: . Proc. BELFAST NAT. FiELD CLUB. 1887- 88. VoL.II]. PL.1. / REV CANON GRAINGER AM.D.D, M.RIA,FRGS.1.- 6 WILLIAM GRAY, MRA. /879-8/. | 2GEORGE C. HYNQMAN, 1864-65.» 1863-64-85-87. 7 ROBERT YOUNG, /88/- 82- | 3 PROF. JAS. THOMPSON AI.LL.D,FRS. 1865-73. 8 L™GEN* SMYTHE, FR.S.MRJ/A./882-83. | #/0HN ANDERSON, JP. F.C.S. 1873-74. 9 WM.H. PATTERSON, M.R.1.A. 1883-85. | 5 Rev.CANON MAC /LWAINE, 0.D..M.RIA. 1874-73. 10 HUGH ROBINSON, M.R.LA. 1887 ee ‘PRESIDENTS -1863:1888: “$1 UGL. lei ANNUAL REPORTS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE BELFAST NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB. SERIES II. VOLUME III. Belfast : PRINTED FOR THE CLUB By ALEXANDER Mayne & BoypD, 2 CORPORATION STREET. 1894. PREFATORY NOTE. HEREWITH are issued the Title Page and Index to Volume III. of the Second Series of the Club’s Proceedings. The present Volume extends over six years, from 1887 to 1893, and has been edited throughout by R. Lloyd Praeger, late Hon. Secretary, who, though not now officially connected with the Club, has completed his task by preparing the accompanying Index to the Volume. FRANCIS JOSEPH BIGGER, Hon. Sec. May, 1894. oe 18 .jiN_ 99 Py ANNIAL REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS ; ae ay , ; » EY: K2) opelfast SVaturalists’ Sield Club, 1887-88. : Series WE. Wolume HI. Be, eae eto! Report - ¥ Excursions—Glenarm, Ardmillan and Shores of Strangion Gough: Porta ferry and Strangford, Shane’s Castle and Shores of Lough ' Neagh, Tollymore Park, for a Fungus Poss tes con 29 _4| Presidential Address - - - - - 24 | Papers—The Trap Formation of Ulster—J. Starkie ee Esq., F.G.S., - = F.L.S. - - - =. - 49 Canoes found in Lough aan F. W. jiankonved - - 62 Marks of Ownership in Books—Robert Day, Esq., of Cork, F.S.A., M.R:LA., &e. - - - - - 538 Some Notes on the Early Belfast Press and its Pretughons-a ae Robert M. Young, B.A. - - - - - 55 Variations observed in the Growth of the Mistletoe —_- - 58 . Conv ersazione —- - - - - - - - 58 _-Papers—Notes on Subjects brought before the late Meeting of the British Association—Mr. William Gray, M.R.ILA. - - - 61 References to the Diatomaceous Deposits at Lough Mourne, and in the Mourne Mountains—Messrs. W. A..Firth and Wm. Swanston, F.G.S. -- - - - - - 62 Annual Meeting — - - - - “. - . - 64 Rules Prizes, Exchanges, Officers and Members - - - - 66 APPENDIX III. VOL. II. Marine Shells of the North of Ireland—Robert Lloyd Praeger, B.A., B.E. PRINTED FOR MEMBERS ONLY. | es ad ddd dd ddd ddd dain dathdhithdh ddd PRICE OF EXTRA COPIES FOR MEMBERS 2/6, | mem AL REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS Gelfast Iaturalists’ vield Glub, Year ending 31st March, 1888. (TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR.) SERIES IJ. Votume III. Part I. Belfast: PRINTED FOR THE CLUB, By ALEXANDER Mayne & Boyp, CorPoRATION STREET, PRINTERS TO QUEEN’S COLLEGE, BELFAST. 1888, —~ ~~ = ——— J . ; ah = "Sh, ws i =) ae — ahi = 4s a i ih . <_< ae -~ + - Ame > Pea i-? i T be J i» 7 ag" > g J ‘ ‘ f Fs 7 Fe e i oo ¢ ‘i are Ae ‘ z ” { 3 - = si Bre 2 f \ a eal * 7 Fe t y 4 : Lee 2 ue y e ore . ’ SV aa ~ n ; ) 5 ~ % > a (s e 4 = fe + Ni 2 ' rie. F Lae & eae oe = a t * a 3 At wit a } uf A -— i r v ~ 4 ‘J Re ut me ls é 7 saat? * nl Fy : s ? ne . : = oe Y = f ehuabs cr se) ry Aan 4 (ted Z u > | ae 3 ay ly ; : oe A ‘ a im a by. a se Mo ye ee eer eer ae a x } hts “rte i PYE MYT Ase) - T > 4 = > WN 4 4 Dy N s " F- ri ee * 7 4 } a r rT ti + = _ ~*~ 5 vp a 7 ae - Ls i ~ : j id Ke ‘ eo Roe c e - 3 ‘ 5 I * \ rt iat } i J ———s \ " eee ae ~ bs . ~ ‘ hice a 1 a : ei ~% Reale mn Sel aus i } * y ® 3 ‘ . eae J 15 TT) ws Sa he : VS) 40 dats 1 = 1 < La THA A. tS BST OE eke Cae ip! a * a \ i Bee: Pp : hd a oe 8s Hepes = tere ay ae S i r i + toatl) ’ ‘ ins ba ae * 98 L p . Ta * * * Ts waves «tae SA Path eae hay ' et a h pea ees! | Fr eons yale OF eh OF_ THE, ~ BeLFaAst NATURALISTS’ FIELD GLup, FOR THE Year ending 31st, March, 1888. N97; OUR Committee have pleasure in presenting their Ai/_| twenty-fifth Annual Report, and in testifying to | the continued prosperity of the Club. The year Eams83} which now closes compares favourably with any in its past history, whether we look at it in reference to the work done by its members, the interest which they evince in its operations, or in its financial position. The Summer programme was, with some changes in the order of the Excursions, carried cut, with the exception of that to Belvoir Park, which had from several reasons to be abandoned, the attendance on the various occasions being fully up to that of former years. The following are the places visited :— 1. Glenarm, by the Hill Road . ... 28th May. 2. Ardmillan and West Shore of Sedans Lough ... 25th June. 4° 4 [Proc. B. N. F. C., 3. Portaferry and Strangford... ..- Igthand 2oth July. 4. Shane’s Castle and adjoining Shores of Tanah Neagh 27th August. 5. Tullamore Park for a Fungus Foray... .«» 17th September. The winter Session was opened by an address from the President, Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A., in which he gave an able review of the progress of the agencies for the Promo- tion of Natural Science in Belfast. The history of the Club, especially the interesting facts connected with its formation, were fully given, and your Committee have pleasure in stating that the address will be given in full in your proceedings. The following are the communications: brought forward during the Winter Session :— 1837. 1sth — Presidential Address, ‘* A Review of the Progress of Natural Science in Belfast,” by Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A. ‘©On the Traps and Basalts of the Isle of Mull, and their relation to 2oth Dec. those of Antrim,”’ by J. Starkie Gardner, Esq., F.G.S., F.L.S. | \ of London, } ‘¢ Notes on Ancient Canoes recently found in Lough Mourne,” by ii Mr. F. W. Lockwood. 1888. Sat - 24th Jan. “‘ Marks of Ownership in Books,” by Mr. Robert Day, F.S.A., M.R.I.A., of Cork. 28th Feb fs Some Notes on the Early Belfast Press, and its productions from 1700 ; to 1800.” by Mr. R. M. Young, B.A. (pee observed in the Growth of Mistletoe,” by Mr. W. H. a Phillips. 17th April. ae on Subjects brought before the late Meeting of the British Association,” by Mr. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A. ‘« Reference to the Diatomaceous Deposits at Lough Mourne and in the =. ; Mourne Mountains,” by Messrs. Wm. A. Firth, and Wm, Swanston, F.G.S. The meetings at which the above communications were read were well attended, and the subjects are of much local interest. The communication of Mr. Gardner, in the opinion of your Committee, deserves special notice, as it brings the literature bearing on important local geological questions up to the latest date. Your Committee, in view of the fact that the Club having now completed the first quarter Century of its existence, con- 4 1887-1888.] . 5 sidered they would be acting in accordance with the wishes of the members if they would endeavour to mark the event in some special manner. After consideration it was decided to hold a Conversazione on a date as near as possible to that on which the inaugural meeting of the Club was held. The scheme was accordingly carried out on 27th March, and the Conversazione then held was pronounced a complete success, and your Committee have reason to believe that the members generally were highly gratified with the arrangements. The Annual Report and Proceedings for the past year are now in the hands of the members, and your Committee have pleasure in directing attention to the valuable contribution by Mr. R. Ll. Praeger, B.A., B.E., which appears in it as an appendix, forming as it does an important addition to our knowledge of the Estuarine Clays and their associated beds. Your Committee take this opportunity of again thanking Lancelot Turtle, Esq., J.P., for the very comprehensive meteorological summary and monthly weather notes with which your proceedings are again enriched, and they desire to express their appreciation of Mr. Turtle’s kindness in continuing to favour the Club with his statistics. Your Committee also avail themselves of this opportunity of thanking those noblemen and gentlemen who favoured the Club on their Excursions, and they would especially mention the kindness of Sir Edward Harland for liberty to enter Glenarm Park; to J. Warnock, Esq, and Mrs. Warnock, for their hospitality and kindness on the Excursion to Portaferry and Strangford; to Lord O’Neill, for liberty to visit the grounds of Shane’s Castle ; and to the Earl of Roden, Tolly- more, for the privilege of holding the Fungus Foray in Tolly- more Park. The Committee have pleasure in announcing that the Flora of North-East of Ireland is now almost through the Press, and will be ready for issue in a few weeks. This much needed work they are confident will supply the fullest and most accurate account of our native vegetation, and it is anticipated 6 [Proc. B. N. F. C., that it will compare favourably with similar works issued elsewhere, and will prove a stimulus to further research by local Naturalists. Your Committee again beg to thank those kindred societies and public bodies who continue to exchange Proceedings or to present their publications to the Club. A full list of these contributions will be embodied in your Proceedings. The following collections were submitted in competition for the Club’s Prizes :— 24 microscopic slides, in competition for Prize 20, by Mr. W. A. Firth. 24. microscopic slides, in competition for Prize 21, by Mr. W. A. Firth. 24 microscopic slides, in competition for Prize 20, by Rev. John Andrew. 24 microscopic slides, in competition for Prize 21, by Rev. John Andrew. 24 microscopic slides, in competition for Prize 21, by Mr. D. M‘Kee. 12 photographs, in competition for Prize 23, by Mr. Geo. Donaldson. The following are the awards of the judges appointed to examine the above collections and report upon them. We have carefully examined the microscopic preparations submitted in competition for Prizes 20 and 21, including 120 slides, and we have great pleasure in stating that the superior merit of each competitor’s work rendered the competition very keen. We consider that Mr. Firth merits the Prize in each case; and we recommend that a Second Prize (in No. 20) be awarded to Rev. J. Andrew ; and we highly commend the set of slides submitted by Mr. M‘Kee. W. GRAY. J- WRIGHT. 1887-1888. ] 7 Priz—E XXIII.—We have examined the photographs sent in by Mr. George Donaldson, and while regretting that there is no competition in this department, we have no hesitation in pronouncing the photos in every way in accordance with the conditions, and admirably adapted for the Club’s albums, and have much pleasure in awarding the Prize, Wo. SWANSTON. S. A. STEWART. 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Gicsty * 4 ~ ** surpsso0rg OSI Gas ** @OUBAPE UT GT Sse] ‘ggg—suor}diosqng [enuuy Zuynuug ‘phog pue oudeyy ‘sussoy, AG | Z LI L8F ** es “H rn L-9881 WorIz ooULTeg OT, “AD | "9991 ‘yo4Dpy ISIC FUumpua “VAX AY} 407 1G JOINGLIID IG} UNM JUNOINT Ul QuID QIaL SIswanywy), ISeIIIG dD SUMMER SESSION. ———_ a —--— The following Excursions were made during the Summer Session On 28th May, to GLENARM, BY THE HILL ROAD. The first excursion of the summer season was to Glenarm, the route proposed being by the hill road and down through the glens. A numerous party left Belfast by the 8-50 train for Larne, where they were joined by astrong contingent, and they then proceeded in Mr. M‘Neill’s well-appointed brakes along the coast road as far as Cairncastle, the foam-capped waves of the North Channel, as they rolled before a brisk northeast breeze, or dashed in clouds of spray over the rocks, giving life and colour to the scene. The rugged basaltic columns of Ballygally Head, and the chalk cliffs on either side, glittering in the morning sun have seldom looked finer. Several members of the Amateur Photo- graphic Society had joined the excursion, and when a halt was called at the tiny but picturesque ruin of Cairncastle, perched amongst the waves on a rock just outside the headland, a whole battery of cameras were focussed upon it, and probably it was never so thoroughly “taken” in its history before. This and 10 [Proc. B. N. F. C., Ballygally Castle, close by, both get in local tradition the name of “ O’Halloran’s Castle ;? but this ruin on the rock has un- questionably the true claim to have been the stronghold of that outlawed chief. Ballygally Castle, built by the Shaws in the Scottish baronial style in 1625, and a few years ago so pictur- esque, has now, by the effects of rough cast, tarred felt, and whitewash, lost most of its beauty, and except for a bit of carved stone on door and gable here and there, is hardly now worth the brush of the artist or the photographers camera. Leaving the sea, the party here began to ascend the road towards the gaps be- tween the hills, passing on their way the curious little old “‘ Ma- sonic Hall” of Cairncastle, which bears date 1813. Close adjoining is the old Unitarian Meeting-house, reported to be about the oldest Presbyterian church in Antrim ; the sundial on the front is said to have had the original date of 1667, and also the date of restoration, 1779. At the summit of the “new cut,” between the hills, a halt was made, and the site of some old dwellings was examined. There are three earthworks close together, consisting of rampart and ditch, being, in fact, true earthen forts in miniature. The cairn of stones, known asthe “headless cross,” was not visited, but a run was made over the heather for the “‘ priests’ grave.” This isa small, square boulder, on on which are are cut two incised crosses of an apparently ancient type, but the stronger presumption is that this is a ‘‘ mass stone,” one of the rude altars consecrated by the Catholic clergy for use during the time of the proscription. . The scene of worship upon the wild hillside, with the curlew and the lapwing wheeling overhead, and the sentinels posted round to give warning of