290 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



1882. November 17, . Tried ground under Daddy Hole. Dredge brought up half 

 a bucketful of stones. It would appear that the late 

 N. E. gale must have caused an inset on the north Bide 

 of Torbay. My boatman volunteered the remark, that 

 on the day the barc^ue that took shelter off Torquay Pier 

 sailed away, the seine boats shot their seines off ' ' London 

 Bridge," expectiag an east-going current as usual in 

 easterly wiuds ; but that their seines were so rapidly swept 

 to the westward, that they had to haul them ia at once, ' ' end 

 on." Tried twohaula across the line, in which I took the 

 stones, but could not hit them off again. They must have 

 been very local. On subsequently examining the stones 

 dredged on the 1 7th, I found amongst them upwards of 1 000 

 sheila and fragments. These shells, in their general aspect, 

 differed materially from those usually found off Daddy 

 Hole. They differed both as to species, character, and con- 

 dition. Among them were nine specimens of GyprcBa euro- 

 pcea, nine specimens, or fragments representiug individuals, 

 of Patella vulgata, Helcion pellucidum, Fissurella grmea, 

 Littorina obtusata^ and a fragment of an adult Cardium 

 norvegicum. Fragments of a balanus were abundant. 

 Many of the shell-fragments consisted of small pieces of 

 thick shells, such as can commonly be met with to the 

 eastward of Daddy Hole, especially off the raised beach, 

 where, at one spot, the bottom consists of broken shells ; 

 but such as are not usual on the sandy bottom of Daddy 

 Hole, or to the westward thereof. The stones were 

 similar in appearance to the shingle of Meadfoot beach, 

 and it might occur to some that the shells had come off 

 that beach. But I have already pointed out that a special 

 search on October 13th, a month previous to the gale 

 referred to, resulted in but one worn fragment being 

 found there ; and I may add that a second search, on March 

 21st, 1883, from the slipway to the western rocks was 

 not repaid by a single fragment of any sort. The portion 

 of the beach examined on both occasions was that part, 

 west of the slipway, where the waves can expend them- 

 selves on a natural beach, uninfluenced by the sea-wall. 



