4310 Tue ZooLoGisT—FEBRUARY, 1875. 
to an examination in situ as to his knowledge of the names, for 
the eye even of one most familiar with the aquarium could not 
fail to be struck with the marvellous wealth and prodigality of 
Nature in this treasure-house of life. It is chiefly on the walls left 
by the sea that the animals are seen. They attract by colour as 
well as by form; the brightest and richest reds, yellows, blues and 
greens, cover the wet rocks.” The term Gouliot, according to 
Dr. Latham, is derived from goulot or goulet, “a narrow inlet like 
the neck of a bottle—Anglice, the gullet,” the term being applied in 
this instance to the narrow gully-like apertures in the caves, through 
which the sea rushes with tremendous force. The locality is very 
remarkable. Much of the wonderful luxuriance of animal life found 
there is, in my opinion, attributable (1) to the frequent circulation 
of water, dashed and churned about, as it is everlastingly, in these 
“ullets,” (2) to the heightened local oxygenating effects occasioned 
thereby, (3) to the constantly renewed stores of myriads of micro- 
scopic life brought as food, and (4) to the natural gloomy and secluded 
character of the caverns. These are points well worthy of notice 
in these days when we are seeking the most approved form for 
oxygenating public aquaria: we cannot do better than copy Nature. 
The Gouliot Rock is detached from Sark, and separated from the 
adjacent isle of Brechou by a water passage, “deep, dark and 
dangerous ;” the current is, moreover, very swift, and-varies with 
the tide, and, under ordinary circumstances, is at the rate of two 
miles and a half to three miles an hour. Here is another point 
worth noting: this “ passage” may be looked upon as an immense 
reservoir, and doubtless acts as such in its interchange with the 
water dashed through the caves. Not that I infer there is any 
stagnation in the sea, but that certain parts of it are more highly 
oxygenated than others, and this appears to me to be eminently 
the case in the locality I am endeavouring to describe, and is 
another circumstance accounting for the abundance and beauty of 
life. The clearness of the sea round the island of Sark is also 
remarkable: in the Creux Harbour, for instance, at a depth, I sup- 
pose, of fifly or sixty feet, the water is perfectly transparent, and the 
smallest objects may be discerned at the bottom. The speed of the 
current can also be well witnessed here. 
It was, as stated, during the full moon of August last—the last 
week in the month—that I made my excursion. The weather was 
very favourable, the sea calm, and the wind south. Nothing could 
have been more enjoyable than the trip out. I pass over all local 