hostile intrusion, reminds one of many scenes in the history of the Covenanters, and affords another to the many previous instances that opposites often meet. A few yards off are the remains of a “‘giant’s grave.” After descending the inland slope of the hills as far as the old Park Mill and Bridge, the bulk of of the party left the conveyances, and carried out the programme by following on foot the lovely glens down which flow the Glenarm and Linford Waters, access to which, through the kindness of Sir E, Harland, the present lessee of Glenarm 1887-1888.] II Castle, had been freely given. The path, in many places barely discernible, descends through thickets of hazel, alder, and dwarf oak, most of them of great age, with stems and branches gnarled and twisted into a thousand fantastic forms, and now skirts the deep trout pools, now follows the brow of some miniature cliff, and now plunges through an almost impene- trable thicket. Every here and there is a beautiful cascade, lighting up with its silver spray some dark pool, the angler’s favourite resort. _In other places the ground is a mass of blue, and the air thick with the scent of wild hyacinth. The more common local ferns uncurl their fronds everywhere, whilst some of the rarer, ' such as Cystopteris fragilis, are to be found by those who seek for them. Too much time had been lost early in the day, and the majority of the party had as much as they could do to follow the straightest course down the glen, but half a dozen of the more active, luckily with a couple of cameras amongst them, made a dash up the sister stream to the deep, round pool, according to local repute fathomless, known as the “‘ Bull’s Eye,” into which plunges one of the finest waterfalls of the country. Here, whilst two strong swimmers disported themselves in its eddies, the others were engaged with camera and pencil in snatching a hasty record of this woodland gem. As was to be expected, these glens proved of great interest to the botanists of the party. On the walls of Park Mill bridge was abundance of the scaly fern, Ceterach ofictnarum, and maiden hair spleenwort, , Hyndmanii FP Harrisonii »» turgida Orthosira arenaria 35. Zebra », orchilacea Pleurosigma attenuatum Nitzschia (?) palea - Spencerii Mr. Swanston followed by reading the original record of the discovery of Diatomaceous earth in the Mourne Mountains, as published in the Magazine of Natural Aiistory, Vol. IIL., new series, 1839, p. 353. The article was contributed by James L. Drummond, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the Royal Belfast Institution, and President of the Belfast Natural History Society. From it we learn that Wm. Thompson, Esq., when residing at Newcastle, Co. Down, sent the author specimens of a light, white, earthy substance, which had been found in the neighbourhood, and which proved to be rich in diatoms—in fact, a deposit of fossil diatomacez. Other specimens were obtained from Dr. Hunter, of Bryansford (near Newcastle), which proved on examination to be similar. Dr. Hunter’s 64 [Proc. B. N. F.C., examples were obtained from Lough Islandreavey, a few miles from Bryansford, and the fossil deposit was found* underlying about a foot of boggy soil, in the bed of the lough, on the water being lowered by the Bann Company. It was stated by a member that this deposit was not now accessible, as the lough referred’ to was used at the present time as a reservoir, and the sides had been pitched with stones, thus preventing the original margins being examined, except in the event of the lough being again drained ANNUAL MEETING. THE twenty-fifth Annual Meeting was held in the Museum, College Square North, on Tuesday evening, 24th April—the President (Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A.) in the chair. The business of the evening, as announced by circular, was to hear the Secretaries’ and Treasurer’s Reports for the past year, to hear the awards of the judges appointed to examine the collec- tions submitted in competition for the Club’s prizes, and to elect officers for the ensuing year. The President having called for the Report, it was read by Mr. W. Swanston, the senior hon. secretary, and will be found in full in the early pages of this part of the pro: ceedings. The Treasurer (Mr. S. A. Stewart), on being called on for a Statement of Accounts, said that the Club’s funds were in a very Satisfactory condition, showing at the close of the year a larger balance in hands than they had at its commencement, notwithstanding many subscriptions have yet to be collected. Among the items of expenditure was a contribution toward the erection and preservation of the ancient cross of Dromore, which, it was stated, had now been restored and erected on a suitable site near the cathedral. The election of president and officers for the next year was then proceeded with. Mr. William Gray, in referring to the admirable manner in which Mr. Robinson had discharged the 188721888. ] 65 duties of President for the past year, moved that he be re- elected to that office. The motion having been seconded by ‘Mr. John Donaldson, it was put to the meeting by the pro- poser and passed unanimously. Mr. Robinson, after acknow- ledging the confidence the members had placed in him, thanked them for the honour they had again done him in re-electing him for the ensuing year. Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., was, on the motion of Mr. R. Ll. Praeger, seconded by Mr. D. M‘Kee, re-elected to the office of Vice-President. The Trea- surer and Hon. Secretaries also retained their offices for another term, and the Committee was, with some changes, elected. The remainder of the evening was spent in hearing suggestions as to places suitable for excursions, and the best modes of visit- ing them, and in discussing changes that may be considered necessary in the prize list. The examination of the micro- slides and the photographs which received the prizes, and the election of new members—among whom Mr. Eliott, the Libra- rian of the new Free Library, was heartily welcomed—brought the meeting to a close. It is with extreme regret that we are unable this year to furnish the Meteorological Summary and Weather Notes as formerly. The death of Lancelot Turtle, Esq., J.P., to whose kindness we were indebted for these valuable records, took place at his residence, at Aghalee, in November, 1888. The Committee take this opportunity of expressing their sorrow at the loss the Club has sustained of a valuable assistant, whose annual contributions to the Club’s Proceedings were looked forward to with much pleasure, and were highly appre- ciated by the members. 66 Proc. B.N.F.C., RULES CF THE Gelfast Waturalists’ Field Club. eat bes I. That the Society be called ‘‘Tue Betrasr Naturauists’ Freip Cvs.’ lis That the objects of the Society be me practical aay of Natural Science and Archeology in Ireland. DU That the Club shall consist of Ordinary, Corresponding, and Honorary Members. The Ordinary Members to pay annually a subscription of Five Shillings, and that Candidates for such Membership shall be proposed and seconded at any meeting of the Club, by Members present, and elected oe a majority of the votes of the Members present. IV. That the Honorary and Corresponding Members shall consist of persons of eminence in Natural Science, or who shall have done some special service to the Club, and whose usual residence is not less than twenty miles from Belfast. -That such Members may be nominated by any Member of the Club, and on being approved of by the Committee, may be elected at any subsequent meeting of the Club by a majority of the votes of the Members present. That Corresponding Members be expected to communicate a paper once within every “two years. V. That the Officers of the Club be annually elected, and consist of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Two Secretaries, and Ten Members, who form the Committee, Five to forma quorum. No Member of Committee to -1887-1888.] 67 be eligible for re-election who has not attended at least one-fourth of the Committee Meetings during his year of office. That the office of President or ' that of Vice-President, shall not be held by the same person for more than two years in succession. VI. ' That the Members of the Club shall hold at ‘least Six Field Meetings during the year, in the most interesting localities, for investigating the Natural History and Archeology of Ireland. That the place of meeting be fixed by the Committee, and that five days’ notice of each excursion be communicated to Members by the Secretaries. ‘iat That Meetings be held Fortnightly or Monthly, at the discretion of the Committee, for the purpose of reading papers; such papers, as far as possible, to treat of the Natural History and Archwxology of the district. These meetings to be held during the months from November to April inclusive. NEEL: That the Committee shall, if they find it advisable, offer for competition ' Prizes for the best collection of scientific objects of the district; and the Committee may order the purchase of maps, or other scientific apparatus, and may carry on geological and archeological researches or excavations, if deemed * advisable, provided that the entire amount expended under this rule does not exceed the sum of £10 in any one year. IX. That the Annual Meeting be held during the month of April, when the Report of the Committee for the past year, and the Treasurer’s Financial - Statement shall be presented, the Committee and Officers elected, Bye-laws made and altered, and any proposed alteration in the general laws, of which a fortnight’s notice shall have been given, in writing, to the Secretary or Secretaries, considered and decided upon. The Secretaries to give the Members due notice of such intended alteration. X. ' That, on the written requisition of Twenty-five Members, delivered to the Secretaries, an Extraordinary General Meeting may be called, to consider and decide upon the subjects mentioned in such written requisition. v.48 That the Committee be empowered to exchange publications and reports, and to extend the privilege of attending the Meetings and Excursions of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club to members of kindred Societies, on similar privileges being accorded to its Members by such other societies. 68 Proc. B.N.F.C., The foliowing Rules for the Conducting of the Excursions have been arranged by the Com- mittee. en eee I, The Excursion to be open to all Members, each one to have the privilege of introducing two friends. II. A Chairman to be elected as at ordinary meetings. III. One of the Secretaries to act as conductor, or, in the absence of both, a member to be elected for that purpose. IV. No change to be made in the programme, or extra expense incurred, except by the consent of the majority of the members present. V. No fees, gratuities, or other expenses to be paid except through the conductor. VI. Every member or visitor to have the accommodation assigned by the conductor. When accommodation is limited, consideration will be given to priority offapplication. VII. Accommodation cannot be promised unless tickets are obtained before the time mentioned in the special circular. VIII. Those who attend an excursion, without previous notice, will be liable to extra charge, if extra cost be incurred thereby. IX. No intoxicating liquors to be provided at the expense of the Club. 1887-1888. | 69 BELFAST NATURALISTS’ FIELD SE eeENnnaaieeiemeee TWEHNTY-SIXTH YHAR. THE Committee offer the following Prizes to be competed for during the Session ending March 31st, 1889 :— Best Herbarium of Flowering Plants, repre- i II. ik EV: ¥. Vee Vil. VIII. IX. X. oA mh: XIII. senting not less than 250 species Best Herbarium of Flowering Plants, repre- senting not less than 150 species ae Best Collection of Mosses_... ae aes IeAchens: -..: ace Seaweeds ... cer a Ferns, Equiseta, and Lyco- POS. sa. ee ae Tertiary and Post Ter- tiary Fossils... ess Cretaceous Fossils eee Liassic do. wat Permian and _ Carboni- ferous Fossils ... Older Palzozoic do. wee Marine Shells... — Land and_ Freshwater Shells ... ae ae Dek oO fe (eo) (& © ce) (oy ) ©) ©) XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. NOS XXI. XXII. XXII. XXIV. 70 Proc. B.N.F.C., Best Collection of Lepidoptera ae «is £0; 10' -O si ms Hymenoptera... 536 ORO” HO 35 a Coleoptera nee ae of the Trish Liassic Fossils, —Tate, 1 Plate Eighth Annual Report—1870-71, containing oan cE “List of Irish Liassic Foraminifera,—Wright, and List of the Fossils of the » Estuarine Clays of Antrim and Down, —Stewart Ninth Annual Report—1871-72 Tenth do. 1872-73 Proceedings —Series IL., Vol. I., Part I., 1873-74, eed Appendix ITE., List of Mosses of North-East of. Ireland, — Stewart, and List of Cretaceous Microzoa of North of Ireland ,— Wright, 2 Plates... 5» Series IL., Vol. I., Part IT., 1874-75 3 x 7 IIL, 1875-76 BS IV., 1876-77, containing Appendix IV., Recent Foraminifera of Down and ‘Antrim, — Wright, 1 Plate, and. Silurian Rocks of yong PO ee and ae 3 Plates - 3 eee series IE Vol.1% Parteve and VI., ree 78, and 78-79 (in one). »» Series II., Vol. I., Part VII., 1879-80, containing, Appendix V., be . 2/6 List of Post- Tertiary Foraminifera of North-East of Ireland,— © Wright, and List of Mollusca of Boulder Tay. of Nort-East of Treland,— Stewart Sf ete 59 weries IT., Vol. II., Pat i 1880-81, : taldticing Aeon VI, List of Foraminifera’ of South Donegal; — Wright, Sponge - Remains from Carb. Limestone, County Sligo,— Wright, and Fossil Sponge-Spicules, Co. Sligo,—Carter, 1 plate ue Henies LT; Vol--LL, ‘Part El., T8st-82 x Ut, 1882-33, containing eae ty, Supplemental List of Mosses of the North-East of Treland— Stewart . ee yy) Neries II.; Vol. 11. Pat IV. 1883-84, rahe Appendix VIIL, Notes a Trish Coleoptera, —Haliday ; Cromlechs of Antrim and Down,—Gray, 12 Plates, and Pre-Historic Monaments near Sligo, —Elcock, 4 Plates », Series II,, Vol. IT., Part V., 1884-85, Pa ieee IX., Ostracoda of Belfast Lou h, —Malcomson ; Fungi of North of Ireland, — Lett ; Poriiinitera of « Protector”? Cruise, &c.