i6o The Irish Naturalist. July, 
a very steep beach of large shingle, and containing one or two 
patches of marshy land. South of the sandhills this northern 
tract has many ponds, which are elsewhere rare, and here also 
lies the Curragh, formerly an extensive marsh, but now 
drained to the condition of damp meadow-land, except at its 
west end, where a patch of unreclaimed land contains many 
ponds and trenches of varying size, forming a refuge for some 
marsh birds. 
II. The Central Hill District— Inland. South-west 
of the northern plain is the main central mass of hills, the 
highest elevations occupying the centre, with spurs running 
down to the coast on either side. The range is divided by a 
well-defined valley, and is everywhere split and pierced by 
glens. North of this cross valley are some twenty summits 
exceeding a thousand feet. These mountains are chiefly 
covered with grass, but there are tracts of heather and 
blaeberry ; they are very devoid of bird-life at all seasons. 
The highest point is Snaefell (2,034 f^^t)- glens are 
usually cultivated in the lower portions, but their higher 
and steep slopes are covered with heather and bracken, 
with rocky scarps here and there, seldom of much height 
or extent. The streams and rivers of these glens often flow 
through fern-clad gorges, while their swampy sources afford 
breeding ground to a few Curlews. Some of these glens 
are absolutely treeless, while others have belts of plantations 
and pleasure-grounds. South of the central valley the 
mountains are lower. There is in proportion more cultivated 
land, and the valleys have a more open character. The 
summit of Crouk ny Irey Lhaa (1,449 feet) falls abruptly to 
the western sea, and a steep and waste mountainside is con- 
tinued for some miles south along the coast. 
III. The Central Hill District— Coast. The coast of 
the whole main central district is high, rocky, bold, and 
clean-cut, broken into by curving, shallow bayS;, with shores 
usually of the same bold features. The larger of these bays 
have beaches of hard sand, but the muddy reaches which 
attract many Waders and Ducks are nearly absent. Along 
the west from Peel to the Calf is the chief seat of Man's varied 
sea-bird life. The Calf is an islet of 616 acres separated from 
the main island by a sound 500 yards wide. It rises to 421 
