Natural History of the Island of Rathlin. 43 
The reason for this increased attention to agricultural pursuits, appears obvious, 
when we consider that kelp now obtains in the market scarcely half the price it did 
twenty years ago, and hence the inhabitants have of late years bestowed their labour 
on the improvement of their farms; and although these now occupy the greater por- 
tion of their time, they find leisure to make a small quantity of kelp. 
The most fertile parts of the island are the valleys; the hills are generally rocky 
and sterile—some so entirely covered with broken masses of rock, as to render it a 
matter of much difficulty to force a passage among them. ‘The stone is made use 
of for building houses and fences, and so extensive has been its use, that no less than 
thirty quarries are to be found on the island; but many of these are not now wrought. 
Rathlin is liberally supplied with fresh water, both by springs and lakes. Of the 
former there are above thirty, the most remarkable of which is one situated about a 
quarter of a mile north-west of Bruce’s Castle. The water in this well rises and 
falls with the tide, although it is about one hundred feet above the level of the sea. 
Its rise and fall vary, it is said, from four to six inches, and at spring and neap tides 
there is a proportional variation. ‘There are two lakes: one, called Lough Cleggan, 
situated on the north-western side of the island, is three hundred and fifty feet above 
the level of the sea. It extends over the space of ten or twelve acres. The other, 
Lough Runaolin, covers upwards of thirty English acres, and is situated at the Ushet 
end. ‘The streams of water which flow into these are very small, so insignificant, 
indeed, as not to deserve a name. 
Besides these lakes, there are fifty or sixty sheets of water of different sizes, but the 
principal of these are in marshy districts. ‘The largest marsh is towards Doon Point, 
in a very wild and uninhabited district. On its surface I found, in great luxuriance, 
the white and yellow water-lilies, (mymphea alba and nuphar lutea) and also the com- 
mon reed. 
The leaves and flowers of the lilies covered the greater part of the water’s surface, 
and the beautiful variety of their white and yellow petals gave an air of beauty and 
interest to the marsh which it would not otherwise have possessed. This was the only 
part on the island where these plants were to be found. 
The soil in Rathlin is in most places light and dry, but in parts the clay is firm. and 
in one of the valleys about the centre of the island, it is well adapted for making 
bricks. As I have just mentioned, marshes are very abundant, and in most of the 
valleys, peat is dug and used by the natives as fuel ; but the supply thus furnished is 
not adequate to the demand, and it consequently forms one of their imports from 
Ballycastle. It is, however, principally imported by the inhabitants of the southern 
end of the island; for towards the Kenramer, or western end, fuel is much more abun- 
dant. 
The quality of the soil is, on the whole, good ; for every where I saw the appear- 
ance of flourishing crops. The potatoes were planted principally in ridges, and each 