— Wright ; Cretaceous Foraminifera of yee Hill )— Wright 5 Trish Coleoptera, — Patterson j »,« Series: IL, Vols. 11., Part VI; 1885- 86, cantaiine Appendix I., The Ferns of Ulster, aw H, Phillips, and R. Ll. Praeger, B,E., B.A. a Series L15-Vol: 1h;, Part VIL. 1886-87, eae Apackars TE: Notes on the Sections exposed at the Alexandra Dock, — R. Ei Praeger, B.E., B.A. A Flora of the North- Hast of Ireland, Cavaie the » Phawsitiebaie the Cryptogamia Vascularia, and’ the Musciner,—S. A. Stewart, F.B.S., Edin.; and T. H. Corry, M.A:, F.L.S., &c. Guide to Belfast and adjoining Counties, containing chapters on Goslogy, Botany, Zoology, Topography, Historical Antiquities, Agri- culture, Trade, and Excursions, with numerous Plates, Published at 3/6, Reduced Price sae . 6/6 a e ¥ M my TP omg 4 Ls a A ea la ae Pe ae eee ee ek a ee ee a i ND, ee ee ae wr "2h * = se es Alt “PQ ee nen te » Pik wa 13 JUN. 990. PROCEEDINGS OF THE Belfast Jaturalists’ 2 1sg8.89. / 22 er = aA ‘ Ne Die i he Sevies WL, Wolume WI. ce HEE. CONTENTS: . PaGE. Annual Report = - - - - mi on anise - - 83 Excursions— Dromore, Stoneyford. Greenore and Carlingford, Drogheda and the Boyne, Cave Hill, Ballycastle, Belvoir Park - - 88 Social Meeting - - - - - - - - 102 Presidential Address - - - - - - - 105 Papers—A Deep-sea Dredging. Expedition = R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., B.A. 126 Photography as an aid to the Club’s work— William Swanston, F.GS. - - - - - - - 130 Microscopic Evening - - - - - - - 135 - Papers—Vestiges of Early Man in Antrim and Dow Saeed ae Gray, M.R.I.A. - - . - - 136 _ Notes on some Desmids found in the North of Ireland—Rey. H. W: Lett, M.A., T.C.D. - - - - - 137 Notes on the Seven Chuscies of prondsongh aay W. Lockwood, Archt. - - - - - 140 Annual Meeting - . - - - - - - 141 Rules, Prizes, Exchanges, Officers and Members - - - - 146 PRINTED FOR MEMBERS ONLY. wwy vor~wYy wy we we we WE ww WT WE we Ww Wwe wes PRICE OF EXTRA COPIES FOR MEMBERS, Il. Lhe following Publications of the Club may be obtained from — the Secretaries :— — A FLORA OF THE NORTH-EAST OF TRELAND, ‘including the Phanerogamia, the Cryptogomia Vas- cularia, and the Muscine,—S. A. Stewart, F.B.S., Edin.; and T. H.Corry, M.A., F.L.S., &e. Weegee at MacMillan and Bowes “oe SYSTEMATIC LISTS, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE FLORA, FAUNA, PALAONTOLOGY, AND ARCHAOLOGY OF THE NORTH. OF. IRE LAND; VOL, LI., consisting of the Appendices, from 1870 . 1885 inclusive 7 Plates : in paper in boards GUIDE TO BELFAST AND ADJOINING COUN- TIES ; containing chapters on Geology, Botany, Zoo- logy, Topography, Historical Antiquities, Agriculture, Trade, and Excursions, with numerous Plates, Published at 3/6, Reduced Price ... . (See also Back of Cover). mNNUAL KEPORT AND POC RE DiNGS Belfast Haturalists’ Sield Glub Year ending the 31st March, 1889. (TWenTy-SixTH YEAR) Series II, VouumME III. Parr II. Belfast : PRINTED FOR THE CLUB, By ALEXANDER Mayne & Boyp, CoRPORATION STREET, PRINTERS TO QUEEN’s COLLEGE, BELFAST. 1889. jeaetherandeetcat 1 a on REPORT BeLrast NATURALISTS’ FIELD GLUB, FOR THE Year ending 31st March, 1889. aE year which now closes is one in which (| the Club’s position has been fully maintained in all its departments of work. The membership The summer programme proved a very attractive one, and it was with one exception carried out, embracing seven field meetings as follow :— 1. Dromore ne en ... May 26th. 2. Stoneyford ase vos se June 23rd. 3. Greenore and Carlingford .. ok eee July 7th. 4. Drogheda and the Boyne... + we. July 26th & 27th. 5. Cave Hill ae ene ... August 4th. 6. Ballycastle a ae .«. August 18th. 7. Belvoir Park ode one ... September 8th. 84 [Proc. B. N. F.C., The excursion to Drogheda and the Boyne was a depar- ture from the ordinary custom, in that it was jointly undertaken with the Dublin Naturalists’ Field Club. The result was an exceedingly instructive and interesting meeting, and it proved a source of pleasant and profitable interchange of thought with the members of the Dublin Society. The excursion to Belvoir Park was perhaps the most largely attended of any in the Club’s history. The Winter Session was opened by a Social Meeting in November, and in addition six Ordinary Meetings were held, one of which, devoted to the microscope and its manipulation, was more than usually appreciated, and it proved a good opportunity for estimating the advances made in this highly popular field of work. ! The attendance of members at both the Summer and Winter Meetings was above the average of past years. The following are the particulars of the various Winter Meetings :— 6th Nov. 1.— Social Meeting. 20th Nov. II.—Presidential Address. 18th Dec. III.—‘‘ A Deep Sea Dredging Expedition,” by R. L. Praeger, B.A., B.E. Iv. / ‘¢ Photography as an Aid to the Club’s Work,” by W. Swanston, F.G.S. 26th Feb, §V.—Microscopic Evening. Abi eNiae. 0 atch Sages in Antrim and Down,” by William ““ Notes on Desmids found in the North of Ireland,’’ by Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., T.C.D. ‘¢ Notes on the Seven Churches of Glendalough,”’ by F. W. Lockwood. 2gth Jan. gth April VII. A most important event of the year was undoubtedly the issue under the Club’s auspices of ‘‘ The Flora of the North- East of Ireland,” by S. A. Stewart, F.B.S. Edin., and the late T. H. Corry, M.A., F.L.S., M.R.LA., &c., a publication which your Committee look upon with pride as the original work of two members of the Club, and which, they consider, reflects much credit upon the authors, The careful and thorough man- 1888-89. 85 ner in which it was carried through the press by Mr. Stewart, upon whom, under most melancholy circumstances, fell the entire work of editing, is deserving of high praise. The volume of Proceedings for the past year, which has been recently issued, is a more than usually important one, the Presidential address, given in full, being a valuable record of the progress of science during the period that has elapsed since the establishment of the Club. Besides this address and the usual reports of the excursions and summaries of the papers read, there is a valuable appendix on the Marine Shells of the North of Ireland, by Robert Lloyd Praeger, B.A., B.E., the result of a great amount of patient: work and research in bringing together into a connected form all that is published and known of this important branch of local natural history, information which until the present time was scattéred in many different publications difficult of access, and often obscured by a multiplicity of synonyms. . It is with deep regret that your Committee record the loss the Club has sustained during the past year by the death of Launcelot Turtle, Esq., J.P., to whom the Club have for many years been indebted for the valuable meteorological tables and weather notes which enriched your proceedings. Your Committee, anxious to continue the publication of these important tables, ask the aid of observers in this department. Your Committee have also to record the loss of one of the past Presidents of the Club, Lieutenant-General Smythe, R.A., F.R.S., M.R.1A., &c., a gentleman who took a lively interest in the Club’s operations, especially in the department of Irish archeology. The death of Mr. George O’Brien also removed from your ranks one of the earliest members, who for many years assisted by his counsel on the Committee, and otherwise in advancing the Club’s interests. Your Committee avail themselves of this opportunity of thanking all who have in any way assisted the Club in carrying out its aims during the past year, and they would especially mention the Belfast Water Commissioners and their enginecer- 86 [Proc. B. N. F. C., ing staff at Stoneyford, for the manner in which the Club were conducted over the works in operation there; also Lord Deramore for kindly granting permission to enter the extensive grounds of Belvoir Park. Your Committee continue to exchange your published proceedings for those of kindred societies, and they beg to express their thanks to the United States Government for the valuable publications received from time to time from various state scientific departments. The following is the report of the Judges appointed to examine the collections sent in by members in competition for the Club’s Prizes :— We have carefully examined the several collections sub- mitted in competition for the Club’s Prizes, and regret that they are not so numerous as on former occasions. We award No. 9 Prize, for Liassic Fossils, to Mr. Daniel M‘Kee, whose collection contains a few very good specimens ; we think, however, that they have not been mounted as carefully as would be desired. We regret that we cannot award Mr. M‘Kee Prize 20 for his collection of Microscopical Slides, which is excellent in many respects, but does not strictly conform to the terms of competition. We have no hesitation in awarding Mr. J. J. Andrew Prize No. 21 for Microscopic Slides showing general excellence. His collection contains some very difficult subjects, and all are carefully prepared and beautifully mounted. WILLIAM GRAY JoszEPH WRIGHT. Sk ee eee ees ‘hanjowog “wo ‘NOLSNVMS WVITIIA ‘damsve4y “LAVMALS “VS 4001109 punog pue poyIpny ce ee ee Il G GF oes a i. sn soureg oO], L & 8hlF L & 8hlF II G 14 ve eee eee pueg ur aoueleg ¢s 0 0 I soe ave ee pepreme Sez g cc 9 IL 0 “se oi a syoog jo souvinsuy ‘ 0 e eg see see eve cee Ysei0eqy “Mm ee 0 ¢ g soe cee vee TI@H emnyoa'y fo yuayy ‘ 5 6 G ooo eee aes aoe soSvysog “c 0 OLT bi i “* saepnoitg Fo Arete * & 0-241 pa Sutst}IaApy pur ‘surjung ‘Areuor}eyg ‘ 0 ¢ 0 *s0J0Y,{ WO SoULeU SUT}IL AA ¥ = L. LEO eee ie qunosoy yueg uo ysoreqzuz * 9 O10 a “- wungry deg “op PpIeM IA | 8 STL sy cc PULPIT “A N—VOT,, “ 0 0 8 an <, CIOL ,, 24 sastodxo “JAvMa}g “VW *g ‘ 9 0 F ad ** 4ysByfog 0} epmny ,, oY} Fo sayeg * Oo 2 ig ‘Op oF ‘sopoyg edayoTpog “Yopa AA “Ay ‘ @ oO -Ge CIOL 5) FO 3800 sprvmoy “bsg ‘Au109 “MA “ay * Gor Gz a eS sSulpesoo1g [enuuy suung 0 610 : se Surpooyy [Rt00g r0F syoyory, ‘ Oo I Bee "** sSurpos001g FO OUINTOA IOF xopuy ‘ fy aa ea) oi = as SUOISINOXY Uo urey ‘ o F @) ., MIOlass surpurg pue Surjutg ‘pAog puv oudeyy 0 &\ g¢ gs ut pred oT ssot ‘Tgg—suorjdriosqng ‘* © OL tF “ie Og Sunooyt Tenog yo sosuedxy Aq | IL § FHF me as Q-LEST Wor ooULTeg OJ, “688L ‘HOYUVW 4SIE DONIGNS YVSA SHL YOS ID ‘ANID CIF SLISIIVYALYN LSVATAI FHL HLIM INNOOOV NI YXHYNSVANL FHL “IG SUMMER SESSION. Session :— los ‘On May 26th, to DROMORE AND THE VICINITY. _ The party, reaching Dromore about noon, proceeded first to the old Bishop’s Palace, which has some historical interest, as having been the residence for many years of Dr. Percy, Pro- testant Bishop of the diocese, the author of ‘‘ The Reliques of English Poetry.” It was here several of his ballads were written, including the well-known “O! Nannie, wilt thou gang wi’me?” After the consolidation of the Irish sees the property was sold, and, on the recent death of the proprietor, was converted into a Jesuit seminary. The Rev. J. Colgan, the principal, most courteously showed thé party over the house. Great as is the change since the days of the literary bishop, the house is still dedicated to the advancement of let- ters, and the leafy murmur of the lofty trees that surround it is as conducive as ever to academic musings. In acorner of the grounds is ‘the Mass Forth,” an ancient fort, with a very deep and :perfect ditch and lofty rampart. It derives its local name from having been used by the Catholic clergy for the celebra- The Jollowing Excursions were made during the Summer 1888-89. ] 89 tion of the Mass during the days of the proscription. From thence the route was taken towards Gilhall, but a halt was made by the way at another very fine double fort, close to the banks of the Lagan. Through the kindness of Mr. George ‘Brush, J.P., the party then visited the demesne of Gilhall, the woods of which were just bursting into leaf, and the ground was thickly carpeted with wild hyacinth. The marshy and wooded ground by the riverside is well suited for a variety of native plants, but the season was not yet sufficiently advanced for successful botanising. The Giant Bellflower (Campanula lati- folia) has been introduced to the grounds, and grows there in great abundance. It was seen on the present occasion in plenty by the Lagan side, but not yet in flower. On returning to Dromore, a visit was paid to the Cathedral, where lie the remains of Jeremy Taylor and of Mr. Stott, a bleacher of literary repute, whom Byron has rather unfairly pilloried in his Huglish Bards and Scotch Reviewers, under the epithet of “ Grovelling Stott,” the adjective being presum- ably intended for his standing as a poet rather than his charac- teras aman. The remains of the ancient cross, recently set up adjoining the Cathedral, were then visited, and focussed by the cameras of the party. The cross, which has been very neatly and appropriately restored, bears the following inscrip- tion :—'* The ancient historical cross of Dromore, erected and restored after many years of neglect, by public subscription, to which the Board of Works were contributors, under the aus- pices of the Town Commissioners of Dromore.