President's Address. 321 



One other feature, which scarcely can escape the observa- 

 tion of even the most casual observer, is the great number of 

 round sea-pink-covered mounds, about a foot in height, 

 which cover large portions of the island, and which are per- 

 haps specially numerous on the south portion. Eed ants 

 are extremely abundant, in fact, swarming over the greater 

 part of the island, and these innumerable mounds are the 

 ant-hills thrown up and inhabited by very many generations 

 of ants, which, fortunately for the enjoyment of other life on 

 The May, do not bite. I am told there are also a few black 

 ants on the island, but in September and October we saw 

 nothing of these. Turn over a stone almost anywhere on the 

 grassier parts of the island, and there will be found a colony 

 of red ants. In a certain period of time these loose stones 

 will be covered over with finely pulverised earth, thrown up, 

 or rather carried up, from the ground by the busy workers. 

 Upon this finely pulverised soil the sea-pink seems fond of 

 seizing hold, and most of the older hills are covered with its 

 close leafage. 



In an interesting paper on "The Isle of May," by Mr J. 

 Eattray, in the Durtdee Herald, that gentleman tells us that 

 experiments had been tried by the Commissioners to extir- 

 pate the ants, owing to the damage, it was alleged, they were 

 doing to the pasturage. Quicklime, put deep into the mounds, 

 failed to have any appreciable effect; then carbolic acid, 

 though killing many, also failed signally ; then ammonial 

 lime was tried equally ineffectually ; lastly, two men were 

 steadily employed for a week digging into the ant-hills. A 

 proposal to rip them up with a plough, scatter the contents, 

 and throw them open to the frost and rain, was not followed 

 out. 



The common Land snail {Helix aspersa) occurs, but not so 

 abundantly, apparently, as on the Bass Rock, and other 

 places I have visited. We were unable to find any other 

 land- or fresh-water molluscs, but we had not proper instru- 

 ments for examining the brackish and green, confervse-laden 

 water of the lake. 



It noAv remains for me to record the breeding species of 

 the bird-fauna of the Isle of May, bringing the list up to 



