordinary specimens, while the flat He/ix erice- 
torum has the shell much thinner than usual, a very remarkable 
contrast considering that they both occur on the calcareous 
rocks. The marine Fauna is no doubt a very rich one, but, owing 
to the stormy character of the sea, not very easy to investigate. 
Foraminifera are thrown up on the strand in enormous numbers. 
The Flora is restricted in number of species, but interesting in 
many ways. I have already spoken of the ferns. Among other 
noticeable plants are Geztiana verna ; sea kale growing among the 
loose stones of the shingle banks; and the common ragwort, or 
Senecio Jacobea ; the latter is noticeable from the fact that in the 
majority of specimens the flowers are without the ordinary bright 
yellow ray, and at first it requires a little examination to convince 
oneself that a new and strange species has not been discovered. 
Many of the references I have now to make to the earlier 
history of Aran are taken from an account compiled by Martin 
Havarty of an excursion to Aran by the Ethnological Section of 
the British Association in the year 1857. 
The earliest reference to the pre-Christian history of Aran is to 
be found in the account of the battle of Moyturey, in which the 
Firbolgs, having been defeated by the Juatha de Dananus, were 