—1887.” It may be stated that the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club were amongst the contributors to its re-erection. An adjournment was then made to Malloch’s Hotel, where tea was partaken of. After- wards a meeting was held—Alexander Tate, Esq., C.E., in the chair—when several new members were elected. The excur- sion was finished up by a visit to the great fort, with triple ramparts, just outside the town. The central fort is very high, being on the summit of a hill which has been scarped out to form ditches and ramparts. At the foot of the hill, beside the go [Proc. B. N..F. C., river, is a large square enclosure, with earthen ramparts. The’ fort is one of the finest and most conspicuous in the county. On June 23rd, to STONEYFORD. An extra excursion was made on 23rd June to Stoneyford, to. examine the new works in progress there for the Belfast Water Commissioners. Although the special circular announcing the excursion gave but very short notice to members, a large party assembled at the Linen Hall at two o’clock, and, mounted on brakes and cars, rattled at a rapid pace throughthe town. The day is hot and sultry, and in the streets rather oppressive ; but when the Borough Cemetery is passed, and the road, rising by degrees, runs through green fields over which a gentle breeze is blowing, a decided sense of relief and pleasure is experienced. The eye wanders from the dull yellow cloud which overhangs the busy, noisy town, to where the richly-wooded Lagan valley lies sleeping in the afternoon sun, and beyond, where over the: undulating extent of County Down the peaks of the Mourne Mountains rise through the summer haze. The road winds steadily upward along the slopes of the Black Mountain ; Colin Glen is crossed, and, rounding the fir crowned Colin Mountain, Castle Robin, the first halting-place, is reached. Here the party is met by an advanced guard from Stoneyford, consisting of a detachment of the engineering staff of the Water Commis- sioners. ‘ Castle Robin is now but a fragmentary ruin, hung with clinging ivy, and tenanted by chattering sparrows. Its erec- tion is ascribed to Roger Norton, an officer in the army of the Earl of Essex. Its name appears to have been derived from the rath close to which it stands, and which in old days was called Lis-ne-robin. Both rath and castle have now to bear the try-: ing ordeal of being the target for a whole battery of cameras, after which the vehicles are once more mounted, and crossing 1888-89. ] gt now into a broad valley behind the ridge of hills, a short run brings the party to Stoneyford. Here they are met by the courteous and energetic manager of the works, Mr. Lattimore, who is ably supported by several of the engineering staff, and - the party proceed to examine the site of the great future reser- voir. A broad, flat valley, flanked on either side by low hills, and narrowed suddenly near its lower end, affords an excellent opportunity for the construction of an artificial lake of large extent, and across the valley a huge embankment over a mile long is now steadily rising. It being Saturday afternoon, no work is at present in progress ;, but the network of tram-lines, the rows of tip-waggons, and piles of wheel-barrows, and great heaps of stone, clay, and “‘ puddle” show the extent of the works, and the number of the army of men who on Mon- day morning will recommence their weekly labours. A low, swelling hill in front of the dam has half disappeared beneath the attack of pick and shovel, and its steep escarpment affords the geologists an excellent opportunity of observing over a con- siderable area a section of the boulder clay of which it is com posed. Below a couple of feet of fine yellowish clay, which is all carefully preserved for making “ puddle,” there is a band, some six feet in thickness, of blackish boulder clay, which overlies a thick bed of typical boulder clay of the usual red colour, full of fragments and blocks of rock of a variety of descriptions, trap and chalk predominating. A member points out that many of the smaller pieces of chalk have been completely dis- solved away, and that'in the cavities thus left in the tough clay calcareous incrustations often occur, apparently the result of precipitation of the calcium carbonate held in solution by per- colating water. Some small fragments of the well-known sili- cified wood of Antrim are found in the Boulder Clay, and on the bank near at hand some fine pieces of the same material, found in the excavations, are inspected. Nodules of iron-stone, derived from the basaltic formation of Antrim, are present in abundance, some of them yielding very perfect impressions of leaves and twigs belonging to the rich Tertiary flora which the 92 [Proc. B.,N. F. C., valuable papers of Mr. J. Starkie Gardner, F.G.S., contributed to the Club’s Proceedings, have made familiar to us. But now the Secretary’s shrill whistle sounds the recall, and the scattered party assemble near the manager’s cheerful house, where a hearty vote of thanks is passed to Mr. Lattimore and the engineering staff for their attention and courtesy, and to Mrs. Lattimore and her amiable daughters for their hospitable treatment of the lady members of the party. Then taking the road once more, Castle Robin is repassed, and, turning down the hill, a new route is taken vza Derriaghy, and at about eight o’clock Belfast is once more reached. On 7th July, to GREENORE AND CARLINGFORD. The third excursion of the season was to Greenore and Car- lingford. Starting at seven o’clock, the party of about a dozen was augmented to upwards of twenty ere the journey was finished. After an hour spent at Greenore, which was devoted to a rather hurriedly-taken refreshment and a stroll along the beach, where the botanists were repaid by some rare plants, the road was taken to Carlingford, skirting some low ground with pools rich in aquatic species. The excursion was mainly, how- ever, an archeological one, Carlingford and neighbourhood being famous for castellated remains ; and perhaps never in its history were its ancient buildings so well ‘‘done” as on this occasion. The party mustered in its numbers no less than five photographers, with cameras of as many shapes and sizes, bent upon illustrating the place in a manner more complete than ever before attempted. The ruined abbey to the south of the town was first visited. It dates from the fourteenth century, and its erection is ascribed to Richard De Burgh, Earl of Ulster. Its ruin took place in the seventeenth century. It now forms a picturesque pile, and what remains of it seems to be taken care of, and further decay prevented. Entering the town we ‘1888-89. 23 pass under the ancient Tholsel, which has lost its antique character by an improved roof. In the street a castellated buiding with quaint window tracings attracts attention, and there is another further on of larger dimensions. Both are evidently dwellings of the Elizabethan age. King John’s Castle should, perhaps, have been named first, for certainly it is the most conspicuous and important feature in the town. Its history, too, has been an eventful one. It was occupied as early as AD. 1210, and it played a most important part in the changeful history of the place between that early date and its final ruin early in the seventeenth century. The modern town is a clean, tidy, crooked little place, the inhabitants much given to whitewashing, and altogether it wears a cheerful, contented air, which the London and North-Western Railway, passing its doors, has not altered in the least degree from its quiet old ways. The surroundings from any point of view are simply charming. The sheltered lough, across which the well-wooded Rostrevor mountains, backed by the more distant Mourne range, form an outlook few places possess ; while Slieve Foy, with its dark serrated ridge rising immediately behind the town, makes a fitting background to the bright houses and ancient castles, nestling along the shore. Viewing the sights, botany, and photography soon sped away the best part of the day. Several of the party had scaled the mountain ; but the approach of train time assembled all on the railway platform well pleased with the trip. A few good plants were secured by the botanists. The Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum) was found near Greenore, the Columbine was found .at the base of the mountain, the Beech Fern among the crags higher up, while the Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) has seized on every piece of old wall or suitable rock exposure, and with its huge tufts of crimson flowers has lighted up their otherwise grey tints. The photographers were happy. A total of about fifty plates were exposed, which will no doubt be brought into re- quisition during the winter session. Leaving Carlingford by train, a short halt was made at Newry, where, after a welcome 94. Proc. BN. EWC., tea-at the Athenzeum, the business meeting of the day was held. After the formal business had been transacted, the hon. secre- tary called attention to the fact that the long-looked-for Flora of the North-East of Ireland, by Messrs. Stewart and Corry, was now completed and in his hands, and he was pleased to say that it was a work that the members should be proud of, as he considered the authors had conferred a lasting honour on the Club by allowing it to be brought out under their auspices. Mr. Harbison (the chairman) spoke in strong terms of praise on the manner in which Mr. S. A Stewart, under the sad cir- cumstances of the death of his colleague, had carried the work to completion, and he was sure the members generally would possess themselves of a book of such great local importance. The return journey left the party at 9 p.m. in town again, after a long but very pleasant and profitable day. On 26th and 27th July, to DROGHEDA AND THE BOYNE. The fourth excursion of the session was the ‘long excursion” of the year, and brought the Club to the banks of the historic Boyne Water. They had previously challenged the younger Field Club of Dublin to meet them on the Boyne, and accord- ingly a representative party from each Club met at Drogheda on the arrival of the early trains from Dublin and Belfast, and immediately proceeded by train to Kells. The Rev. Canon Grainger, D.D., M.R.I.A., was elected Chairman for the excur- sion. Many circumstances combined to compel the party to direct their attention almost exclusively to archeological matters, chiefly because of the extraordinary number, variety, and importance of the antiquarian remains to be found in the district. Kells and its neighbourhood could furnish interesting occupation for as many days as the party had hours to spend. The town itself, which is most beautifully situated, is a credit- able example of an Irish inland town—orderly, clean, and well TB83-85.." 77 95 built, its stately buildings illustrating the superior quality of the local carboniferous limestone as a building material, and its neat thatched cottages, hedgerows, and flower plots forming picturesque subjects for the rambling artist, but beyond all, its rich assemblage of antiquarian remains associated with the ancient glory and romantic history of Ireland as well as with ’ the piety, heroisra, and devotion of its most gifted sons. Here St. Columba founded a monastery in 550 A.D., and the saint’s house, a stone-roofed building, still exists. This was probably a chapel or an oratory as well asa residence. The chapel is arched over, and above it there are the remains of three cells, in one of which is a flat stone which is considered as the saint’s penitential bed. St. Columba was an active missionary, and founded many monasteries besides that of Kells, including those of Derry, Tory Island, Drum Cliff, Lambay, Dublin, Swords, and Raphoe.. He was an industrious scribe, and to him we owe the well-known volume in Trinity College long known as the Book of Kells. St. Columba died in 597 a.p., when almost in the act of copying a psalter, which he left to be finished by his nephew. The united parties then visited the round tower and three ancient crosses inthe churchyard. The round tower is above 100 feet high, nearly perfect, and forms a most picturesque and prominent feature, rising from the. plantation that bounds the graveyard next the public street. Within a few yards of the tower there are the remains of three elabor- ately sculptured crosses, and a fourth, the ‘Great Cross of Kells,” stands in the main street. The arms and shaft are cut out of one stone that must have been 13 feet by 6 feet. What remains of the sculpture work is still sharp and distinct, and the crosses themselves are remarkably perfect when we re- member how often Kells was the battle ground between con- tending native chieftains, the Dublin Danes and the forces under Edward Bruce, who burnt the town in 1315. After visiting the ancient wells and other remains of anti- quity, the entire party adjourned to the Headfort Arms Hotel, where Mr, Wolff provided a most excellent and well-served 96 [Proc. B. N. F. C., dinner, which renewed the waning energies of the party, and enabled them to start afresh for Navan by the afternoon train. Arriving at Navan, the party moved off for Donaghmore Round Tower. Some remained to see the tower and its surroundings, and the more enthusiastic pressed on to Tara, where every desirable point was identified. Donaghmore Round Tower is one of the most remarkable in Ireland, and © one of the few that are decorated with unquestionable Christian devices. Antrim has across cut on the lintel over its square door, but Donaghmore has a figure of the crucifixion on the keystone of its arched doorway. Leaving Donaghmore, the party visited Dunmore Castle, beautifully situated on the banks of the Boyne. Returning to Navan, several places of interest in the town were visited, and the party met again at the station in time for the last train to Drogheda, where a comfort- able tea awaited them at the White Horse Hotel. Early next morning the Cameranians were again on the warpath, and several excellent views were taken before break- fast, including the Boyne Viaduct and St. Lawrence’s Gate, one of the finest examples of the kind in Ireland. Sharp at eight o’clock the conductor’s whistle hurried the party to breakfast, and at nine gave the signal for the vehicles to start on the day’s trip. Rain fell thick and heavy, and continued without inter- ruption the entire day. The first halt was made at Monaster- -boice, where there are the remains of two churches, three crosses, and a very fine example of the Irish round tower, the prin- cipal cross being one of the most elaborately-carved and best preserved examples of Celtic art in Ireland. The second cross is twenty-seven feet