20 CANON NORMAN — THE CELTIC PROVINCE : 



It had been the speculation of writers from a very early 

 period that the greatest depths of the ocean would correspond 

 closely with the height of the highest mountains, and it is 

 remarkable that the speculation has been proved to be true. 

 Mount Everest in the Himalayas is 29,002 feet (about 5| miles) 

 high, while the greatest known depth of the ocean, which occurs 

 in the Pacific near the Fiji Islands, was found by Captain 

 Aldricli to be 5,155 fathoms (i.e. 30,930 feet, or about 6 miles), 

 and the soundings of Professor Agassiz near the same spot gave 

 4,762 fathoms (= 28,572 feet). 



We now pass to some considerations on the Marine Fauna 

 of our own seas. Fifty years ago it was generally agreed tliat 

 100 fathoms was to be taken as the limit of its range. Between 

 the British Islands themselves this depth is rarely exceeded, 

 and can only be found in small areas. Yet it is exceeded 

 in certain places, and a hundred-fathom limit would exclude 

 from our fauna portions of our interinsular seas. Of such 

 areas the largest lies in the Irish Sea between the North of 

 Ireland and England. In this trough, which is about 30 miles 

 long, there are depths ranging from 100 to 146 fathoms, the 

 latter being the deepest sounding between the British Islands. 

 Off the Antrim coast in the neighbourhood of Eathlin Island 

 are soundings in a very small area of 130 to 136 fathoms. 

 Near the entrance of Loch Fyne is a very small pit with a depth 

 of 104 fathoms. Further north, off the west coast of Ross-sliire 

 between Applecross and the Island of Raasay, there is a narrow 

 trough in which there are depths of 130 to 136 fathoms. On 

 the eastern side of our islands in the North Sea, there is only 

 one spot where the sounding of 100 fathoms has been found, 

 and this is at the outermost southern corner of the Moray Firth 

 to the north of Kinnaird Head, and very near to the coast. 



It is most remarkable that while our seas are thus shallow, 

 there is a lake in Scotland in which the depth is greater. 

 Sir John Murray, who has devoted so much time and money 

 to his great survey of the lakes of Scotland, kindly informs me 

 that Loch Morar in Inverness-shire is 169| fathoms (1,017 feet) 

 deep, that Loch Ness has in one place a depth of 125f fathoms 

 (754 feet), and Loch Lomond 104 fathoms (624 feet). 



It soon indeed became evident that our views as to the depth 

 by which our fauna was limited must be extended. In 1861-1868 

 a Committee was appointed by the British Association for 

 carrying out extensive dredging around the Shetland Islands. 

 Of this Committee, the late Dr. Grwyn Jeffreys was chairman, 



