138 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



fresh examples : and there is every reason to hope that the present 

 shooting season will afford opportunities for recording many more. 

 Also local scientific and literary societies will make this a subject for 

 discussion at their meetings. 



A few extracts from some of the more instructive letters may be of 

 interest. Dr. Th. Johnston, M.A., Assistant to Sir John Murray, in 

 the ' Lake Survey of Scotland, ' writes : ' In the great majority of the 

 lochs which I have visited, artificial islands exist, either as " islands " 

 or more often as r ' cairns " more or less submerged. The existence of 

 causeways is frequent, and generally, as you may know, they have a 

 bend or turn in them, so that strangers or enemies would probably stejj 

 off into deep water. These islands have all a very similar structure 

 and formation as far as surface inspection goes, and no doubt if you 

 examined them in your diving dress you would find them much the 

 same in construction as Cherry Island ' (the popular name for Eilean 

 Muireach in Loch Ness). 



Rev. D. Macrae writes from Edderton, Ross-shire: 'In my 

 former parish of Lairg, Sutherland, I always considered one at least 

 of the two islands at the south end of Loch Shin to be artificial. It 

 hears a striking resemblance to fig. 1 on page 2 of your notice. . . . 

 I am also reminded that Loch Brora contains what appears to be an 

 artificial island and that further north at Loch Clibrig there is an island 

 with a distinct causeway to the shore.' 



Mr. O. H. Mackenzie, of Poolewe, suggests that ' the only thing 

 to do would be to send some antiquary round to make a thorough 

 examination and repoi't. ... As there are boats on all these lochs you 

 mention, there would be no difficulty to encounter.' 



Mr. Alex. Curie, Secretary of the Historical Monuments Commis- 

 sion, expressed his views as follows: ' In the first place I may assure 

 you that nothing but personal inspection will procure at all satisfactory 

 information, especially in the far North, where as the native says: 

 ' There is thousands of time," and where replying to a letter, and far 

 less a circular, is a feat rarely attempted. In my Sutherlandshire 

 Inventory I noted, for your personal benefit, any artificial islet that 

 came to my knowledge . . . but as I said before, to get satisfactory 

 evidence the trained eye is absolutely necessary. I accept nothing 

 unseen.' Similar advice comes from Mr. 0. H. Mackenzie, of 

 Poolewe, as quoted above. He and all the other Highland proprietors 

 who have so far been asked have readily promised to assist the inquiry. 



Interesting replies have also been received from Mr. Hew Morrison, 

 LL.D., Public Librarian, Edinburgh; Dr. Anderson, Oban ; Mr. Angus 

 Grant, Drumallan, Drumnadrochit ; Major McNab, Liphook, Hants; 

 and Mr. Erskine Beveridge, LL.D., who in a long letter described 

 seven islands in North List, and ten probable ones in the Isle of Mull. 



The difficulty, above noted, of determining whether an island sus- 

 pected to be artificial really is so — seems to require that a competent 

 judge be sent to inspect the islands as suggested in two of the letters. 

 Of course one of the chief difficulties of the inquiry is the sparse'popu- 

 lation of the districts where the islands are thought to be numerous. 

 It is in fact difficult to find anyone with whom to correspond, but the 