high, in good condition, which unfortun- -ately cannot be said of the third. From Monasterboice a rapid drive brought the party to Mellifont Abbey, which was founded by St. Malachi in 1142, and was the first monastery in Ireland conducted under the discipline of the Cistercians. From Mellifont through King William’s Glen the party drove to Slane, visiting the remains of Slane Abbey, Tober Patrick, and other ruins, and thence passed on through the ancient Royal 1888-89. ] 97 “-93.8 Cemetery of Brugh na Boinne, extending from Slane to Netterville, along the north bank of the Boyne. Of the many tumuli included in this cemetery, only the three great.mounds of Knowth, New Grange, and Dowth were examined, and of these the underground chambers were thoroughly explored, even by the lady members of the party. A partially successful attempt was made by a Belfast amateur to photograph. the subterranean chamber of New Grange by a magnesium flash light. Leaving the ancient Royal Cemetery now forming the undulating, grand, and picturesque scenery by the windings of the Boyne, the party reached the Boyne Obelisk, but the falling rain and limited time prevented them from tracing the various features of the great battlefield of 1690; so, hurrying on to Drogheda, they partook of a hasty dinner, and left oy the last train for Belfast. On 4th August, to the CAVE HILL. A special field meeting was held on this date, the object being to examine some of the geological phenomena so well displayed in the limestone quarries at Whitewell, and to become better acquainted with the Flora of the Cave Hill. Undeterred by the thick, close rain, and reinforced by an English contingent, the party proceeded by steam tram. The wet weather, however, considerably reduced the attendance and prevented the full programme being carried out. The exten- sive quarries at Whitewell cut deep into the hillside, and afford a rare opportunity for studying the stupendous operations of nature in past ages. As explained by the leader on the present occasion, the sections here indicate the following order of events :—Ist. Greensand deposit, which forms the floor of the quarry, and is seen only at the entrance ; a coarse sandy marine deposit of dark-green colour, which has been formed near a. shore, or at any rate in water of only moderate depth. It was the home; of an interesting fauna. Such shells.as Axogyra, 98 [Proc. B. N. F. C., Pecten, Lima, Terebratula, and Rhynchonella are abundant. These sandstones pass up into (2nd) hard white limestone of the chalk formation. This is, as a rock, unique in. the British Islands, notwithstanding the fact that it is chemically the equivalent of the English chalk, aud only differs geologically by being slightly younger. This limestone, or hard chalk, was formed in a deeper sea, the most characteristic fossils found in it being its belemnites, conico-cylindric bodies which were the internal axes of ancient cuttlefish. The formation of the flints, so abundantly arranged in layers in our chalk rocks, has been the subject of much discussion ; that they originated in sponges which flourished in the ancient cretaceous seas seems, however, most probable. That the chalk itself was built up by innumer- able aggregations of the shells of animals of microscopic dimen- sions can be demonstrated by a lens of moderate power applied to a sufficiently thin slice of rock. 3rd. The elevation of the ancient sea-bottom, its consolidation into the hard rock we now find, and its subsequent long-continued erosion, which is nowhere better seen than in the Whitewell quarries. The once level sea-bottom has been worn into an irregular surface, having in places deep hollows or pockets now filled up with loose flints that have resisted the force of decomposition which wore away the chalk rock. A section at the northern end is peculiarly instructive —a confused mass of angular blocks of limestone lies up against a vertical cliff of the same rock. This is evidently the effect of ancient erosion, as the basaltic lava has been poured out equally over the limestone dedris and the limestone in place, the interpretation being that this limestone dedrzs is the talus or undercliff of an escarpment which existed in early tertiary times. 4th. The eroded surface of the chalk, then covered with heaps of loose flints, was overflowed by lava welling up from the innumerable crevices which we now find filled with trap rock, and which are known to geologists as dykes. There were, no doubt, several of these outflows, and the once plastic, but now indurated mass, forms the massive rock known as whinstone. In the absence of the secretaries no formal meeting 1888-89. ] | 99 was held, and the election of new members was not proceeded with. Though several rare plants occur on the hill, the ascent was abandoned on account of the continued downpour. A small consolation was afforded by the testimony of a witness ‘present to the effect that Orkney and the Hebrides have en- joyed a remarkably dry season, being in fact threatened with a water famine, and also that there has been a strangely dry summer at Valentia. On 18th August, to BALLYCASTLE. A numerous party assembled on the platform of the Northern Counties Railway, and took the early train em route for Bally- castle. A fast run brought them to Ballymoney, where car- riages were changed, and proceeding at a more leisurely rate along the narrow-gauge line, passing Dervock, and Armoy, with its round tower and ancient crosses, the summit level is reached, and the train glides at a faster pace around the western base of Knocklayd, and draws up at the platform at Ballycastle. After a short halt at the Antrim Arms Hotel, a start is made, and the party proceed to the shore. And here they feel, in- deed, the delight of escaping for a few hours from the smoke and dust of the city to such a spot as this. Beneath a cloud- less sky, the blue waters of the Atlantic are raised into a thousand dancing wavelets by the crisp, fresh, northerly breeze, and break with a continuous murmur on the long, white stretch of shining sand. Straight opposite, across the sunny channel, rise the white and black cliffs and heathery hills of Rathlin Island. . Eastward, the grand promontory of Benmore, or Fair Head, stands out into the sea with rugged boldness, while to the westward the snow-white rocks of Kinbane project into the azure waters. A short walk brings the party to the ruined abbey of Bona- margy, or Bunn-na-Mairge, which figures perhaps more than 100 [Proc. B. N. F. C., any other edifice in North Antrim in the ancient historical records. From the beginning of the sixteenth century it was used as a Franciscan Priory, but its original foundation pro- bably dates from a much earlier period. Here was the favourite burial-place of the great Clan-Donnell, and many a brave MacDonnell chieftain has his last resting-place within these mouldering walls. After a space, devoted to examining the ruined abbey—more interesting on account of historical asso- ciations than of architectural features—-a move is made to where, on a hill overlooking the sea on the other side of the stream, stand the ruins of Dunanynie Castle, which vies with the abbey on the river bank below, in historical importance. For many years it was the residence of the MacDonnell chiefs, and here the great Sorley Boy MacDonnell was born, and here he came in 1585 to spend in peace the closing years of his long and eventful life. But the MacDonnells would appear to have been comparatively modern tenants of the castle, as mention is made of this fortress in manuscripts of much earlier date. A few moss-grown walls, crowned with ferns and grasses, are all that now remain of what was in old times a stronghold of much importance. The road is now taken for Kinbane, but a section of the party, charmed with the varied prospect of land and sea, and with the heathery pastures, laden with the perfumes of a hun- dred flowers, linger behind, and only the more energetic mem- bers reach the shining promontory of hard white. chalk which, seamed and scarred with the war of the elements, boldly with- stands the incessant wash of the Atlantic waves. Here another ruined castle, picturesquely perched on the narrow headland, claims the attention of the archzologists, while the botanists rejoice in the profusion of maritime species which abound among the rocks. But the slanting rays of the sun now warn the party that their time is getting short, so the road is taken for Ballycastle, and soon the scattered forces unite to make a combined and vigorous attack on the ample repast provided by Mr. Hunter. Here notes are exchanged among those who 1888-89.] IoI have chosen different routes. The photographers, who are in force to-day, congratulate each other. Bonamargy, Dunanynie, and Kinbane have successively occupied their attention, not to mention pretty pieces of landscape and cliff scenery ; and one energetic photographer, backed by a small contingent, has pene- trated westward as far as Carrick-a-Rede, and “ done” the cele- brated swinging bridge there. After a formal business meeting, at which some new members are elected, the party make for the railway station, and as at nine o’clock the train rolls under the lofty arch of York Street Terminus, the members feel that a delightful day’s outing has come to a close. | On 8th September, to BELVOIR PARK. A beautifully fine afternoon, and the prospect of a pleasant ramble through the well-timbered grounds of Belvoir Park, conduced to a very large muster of members and their friends —the largest, indeed, in the records of the club. But the well- kept grounds of Lord Deramore’s demesne, with its trim walks and shrubberies, are not the kind of place best adapted for Field Club work, so although an enjoyable hour or two was spent, little of a scientific nature could be effected. A visit was made to the site of the old Bredagh Church, of which no trace now remains, although the graveyard which surrounded it is still in use. The old oak, over thirty feet in girth, from which Lord Deramore derives his title, was also visited, and after a short formal meeting the party retraced their steps, and broke up. 102 [Proc. B. N. F.C., WINTER SESSION. —— Nott.—The authors of the various Papers, of which abstracts are here appended, are alone responsible for the views expressed in them. iden epee stant: SOCIAL MEETING. the evening of the 6th November, by a social meeting in the Museum, College Square North. Tea was served in the lower room by the lady members. Shortly after eight o’clock, the chair was taken by the Presi- dent—Hugh Robinson, Esq., M.R.I.A.—who said that about six months ago the Club celebrated the completion of its twenty-five years of existence by a conversazione, held in the same room in which the Club had been started a quarter of a century before. Although technically the twenty-sixth year began with the first excursion last May, yet they might look upon this social meeting as in some sort the commencement of their second quarter of a century. He hoped that at the end of that term their jubilee celebration would find them in as flourishing a condition as they were now, and that many of the 1888-89. ] 103 present members would be spared to take part in that anni- versary. He then called attention to the principal objects which had been lent for exhibition. Mr. W. Swanston, F.G.S., the senior secretary, made a few remarks upon the table of specimens illustrating the Crustacea. It has been usual, he said, on our opening meet- ings to select some special subject for illustration. We have had lime, silica, echinoderms recent and fossil, as well as other groups. This year we have selected the class Crustacea. This special subject had been suggested to us by the visit to our shores of a very distinguished stranger, Lithodes Mata, who was found aimlessly wandering about the Holywood banks last summer. This gentleman, the Northern Stone-crab, of whom there is no previous record (except a doubtful one in the Dublin Museum) of any of his name having been met with on Irish soil, was carried to our valued fellow-member, Mr. John Marsh. This stranger’s relatives are mostly connected with warmer latitudes, but he himself hails from colder shores. He has, however been recorded as having before this visited the Isle of Man and the coast of Ayrshire. The family of Crus- tacea generally find their largest development in the tropic and sub-tropic seas, as was well indicated by the enormous claw of a species of crab from China, exhibited by Mr. S. F. Muilli- gan, M.R.I.A. This claw alone must have contained several pounds more meat than the whole body of one of those degene- rate crustaceans that find their way to our markets. The place of the Crustacea in the order of nature is rather a lowly one, coming next below the spiders and the great insect family generally. The Czrrhipeda, or barnacle shells, are the lowest order of the family. The Aztomostraca, a microscopic group, come next, and the Ma/lacotrica, containing the well-known crabs, are the highest. This last is the most important, and is subdivided into two sections—first, the stalk-eyed, or those with their eyes on good supports, a convenient arrangement, enabling them to see well about them ; and, second, the sessile- eyed, those whose eyes appear like black spots. On the table 104 [Proc. B. N\-FOC., were specimens from the Museum and private collections:illus- trating these various groups. Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., next referred to the class of Ostracoda, and to the late Dr. Malcomson’s researches in con- nection therewith. The Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., then drew attention to a table of specimens of the fungus Agaricus nebularis, exhibited by Mr. J. H. Davies, of Glenmore. These were found in.a wood at that place, where they had been growing for some years. This species forms the “ fairy rings,” and the ring at Glenmore, which in 1885 was only twenty-one feet in diameter, has by the growth of the last three years reached.a diameter-of thirty feet. The species is edible, and at the close of the meeting several members took home some of the specimens to put the rev. member’s statements to the proof. Mr. C. Bulla drew attention to some collections of Silurian fossils from Pomeroy, and Cretaceous fossils from the special zone at. Kilcorig. Mr. John Hamilton commented on two specimens of Pallas’s Sand-grouse recently shot in the vicinity. The presence of individuals of this species (natives of Siberia) in the North of Ireland during the past season has several times been the occasion of comment and correspondence in the public Press. After the election of a number of new members, the formal meeting broke up, and the members devoted themselves to a study of the various objects of interest lent for the occasion. A very conspicuous exhibit was a set of skins from Lapland, including a magnificent one of a polar bear, lent by Mr. John Marsh, who also showed some ancient silver ornaments and bowls recently brought from Nerway. A number of members showed their microscopes at work, as usual. Messrs. Wright, F.G.S., and R. Welch showed /ora- minifera. Mr. J. J. Andrew, L.D.S., showed a micro-camera, and its method of working. Mr. D. M‘Kee, Mr. John Donald- son, and Mr. George Donaldson also exhibited microscopes. Mr. D. M*Kee showed, besides a variety of old coins,:a gold 1888-89.) 105 one of William III. ap. 1698, several Elizabethan coins, a book published in 1851, by Dr. Harvey, discoverer of the cir- culation of the blood ; and a copy of the Ion Basilike, 1648. He also exhibited a sun dial containing a table of the equation of time, for changing the solar time as shown by the dial into mean time to the nearest minute. The photographic members of the Club exhibited a number of frames of photos taken during recent excursions—one espe- cially, illustrating the antiquities of the Boyne, visited last July. The chief of these were by Messrs. W. Swanston, F.G.S., George Donaldson, John Donaldson, and Robert Welch. The Club’s albums have also been enhanced during the year by contributions from the members above-named, and with the portrait and sketch albums, and other books of the Club, were on the tables. Mr. Isaac Ward showed a splendidly illustrated book of recent astronomical research, published by Harvard University, which shows what wonderful strides American astronomers, aided by the clear air of the Rocky Mountains, are making in the observational branches of the science. Messrs. Wright, Firth, and Swanston lent a number of oil and water-colour drawings and engravings, and Mr. F. W. Lockwood showed two large drawings of St. Saviour’s priory and cathedral and round tower, Glendalough, County Wicklow. OPENING ADDRESS, The first business meeting of the Winter Session was held in the Museum, College Square North, on the evening of November zoth, when the President--Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.J.A.—delivered the following inaugural address :— When I had the honour of addressing you at the opening of our last session, the time at my disposal only permitted of my giving you some account of the various institutions which had, 106 [Proc. B. N. F.C., aided in the progress of the study of Natural Science in Belfast, the circumstances which led to the establishment of our Club in the year 1863, and some particulars regarding the principal events of the earlier years of its history. I had purposed on that occasion to make some reference to the general progress of scientific inquiry during the quarter century which has elapsed since the Club began its work, and with your permission I shallnow do so. The title of our Society, and its objects, as defined in our constitution —viz., the practical study of Natural Science and Archeology in Ireland—would, at the first appear- ance, rather limit the scope of the subject under consideration. I shall, however, take a broader view, and consider that in order to fulfil that object it is absolutely necessary that our studies should extend far beyond our own country, and that we should be acquainted with the working of those mighty forces in nature which in ages past have exerted their action here, but whose full powers are now only to be realised in distant lands. It is somewhat difficult to lay down a hard-and-fast boundary line between what may be termed Natural Science and Physical Science, as the action of the physical forces exert such a paramount influence upon the fauna and flora of any district. I therefore think it is quite within the scope of the subject I have selected for this evening’s address, to refer, not only to the advance in knowledge of natural science, strictly speaking, but also to the similar progress in physical science, and the application of some of its more recent discoveries to the development of our home comforts, our facilities for travel, and consequent opening up of unexplored or undeveloped regions, and so furthering our commerce, and enabling us to avail our- selves of the natural products of distant countries. No matter what our special hobbies may be, these are matters which con- cern us all, and I shall therefore in the first place refer to them. In the facilities for transport, both by land and sea, marked progress has been made during the past twenty-five years. It does not require a very?great stretch of some of our memories to go back a few years further, when vessels in the timber 1888-89.] 107 trade, after discharging in Prince’s Dock, had rough bunks fitted up for the conveyance of passengers to American ports. Passengers had to provide their own bedding and cooking ‘utensils, and perhaps wait for days on the sailing of the vessel. Now we have the passage accomplished in as many days as it sometimes took weeks before, and passengers may book through from distant inland towns, and calculate upon leaving our ports almost as punctually as for a railway journey of a few miles. Year by year has witnessed the increase in the size and safety of our ocean steamers, and the substitution of screw propellers for paddles. The use of steel in construction, and the increased adoption of the principle of water-tight com- partments, transverse and longitudinal, have tended to this increased safety, as it is found that iron casing breaks if struck, while steel only bends. Instances are are also on record of vessels coming into port with water flow- ing in and out of the front compartments, without in any way endangering the safety of the ship, or delaying its voyage. The use of double expansion engines has led to a considerable saving of waste power, and in two new steamers of the White Star line, triple expansion engines, which were first used in 1874, have been adopted, thus, by extra cylinders, using the steam three times. It is believed that increased speed will be gained at less cost. Substantial advances have been made in other directions in connection with our mercantile marine, notably in the matter of lighthouse illumination, the adoption of sirens and similar apparatus in foggy weather, and the sys- tem of meteorological observations and weather forecasts. Vast engineering works have been accomplished in order to reduce distance. The Suez Canal has been completed, the Panama is in progress, while at home we have the Manchester Ship Canal in active preparation. In railway engineering, our Club has seen the completion of the Mont Cenis and St. Gothard Tunnels, while in Britain the Mersey and Severn Tunnels are also in use. The Canadian Pacific Railway was opened some two years ago, enabling a traveller to reach Port 108 [Proc. B. N. F. C., Moody, in British Columbia, the western terminus of the line, within a fortnight of leaving Liverpool. The importance of this line as a means of communication with Eastern Asia cannot be over-estimated. Apparently, by it and a quick service of steamers from Vancouver to Yokohama, and by the Suez Canal and overland route, it will be quite possible to carry out Jules Verne’s idea of ‘round the world in eighty days.” Throughout the world almost, railway extension pro- gresses, penetrating even into Lapland, the first train upon the Lulea Ofolen line having passed the Arctic circle in October of last year, while in Burmah two lines have been opened within the past three years. Others are projected in Siam, which, when completed, will make Moulmein a port both for Siamese and Chinese trade. In 1886, the Trans-Caspian Rail- way was opened so far as Merv, and the complete line to Samarcand was to have been opened in May last, thus enabling the journey from Michaelovsk on the Caspian to Samarcand to be completed in a day and a half. In somewhat minor matters, but more immediately concern- ing ourselves, we have had, in the period under review, the sub- stitution of steel for iron in rails and tires, the general adoption of the block system, and also that of continuous brakes, the taking up of water en route from tanks between the metals, and the introduction of drawing-room, dining, and sleeping cars. The various improvements in railway travelling, while tending to increased speed, have not been accompanied with diminished safety, but quite the reverse, for the average number of persons killed annually, from causes beyond their own control, has been reduced from 35 in the quinquennial period ending in 1878, to 16 in that ending in 1887. One outcome of the undertaking of vast engineering works such as those to which I have re- ferred, has been the development of special machinery for their execution. In the Mont Cenis Tunnel, compressed air was used as the motive power in the drilling machinery, and, having done its duty in that way, served a further use in ventilating the workings. The same power was used in sinking the 1888-89. ] 109 caissons for the Forth Bridge, but when the boulder clay was reached, its tenacious nature required special appliances—spades with hydraulic rams in the hollow handles. With the roof of ‘the chamber to thrust against, it was only necessary to place the spade in position, turn a tap, and the cutting edge was thrust with a force of tons into the clay. In the construction of the Manchester Canal a giant navvy is at work, exca- vating daily a mass of earth 50 feet wide, 23 feet deep, and 20 feet long. In the general application of mechanical science, we have had the introduction and general adoption of gas engines, and the extended use of hydraulic motors, showing a considerable economic advantage in comparison with steam, in cases where the amount of power is small, or required only at intervals. While progress has been made in the arts of peace, those of war have also advanced. Some thirty years ago steam had been adopted as the motive power in our warships, and armour-plated vessels were taking the place of our wooden walls, the first ironclad ship built for our Government having been ordered in 1859. The introduction of such vessels as the Merrimac and Monitor in the American Civil War was another step, and we have seen the gradual development of armour plates supposed to be invulnerable, and of heavy ordnance to prove that they were not so, till in recent years we find that a tiny torpedo boat or a submarine mine is capable ot effecting more destruction than the one can prevent, or the other accomplish. In no department of science has progress been so marked as in electrical research and its applications. In our Club’s early days we had, I believe, only one telegraph office in Belfast, and the rate was 3s. 6d. for twenty words. Now we have telegraph business transacted at almost every post office in the kingdom, and at the sixpenny rate we send messages upon the veriest trifles. The increase in the number of telegrams sent last year, as com- pared with the number sent in 1869 or 1870, is about 850 per cent., while the annual revenue has increased from £550,000 to £2,000,000. Mr..W.H. Preece, in his address to the Mechani- 110 [Proc. B. N. F.C., cal Section of the British Association, at the present year’s meeting, gave some interesting particulars regarding the deve- lopment of multiplex telegraphy. He stated that while Cooke & Wheatstone’s instrument required five wires, and transmitted four words per minute, now one wire transmits six messages at ten times the speed. In 1875, it was thought wonderful to transmit to Ireland 80 words per minute; but in Belfast, Mr. Preece timed messages coming in at the rate of 461 words. per minute. I believe that this record was exceeded on the occasion of the Marquis of Hartington’s first visit here. To give a fur- ther instance of the vast increase in telegraphy, Mr. Preece stated that on the occasion of Mr. Gladstone’s introduction of his Home Rule Bill, in April, 1886, no less than 1,500,000 words were transmitted from the Central Telegraph Office in London in one night. In connection with the subject of Press telegrams, it is inte- resting to note, incidentally, the progress made in the issue of our daily papers. The adoption of the rotary press, the use of stereotype plates, the printing from a continuous roll of paper, and the possession of a private wire, enable a paper to go to press at a much later hour than before, and still be in time for the early morning trains. On the occasion of the visit of the Marquis of Hartington, to which I have already referred, a full report of his speech—in fact, I believe, the full text—was trans- mitted to the London papers ; while in the second edition of our local dailies, ready upon our breakfast tables, we had, along- side the complete report of the meeting, the opinions of the London Press upon it. Rapid and enormous as the increase of telegraphing has been, that of telephoning has been still more marked. It was only at the Plymouth meeting of the British Association, in 1877, that the telephone was first shown at work in Britain, and now every town of importance has its exchange. In the earlier years of its use, it was considered that this means of communication