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Part III. — Fifteenth Annual Report 



and some important additional information concerning the distribution of 

 the Mollusca and Crustacea has been obtained. Owing, however, to 

 pressure of other work, fewer lochs were visited last year than formerly. 

 Those examined were all in the vicinity of Lerwick, and are described 

 in the following order : — 



I. Lochs on the Mainland. 



(1) Loch of Wick, (2) Gossa Water, (3) Neugles Water, (4) Lochs of 

 Tingwall and Asta, (5) Long Lochs and Flossie Loch, (6) Loch of Flad- 

 dabister. 



II. Lochs of Bressay. 

 (1) Aith Loch, (2) Setter Loch, (3) Brough Loch. 



I. Lochs on the Mainland. 



(1) Loch of Wick, Shurton Hill, Lerwick. 



Examined, 3rd August 1896. 



This is a small loch, with very little vegetation of any kind. It 

 appears to be subject to partial evaporation in warm weather. When 

 visited, the water had subsided and left a wide margin of white mossy- 

 sediment, which rendered the work of examination rather difficult. Fauna 

 were not very plentiful. The loch is about 350 feet above sea-level. 



(2) Gossa Water, Shurton Hill. 



Examined, 3rd August 1896. 



This loch, like the above, which it adjoins, has also a high altitude — 

 some 400 feet above sea-level. The shores, like the surrounding hills, are 

 covered with deep moss ; but algae were growing freely in some places, 

 and fauna were fairly plentiful. The water seemed to be much deeper 

 than in the neighbouring and smaller loch, and the area did not appear 

 to vary much from evaporation or overflow. 



(3) Neugles Water, near Scalloway. 



Examined, 3rd August 1896. 



This loch, like the others visited the same day, was examined under 

 favourable atmospheric conditions. It nestles in a rather pretty situation 

 on the top of the hill of Steinswall, between the valleys of Fitch and 

 Tingwall, and has an altitude of 220 feet — in marked contrast to 

 the neighbouring lochs of Asta and Tingwall, which are only 26 and 28 

 feet respectively above sea-level. 



(4) Lochs of Asta and Tingwall. 



Examined, 16th October 1896. 



These lochs, of which the latter is over a mile long, are well known to 

 sportsmen as affording excellent trout-fishing, and on this account they 

 are much frequented by anglers dnriug the fishing season. The Loch of 

 Tingwall is also interesting to students of ancient history as being the seat 

 of the ancient Law Ting or Parliament, which met on a small holm or 



