318 REPORT— 1894. 



fumaroles with a little sulphur (an exceedingly rare mineral at Vesuvius) 

 with abundance of molysite and kremersite. 



In the Campi Phlegraei little of novelty has come to light. A tunnel 

 and a deep shaft which is being constructed in Naples to complete the 

 drainage works have brought several interesting sections to light, but not 

 of sufficient completeness to be yet worth recording. 



The Marine Zoology of the Irish Sea. — Second Report of the Co-tmnittee, 

 consisting of Professor A. C. Haddon, Professor 6. B. Howes, 

 Mr. W. E. HoYLE, Mr. I. C. Thompson, Mr. A. 0. Walker, 

 and Professor W. A. Herdman (Chairman and Reporter). 



[PLATE LJ 



The work has chiefly been carried out by the three last-named members 

 of the Committee along with their colleagues of the Liverpool Marine 

 Biology Committee and other naturalists who have been working at the 

 Port Erin Biological Station during the year. The present report is 

 drawn up by the Chairman, with contributions from the various specialists 

 mentioned below in connection with the several groups of animals. The 

 extensive lists and notes received from Mr. Walker and Mr. Thompson 

 should be specially acknowledged. 



The limits and more prominent physical features of the region of the 

 Irish Sea which this Committee was appointed to explore were sufficiently 

 described iii last year's report, and may be readily seen from the accom- 

 panying chart (Plate I.), which is a modiflcation, with some additions, of 

 the chart given in tlie former report. 



The work this year, in addition to the further exploration of the 

 district by dredging, trawling, and tow-netting, for the purpose of adding 

 to the records of the fauna, has consisted largely of the determination of the 

 submarine deposits spread over the floor of the Irish Sea — their nature, 

 probable origin, relation to depth, and effect upon the distribution of the 

 fauna. The reasons for undertaking this extension of the work were — 



1. There can be no doubt that the nature of the bottom has a profound 

 influence upon the assemblage of animals at a particular spot, and limits, 

 perhaps, as much as any other factor the distribution of noii-pelagic 

 species in the sea. 



2. That being so, it becomes of importance to determine, if possible, 

 why there is a particular deposit at a special spot, and how much connec- 

 tion there is between the geological formations of a shore and the sub- 

 marine deposits lying ofl' that coast. 



3. Some of the deposits described in our last report proved of such 

 interest to the geologists at the Nottingham meeting that the Committee 

 of Section C supported the application for the reappointment of this 

 committee on the grounds that a collection of typical deposits from the 

 floor of the Irish Sea would be of geological interest. Sir Archibald 

 Geikie asked that such a series should be formed and sent to the Jermyn 

 Street Museum ; so on all the expeditions during this year sample bags of 

 the deposits met with have been preserved, and, after examination, have 

 been sent up to the Geological Survey. These deposits will be discussed 

 in a later part of the report. 



The object of the Committee, then, has been, not merely to collect 

 animals, but to investigate the condition of the sea-bottom in the various 

 parts of the area, and correlate, if possible, the fauna with the environment. 



