Isle of Man

MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona), a possession of the crown of England, in the Irish sea, 33 m. long by 12 broad in the broadest part. The area is 220 sq.m. Oval in general form its outline is very irregular, being indented with numerous bays and creeks. Its chief physical characteristic is the close juxtaposition of mountain, glen and sea, which has produced a great variety and beauty of scenery. The greater part of its surface is hilly. The hills (culminating point Snaefell 2,034 f t.), have a trend in the direction of the longer axis, but throw out radiating spurs, which frequently reach the coast line. The outline of the hills is smooth and rounded, the rocks, the Manx Slate series, being a group of slates, flags, grits and conglomerates which have suffered much from folding, crushing and cverthrusting.

No satisfactory fossils have yet been found in these rocks, but they are regarded provisionally as of Upper Cambrian age. The series is penetrated by masses of granite at Dhoon, Foxdale, etc. Streams have frequently rent steep-walled gulleys in the hill-sides, and the westerly winds have caused them to be tree less, except in some of the lower slopes. Rising almost directly from the sea, they present a much more imposing appearance than many hills of greater altitude. On the south-west, they descend precipitously into the sea, and unite with the cliffs to produce most striking coast scenery. The whole coast from Peel round by the Calf-of-Man, to near Ramsey, is distinguished by rugged gran deur. The Calf-of-Man is a precipitous island reaching an alti tude of 36o feet. From Ramsey round by the Point of Ayre to near Peel, extend low sandy cliffs, bordered by flat sandy shores.

The low-lying northern plain extends northward from the road between Ramsey and Ballough and is composed of Carboniferous (limestones, sandstones and conglomerates) and Triassic rocks entirely covered by glacial drift. This plain is relieved only by a low range of hills, the highest attaining an elevation of 27o feet. There is a small tract (8 sq.m.) of Carboniferous rocks in the neighbourhood of Castletown, which are of great economic im portance forming the only source of lime and also the best build ing stone in the island. The drainage of the island radiates from

around Snaefell. Narrow, winding glens studded with fir, syca more, and mountain ash, with patches of gorse, heather and fern, afford a striking contrast to the bare mountain tops. Traces of an older system of drainage are noticeable, especially in the cen tral depression between Douglas and Peel. There are no lakes.

The chief bays are, on the east coast, Ramsey, with an excellent anchorage, Laxey, Douglas, Derbyhaven, Castletown and Port St. Mary; and on the west coast Port Erin and Peel.

Climate.

The island is liable to heavy gales from the south west but its winters are mild, and, influenced by the less change able temperature of the sea, its summers cool. The mean annual temperature is 49° F, the temperature of the coldest month (January) being 41-5°, and the warmest (August) 58.5°, Fuch sias, hydrangeas, myrtles and escallonias grow luxuriantly in the open air. There are remarkable divergences in the amounts of rain in the different parts of the island, varying from 61 in. at Snaefell to 25 in. at the Calf-of-Man, Fauna.—Like Ireland, the Isle of Man is exempt from snakes and toads. Frogs have been introduced and both the sand lizard and the common lizard are found. Badgers, moles, squirrels, and voles are absent and foxes are extinct. The red deer became ex tinct by the beginning of the 18th century. Hares are less plenti ful than formerly and rabbits are not numerous. Snipe are fairly common, and there are a few partridges and grouse. Woodcock, wild geese, wild ducks, plover, widgeon, teal, heron, bittern, king fisher and the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) visit the island, but do not breed there. The puffin (Fratercula artica) is still numerous on the Calf islet in the summer time. The pere grine falcon and the chough have become very scarce. The legal protection of sea-birds (local act of 1867) has led to an enormous increase in the number of gulls A domestic cat, remarkable for a stunted or absent tail, is peculiar to the island.