was only available for short distances. This has not, however, been found to be the case, and by the adop- 1888-89. | IIl tion of copper wires, which possess a greater amount of conduc- tivity than iron, and, I believe, bronze, which possesses it still more, distant towns, some so far apart as 600 miles, are brought within speaking distance. If ten years show such rapid pro- gress, what may be the result of the next ten’s research. The peculiar law of electrical induction, by which a current sent through a wire creates a sympathetic current in another parallel to it, was one of the difficulties to be contended with in tele- phoning, but which has been overcome. It has been practi- cally taken advantage of on the Lehigh Valley Railway in America, for the transmission of messages to and from trains in motion. The conducting wire is placed upon short poles some ten or twelve feet from the track. The inductive receiver consists of the metal roof of the carriage, or, where no metal roof exists, of a wire extending along the eave of the car. Bya combination of the ‘“‘ buzzer” arrangement and a telephone, messages in the Morse character can be received and trans- mitted while the train travels at the rate of sixty miles an hour. In the transmission of power by electricity, we have in our own neighbourhood the first electric tramway laid in Britain : that between the Giant’s Causeway and Portrush, opened in 1883, and in which, by means of a dynamo, the energy of the water power of the Bush River is developed into an electro- motive force. Lines have also been laid at Ryde, Blackpool, and Brighton, while in our own district we have the important line from Newry to Bessbrook. The invention of accumulators, in which electricity can be stored and transmitted, has been utilised for the propulsion of omnibuses, tricycles, launches, and other means of conveyance. In electro-metallurgy, dynamos have largely taken the place of batteries for electro-plating, and we now find that they are not only used for the deposition of the precious metals, and for the duplication in copper of finely engraved plates, but other metals are similarly treated. Nickel plating has become a large industry, and is used to give a rust-proof covering to our car and harness mountings, to our cycle fittings, and to our table I12 [Proc. B.N.F.C., cutlery and surgical instruments. The electro-deposition of tin takes the place of ordinary dipping when special articles war- rant the extra work. Even our Jubilee coins have been pro- duced by electrical action, as the dies for them were modelled in plaster, intaglios formed by the electro-deposition of copper, and these again strengthened by the deposition of a layer of iron one-tenth of an inch thick. In the purification of copper, immense quantities of that metal are at Swansea and Widnes obtained by electro-deposition. The principle of electrolysis, upon which electro-metallurgy depends, has recently been ex- perimented upon in many directions—as in the purification of sewage, and that of drinking water, and in the maturing of wines and spirits. Quite recently, it was stated that at the offices of a London journal in the interests of the confectionery trade, the first specimens of sugar said to have been refined by electric action were on exhibition. In our own district, experi- ments have recently been conducted with a view to its utilisa- tion in bleaching processes. With the adoption of electric lighting in our railway stations, steamships, and factories, and the introduction of electric bells. in our dwelling-houses, you are all familiar. Everywhere we look around us we see the evidences of the utilisation of elec- trical energy. Our fire alarms are sounded by it; divers work beneath the sea by its light ; submarine mining and destruc- tion of ships and harbours can be accomplished by its aid; hidden rocks which impede navigation are got rid of by its power ; the same apparatus which forms a portable gas lighter has been applied instead of a percussion lock to rifles ; our doc- tors examine our throats by its light, and use a platinum wire heated by its means instead of a knife; tiny incandescent lights, controlled by a pocket battery, sparkle instead of diamonds on the head-dresses of ladies, and by a similar one at the tip of his baton, a conductor directs his band when dark- ness sets in. Even the familiar postman’s knock is being superseded, for letter-boxes have been constructed in which the raising of the flap by the insertion of letters completes the cir- 1888-89. ] 113 cuit and rings a bell. The tampering with our safes, doors, and windows, and the increase of temperature in our shops and warehouses by fires breaking out, are indicated in a similar way. “Telegraphs have been perfected by which portraits of criminals can be accurately transmitted, and when caught, and the extreme sentence of the law passed upon them, the penalty can be carried out by this wonderful power. In chemistry, the past twenty-five years has been marked by a similar advance in knowledge. Not only has the system of nomenclature been changed, but the number of distinct elemen- tary bodies has been increased to seventy (not including the twenty, or more, new elements said to have been discovered by Kriiss and Nilsen in certain rare Scandinavian minerals) Spectrum analysis has given to us a knowledge of the chemical constitution of the sun and stars. The investigations which have recently been laid before the Royal Institution by Mr. Crookes, with reference to the examination of bodies under electric discharges 2” vacuo would point to the possibility of decomposing some of the elementary substances and resolving them into more simple forms, as he states there is reason to suspect that Yttrium has been formed by the combination of six simpler substances, caused by varying states of electricity and heat to shape themselves into that element. Within the last year M. Moissan has succeeded, after three years’ incessant labour, in the isolation of Fluorine, a substance which burns hard crystalline Silicon like tinder, sets fire to organic matter, and forms fluorides by incandescence with many other elements. The direction in which chemical research has had, perhaps, its greatest development, so far as commercial enterprise is con- cerned, has been in the utilisation of the coal tar products. It was in the year 1856 that Mr. W. H. Perkins, while carry- ing on investigations as to the probability of artificially prepar- ing quinine, discovered the substance from which the colour mauve is produced. Soon after, about the year 1859, came the discovery, by a French chemist, of the brilliant red colour Fuchsine, or Magenta and Solferino, as some of its shades 114 [Proc, B, N.F. C., were termed, from the battles fought about the time of its dis- covery. These were, I think, the only aniline colours in exis- tence when our Club was formed. Since then we have had the discovery of Hoffman’s violet, the aniline green, and Nichol- son’s golden yellow hue, Phosphine, the latter obtained from a residuum or bye-product in the manufacture of magenta. Again, when carbolic acid, obtained by the distillation of tar, is treated with nitric acid, picric acid is obtained, which in solu- tion imparts a bright, pure yellow dye. Strange to say, this yellow colouring matter, when treated with cyanide of potas- sium, gives a rich purple dye, identical with the famous Tyrian purple. With every varying change of fashion, new shades of colour are introduced from coal tar products, and at such cheap rates as the natural and original sources cannot possibly compete with. One of the peculiarities of some of these colouring matters is their extreme diffusibility. It is stated that one ten-millionth of a grain of magenta will give its colour to a drop of water. Not only do we find these substances used for dyeing and printing textile fabrics, but they enter into the composition of our printing and writing inks, and give the colour for rubber stamp pigments, while the diffusibility of the purples and reds enables us to multiply copies of writing by the various cento- graph and hectograph processes. The most interesting feature, however, from a natural history point of view, in connection with these coal tar products, has been the synthetic production of Alizarine, which is identical with the colouring matter obtained from the madder root. In the earlier days of chemistry, it was considered that while the chemist, having determined upon the constituents of an inorganic body, could in many instances form it in his laboratory, the formation of organic substances was quite beyond his power, and that they could only be produced in the living bodies of animals or plants, requiring a vital force for their construction. So far back as 1828, Wohler succeeded in producing Urea syntheti- cally, and some seventeen years after, Kolbe accomplished the 1888-89.] II5 preparation of acetic acid from its elements. Since then nume- rous other discoveries have been made in synthetic organic chemistry. That of Alizarine is the one which has had the greatest effect upon our arts and manufactures, having revo- lutionised the trade of Turkey red dyeing, and having seriously interfered with the cultivation of madder. It has been stated that the same works and machinery can with these modern dyes turn out 50 to 70 per cent. more printed calico than could have been done in the old madder dyeing days. Unfortu- nately, the production of Alizarine is restricted by the quantity of anthracene procurable from coal tar. It is found that from the distillation of two thousand tons of coal tar, only one ton of anthracene is obtained, and from this substance, by a complex treatment, Alizarine is produced. Indigo has also been formed synthetically, but I believe that as yet the process has not been accomplished with the commercial success which has attended the production of Alizarine. When we consider the complex processes by which these substances are formed in the labora- tory, and their formation by vital force in plants, we may, to use Dr. Schunk’s words, say—‘‘ We stand confounded at the simplicity of the apparatus employed by the plant, and are obliged to confess we have no conception of the means whereby the end is attained.” Synthetic organic chemistry has resulted in the production of numerous compounds, and an alkaloid hitherto found in hemlock has been so prepared, and we may reasonably hope that the artificial manufacture of such alka- loids as quinine will be accomplished. In 1883, Knorr, of Erlangen, obtained from aniline a new alkaloid named Anti- pyrine, which has proved a potent remedy for sea-sickness. Recent investigations with coal tar derivatives have resulted in the formation of that peculiar substance, saccharine, possess- ing 250 times the sweetening power of sugar. This is now manufactured in Germany on a commercial basis, and we are led to believe that it may usefully take its place as a substitute for sugar in certain diseases where the use of that substance in food is attended with injurious results, as Saccharine is not fer- 116 [Proc. B.N. F.C., mentable, and cannot be assimilated. Quite recently its use has been condemned in France, on the ground that it is not only indigestible itself, but also retards the digestion of other substances with which it is mixed. It has been insinuated that this condemnation is an interested one, as the production of beet sugar is a large industry in France. A few weeks ago I noticed in one of the Dublin papers a column advertisement, in which were a large number of testimonials from competent men in favour of the merits of saccharine. Among other products of coal tar distillation, we have nitro- benzol, or, as it is commonly called, Essence of Myrbane, used as a substitute for oil of bitter almonds in perfuming soap and flavouring confectionery. We have also perfumes resembling those of the Tonquin bean, and of the Woodruff, while much of the scent sold as ‘‘new-mown hay” really comes from our gas works. The greater part of the trade in the production of aniline colours is a German industry ; but it is to our country- man Perkins, that the honour of the discovery of the first of them belongs. The wonderful petroleum industry, which has so largely developed during the last quarter century, while coming under the head of chemistry, has also a bearing upon geological science. As the demand for burning oils increased, we had first, in America, the adoption of pipe lines for the conveyance of the crude oil to the coast, where, after refining, it is exported under the name of refined petroleum. The more recent deve- lopment of the trade has led to the construction of vessels for the conveyance of the oil in bulk, and we may soon look for the establishment of large storage tanks at our leading sea-ports, into which the oil may be discharged on the arrival of such vessels, and only requiring the use of barrels for distri- bution to interior towns. Even that will not be necessary, for in. the States, railway and street tank waggons convey it directly to the tanks of the retailers, Petroleum has been used for firing the boilers of Russian locomotives, and it has recently been reported to the Government of that country that it can 1888-89. | 117 be solidified by the addition of from one to three per cent. of soap, forming a mass like compact tallow—hard to ignite, but burning without smoke, giving great heat, and leaving only about two per cent. of a hard, black residuum. The oil deposits of Upper Burmah are considered to be as rich as those of America, and we may possibly look to it as a further source of supply. An industry akin to that of petroleum, and which has been largely developed of late years, is the Scotch paraffin trade, in which burning oils and other substances are obtained by the distillation and treatment of coal shale. This branch of trade began by the distillation of the Boghead Mineral Coal, by Young, and thus Britain has again the