85 
A NATURALIST’S WHITSUNTIDE HOLIDAY. 
ISS'BOUT a mile north-east of Penmon Point, Anglesea, 
(fM) there rises abruptly from the sea the little island of 
Priestholm, or S. Seiriol. The bases of its precipitous, 
weather-beaten, limestone cliffs, are strewn with blocks 
of all sizes, torn from their faces by wind, frost and wave, their cre- 
vices and gullies the home of innumerable sea birds, not the least 
interesting of which is the puffin, from which the island derives 
its popular name. On the northern slope stands an old square 
tower with pointed roof, believed to be the remains of a church 
of twelfth century date, and at the extreme north-east end on the 
edge of a sixty-feet cliff a small four-roomed house, once a sema- 
phore station of the Liverpool Dock Board. 
The fact that the seas around swarmed with living creatures, 
-and that the shores were carpeted with sea weed, often tempted 
the biologists of Liverpool to make Anglesea the centre of ex- 
ploring expeditions, organised specially with the object of gaining 
a wider acquaintance with the marine fauna and flora of this 
section of the Irish Sea. That the object of these expeditions 
was to a certain extent gained has been proved by the issue, 
under the able editorship of Professor W. A. Herdman, of 
University College, Liverpool, of a bulky volume, entitled, The 
Fivst Report upon the Fauna of Liverpool Bay. 
The need of a permanent observing station somewhere in the 
neighbourhood and yet out of the reach of the mud and sand 
of the two great estuaries of the Mersey and the Dee, soon how- 
ever made itself felt, and many a covetous eye was cast on the 
firmly-built though dismantled cottage, boldly facing the frequent 
north-east gales from its lofty perch on the cliffs of Puffin Island. 
The wish was in the present instance not only father to the thought 
but grandfather to the acquisition, for by the aid of kind friends, 
and through the untiring energy of a small band of workers, 
the forsaken observing station has now been transformed into a 
marine laboratory, over which proudly waves the blue and white 
ensign of the “ L. M. B. C.” A resident keeper takes daily 
observations, looks after the boats and appliances, and caters for 
the biologists who from time to time are glad to exchange the 
lecture room and laboratory for the freedom and sea breezes that 
are ever to be found on Puffin Island. 
The value of a permanent observing station in furthering the 
work undertaken by the Liverpool Marine Biological Committee 
soon made itself felt, and a second volume of results was published 
in 1889, in which large additions to the previously published lists 
of animals and plants were recorded, and accounts given of many 
interesting experiments made on the abundant material obtained 
in the dredge and tow-net and on the shore. A Third Report is 
now in course of preparation, which promises to be even more 
valuable and interesting than the two which have preceded it. 
Periodically, as the Whitsuntide holiday time comes round, 
