Brownk — The Ethnography of Garilmna and Letter mullen. 225 



The surface of the islands is extremely undulating, but nowhere 

 reaches any great elevation. It mostly consists of rock and moor; 

 and in the centre of Garumna nothing can be seen but bog interspersed 

 with rocky tracts of bare granite, rounded and marked by glacial action, 

 and studded here and there with large boulders of granite, many of 

 which are from ten to fifteen feet, or even more, in diameter. Turn 

 which way one will, great stretches of bare stony ground, thinly 

 covered with peat in the hollows, meet the eye. ISTear the coast the 

 soil is still rocky, but greener, and it is here that what cultivated land 

 there is is to be met with. The islands contain several lakes, some 

 of them of considerable size, and dotted with islets. These are said 

 to be full of trout. The northern end of Garumna is greener, flatter, 

 and less rocky than the southern and western. 



LettermuUen has the same rocky surface as Garumna, but contains 

 no bogs, which necessitates the inhabitants going to Garumna for fuel. 

 Its soil is'xleeper and of a more clayey nature, and there is more 

 grass and tillage. 



Purnace is the greenest and best island of the group. 



The shores of these islands are rocky and rough, but nowhere are 

 they high, nor do they rise in any place into cliffs. At a few spots 

 there are small stretches of strand, and the south-west shore of 

 LettermuUen consists of rock and shingle. 



The vegetation of the islands is scanty and poor ; the soil is thin 

 and unproductive at the best, but the surface has undergone great 

 denudation, partly by nature, but more largely due to the surface 

 turf having been stripped off for fuel for generations past, not only 

 for the use of the inhabitants, but largely for export to the Aran 

 Isles. 



Many places on the islands which were green within the memory 

 of man are now bare rock, the thin peaty layer of soil having been 

 stripped off. There are but few trees, and these are chiefly to be 

 found in the northern part of Garumna. The grass is scanty and poor, 

 and even the heather is weak and stunted. 



Mr. P. Toole, of Lettermore, estimates the area of utterly 

 unproductive moor and rock in Garumna, at about 2500 acres. 

 A more utterly barren, dreary looking region could hardly be 

 imagined. 



The climate is mild, but very wet ; snow and frost are seldom 

 experienced in winter, but rain and storms are frequent and 

 severe. 



The following description of the island was given in an article 



