Browne — Ethnogra])hy of Inishhofin and Inishshark. 319 



The surface of the land presents much variety, a large part con- 

 sisting either of moor and bog or of rocky hills, some of which reach 

 a height of nearly 300 feet, hut much of the soil is said to be of good 

 quality. There are several small loughs in Inishhofin, lying in the 

 hollows between the hills, and numerous wells and small rills which 

 are kept well supplied by the frequent heavy rains. 



The following description of the islands is given in the memoir of 

 Sheet 83 of the Geological Survey. 



With reference to Inishshark the authors say : — 



"It is bleak and wild, rocky towards the west and north-west, 

 while there is an envelope of drift on the eastern slopes. At the 

 north-west shore are high and almost perpendii^ular cliffs. 



" As the drift contains numerous angular and semi-angular blocks 



and fragments of local rocks, it is probably of moraine origin 



On Inishshark there are igneous rocks. . . . identical with those which 

 have been called melapyre by Mr. David Forbes. These occur in wide 

 dykes, weathering much more rapidly than the associated schists, and 

 form deep narrow ravines that have the local name of Boher-na-coUig 

 {Anglice, the road of the old hag or witch). . . . Inishhofin has a 

 general E. and W. bearing ; on the average it is four miles long and 

 two wide, but the north and south coasts are indented with bays ; and 

 at Lough Bofin, from sea to sea, is not half a mile. 



" The island consists of five hills, namely, Westquarter, its greatest 

 height being 292 feet ; it forms a promontory nearly separate from the 

 rest of the island, being connected by the previously-mentioned low 

 isthmus in which Lough Bofin is situated ; Middlequarter, highest 

 peak, 288 feet ; Cloonamore, the N.E. hill having a height of 157 feet; 

 Knock, the hill east of the harbour, 271 feet; and, Inishlyon, 143 feet, 

 which is a tidal island, and separated from the other hills during high 

 water. Most of the island is rocky, having a thin peat coating, except 

 the valley of Boffin Harbour, where there is a considerable thickness 

 of drift which gives the island a verdant aspect when viewed from the 

 southward." 



The climate is mild even in winter, frost being rare, and snow not 

 lying if it should chance to fall ; but these advantages are counter- 

 balanced by the frequent fierce storms which often cut off all commu- 

 nication with the mainland for days, and by the heavy and long- 

 continued rains. 



The warmth and damp of the climate are probably due, to some 

 extent, to the impinging of part of the Gulf Stream upon the islands, 

 as several of the glass globes set afioat to test the current have been 