honour of being first in the field. The production of oil from shale is one of the many instances in which substances formerly looked upon as waste have been utilised. In addition to the light burning and heavier lubricating oils obtained from the crude petroleum, we have also the white, semi-transparent substance known as paraffin wax, which has so largely taken the place of tallow in the manufacture of candles, and which has proved an effective insulator in electricity, and is employed in conjunction with cotton in covering bell wires. Another product is vaseline, which frem its healing properties forms a valuable medicinal ointment, and has been much used instead of animal fats in the production of perfumes from flowers, possessing as it does in a marked degree the power of absorbing their odours from them. Another direction in which chemical science has progressed is that of the discovery and manufacture of the various explosives, and their adoption to blasting and mining purposes. The art of photography may well be included in any review of the recent advance of chemical knowledge. I shall not refer specially to it in the presence of so many of our members who have made that interesting art a study. I may, however, refer to the introduction of the dry plate processes, the pneumatic shutters, and other apparatus by which instantaneous photo- graphs may be taken; the improvements which have been effected in order to enable tourists to take and bring home 118 [Proc. B. N. F.C., with them a series of views of places visited--for example, the Eastman bromide paper, and the Vesgara gelatine films, as sub- stitutes for the less portable and more brittle glass plates ; the platino and Woodbury types, aud others of a like nature ; photo-lithography, photo-zincography, and the various means by which process blocks are made for book and newspaper illustrations. Now-a-days, we cannot tell when our features are being reproduced by this art. The individual who appears to be intently examining the interior of his hat, may, through what seems to be a ventilator in its crown, be quietly focussing a camera concealed there; while an equally innocent-looking mortal, whose opera glass is turned towards us, may be taking a “snap shot”; or when an old acquaintance meets us, and as we talk keeps his distance (focussing distance, I mean), our attention is caught by a somewhat abnormal vest button, rather out of keeping with the rest of the set, and we afterwards find that it is the only visible portion of his cherished bosom friend, in the shape of a detective camera, and that its presence has deceived us into the idea that our friend is somewhat stouter than when we last saw him. It has recently been stated that it is quite possible for some notability to address a forenoon audience, have his portrait taken unknown to himself, a process block formed therefrom, and the speaker’s likeness appear alongside the report of his address in the afternoon papers. We now come to the consideration of the progress of Natural Science since the date of the formation of our Club. . The question which has undoubtedly engrossed most of the atten- tion of scientists since that time has been that of Evolution. The theory is one which had been at different times promul- gated in various forms, but it was only when Charles Darwin published his ‘‘ Origin of Species,” in 1859, that it became one of the main questions of scientific research and argument. While Darwin was engaged in the researches which led to the publication of this work, Alfred Russell Wallace had been in- dependently working out a similar theory, but it has been admitted that Darwin has the prior claim. At the meetings of 1888-89..] 119 the British Association, at Oxford in 1859, Manchester in 1860, and Cambridge in 1861, this theory was the question of the hour. Our Club was formed at the time when the arguments pro and con. waxed fast and furious, and as year by year since the matter has been investigated, the strong feelings on either side have toned down ; deductions based upon insufficient pre- mises have been abandoned, and investigators have settled down to the even tenor of their ways. While we may hesi- tate to give our adhesion to many of the propositions laid down, we cannot deny the fact that the promulgation of this theory has led to a vast increase in the spirit of inquiry, and that the study of natural science received a greater impulse than ever it received before. One of the directions in which that spirit of inquiry was manifested was the theory of sponta- neous generation. The researches of Tyndall have shown that the air we breathe teems with micro-organisms, and that vege- table infusions, if exposed to the air, will after a certain time show such forms, derived from it; but if their vitality is destroyed by heat, and the air excluded, no living forms appear ; or if the air is admitted, but passed through a tube heated sufficiently to destroy the germs, no reproduction of the organisms takes place ; and that life only comes from pre- existing life. Tyndall’s researches, conducted first in London, were afterwards repeated in the higher Alps, and it was found that the colder air of that region had the same effect upon the non-development of these germs that its exclusion in London had. In an interesting paper by Dr. Frankland, in the WVine- teenth Century for August, 1887, some interesting particulars are given regarding the widespread diffusion of these organisms in the air. Ina journey from Norwich to London, it was found soon after leaving the former place that in a third-class Carriage with four passengers, one window being open, 395 organisms were falling on the square foot per minute, while half-way between Cambridge and London the number was 3,120. In a barn where flail threshing was going on, Dr. Frankland found the number to be 8,000, Confirming Tyn- 120 [Proc. B. N. F. C., dall’s Alpine investigations, he found that the higher we go above the level of the sea, or the further from busy towns and crowded streets, the more free from these microbes do we find the air. Thus, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Golden Gallery yielded 11, the Stone Gallery 34, and the churchyard 7o. Some fifty years ago, Schwann demonstrated that fermentation and putrefaction were due to micro-organisms. Henle argued that contagious diseases had a similar origin. The real pro- gress in this study dates from 1860, when Pasteur, having established Schwann’s theory of fermentation, took up that of Henle regarding living contagia. The researches of Pasteur, Koch, Klebs, and others, have been the means of determining the special cause of many diseases both in plants and animals. Thus, Bacillus tuberculosis is found in the breath and tissues of those afflicted with consumption; Bacillus subtilis in splenic fever, which is so fatal to cattle, and which is also com- municable to man, in whom it is known as the wool-sorter’s disease, while Koch has discovered the Comma bacillus in cholera ; and in typhoid fever, scarlatina, erysipelas, and other diseases, special dacz//i have been found. The general current of recent investigations would seem to prove that micro- organisms are widely diffused, that when they meet with a suitable soil they develop and multiply, and that the diseases are not so much due to the organisms themselves as to the effect of certain poisonous chemical compounds which are formed during the life of the organism, for the diseases can be communicated by these poisons in entire absence of the germs. Sir Henry Roscoe expresses the opinion that it is by chemical rather than by biological investigation that the cause of diseases will be discovered, and the power of removing them obtained. The main feature of Pasteur’s researches has been in the deve- lopment, exterior to the body, of these organisms. It has been found that in the case of Laczllus subtilis so developed, if kept at a heightened temperature, it loses its virulence, and becomes incapable of producing the poisonous compound. Animals inoculated with it in this form sustain no mischievous results, 1888-89. | 12! and become proof against the attacks of the virulent type of the disease. Dr. Gamaleia, of Odessa, in his researches on the cholera vibrion, has found that the ordinary forms, as discovered by Koch, are so little virulent that it is almost impossible to ‘communicate disease by inoculation with them. He has, there- fore, in the first instance developed the virus by introducing itinto a pigeon after it has passed through a guinea pig. It then kills pigeons by producing cholera, and after a few pas- sages it acquires an increased virulence. This passage virus is developed in a nutritive broth, which is heated to kill all the microbes it contains. It is found that this sterilised broth pro- duces death, with choleraic symptoms, but when the fatal dose is divided, and the period of inoculation extended over from three to five days, the animals experimented upon do not die from the inoculation, but become proof against cholera. We may look forward with interest to the further investiga- tion of this subject, in which Dr. Gamaleia has offered to repeat his experiments before the French Academy of Science during the present month, I believe. Pasteur’s treatment of hydro- phobia is accomplished on somewhat different lines. In it, the spinal cords of rabbits which have died of the disease are dried for a certain number of days, and diffused in a sterilised broth which is hypodermically injected into the patient on successive days, the number of days during which the cord has been dried being decreased gradually for each injection. It is maintained that by this treatment hydrophobia can be communicated to healthy animals, or, by a modification of it as a preventative measure, inoculation rendered the animals proof against the disease, and that in the case of man, when inoculation is accom- plished after infection, the mortality is materially reduced. One of the developments of the study of micro-organisms has been the adoption of the antiseptic treatment of wounds, to which, when air gets access, it brings with it innumerable germs, which produce putrefying action. Lister found that dilute car- bolic acid killed the germs without injuriously affecting the wound, Its use has now become general, and in a recent paper 122 [ Proc. B. N. F. C., by our eminent townsman, Sir Wm. MacCormac, it was stated that the present system of antiseptic surgery had in recent war- fare reduced the mortality to a mere tithe of what it was in the Crimea. The increased interest in the various branches of natural history during the past quarter century has led to Government aid being extended to the investigation of them, as in the case of the “ Lightning,” ‘ Porcupine,” and ‘‘ Challenger” Expedi- tions. The results of these expeditions have been far beyond the most sanguine expectations, revealing to us much informa- tion regarding the abysmal depths of the ocean, their structure and deposits, and showing to us that the depths in which it was at one time supposed life did not exist, teem with forms spe- cially adapted to the conditions in which they exist. One of the recently issued volumes on the Zoology of the ‘ Challenger ” Expedition is devoted to an account of the deep sea fishes. In them we find some interesting instances of these adaptations. In several forms, such as Ofostomias and Astronethes, large glandular, phosphorescent organs are found underneath the eyes, and which appear to be under the control of the fish, and capable of projecting a beam of light or shutting it off, as suits the owner’s purpose. In others, there are found tentacles with phosphorescent spots at their ends, which may possibly be used as lures in these deep, dark depths. Another question which has been brought to the front by these deep sea dredging opera- tions is that of the formation of coral reefs. The theory with which we were familiar in our early days was that of Darwin, published in 1842, in his great work upon ‘“ Coral Islands,” in which the formation of Barrier Reefs and Atolls was accounted for by subsidence. Doubts have been thrown upon the accu- racy of this theory by Alexander and Louis Agassiz, Geikie, and Murray of the “ Challenger,” while Dana still maintains the subsidence theory. ‘The matter has in the past year been a sub- ject of discussion, in various journals, between the Duke of Argyle, Huxley, and others. Upon the study of Geology much light has been thrown by 1888-89. ] 123 the published results of these voyages, while in other directions much attention has been given to the determination of the ages of our eruptive rocks, and the phenomena of metamorphism. In the elucidation of the latter, microscopic examination has proved a valuable aid, while synthetical chemistry has shown that some of our minerals may be artificially formed. We may anticipate that further investigations in that direction will enable us to determine the means by which they have been formed in the conditions under which we find them. While micro- geology and lithology have progressed, paleontology in its various branches has similarly advanced. The establishment of the Biological Laboratories at Naples and Plymouth, and I think at St. Andrew’s also, have already produced good results, and as such facilities for study are in- creased we may look forward to valuable information being gained with regard to the life history of our food fishes, and the harvest of the sea may be made more productive. Naturalists’ investigations have proved that birds are in many instances not the enemies, but the friends of the farmer, and while they may take toll from him occasionally, they render good service for it. Our legislators have been led to look upon the matter in this light, hence we have the Wild Birds’ Preser- vation Act, a thing also undreamt of when our Club first met. Birds are an important factor in keeping down the ravages of insects, which in certain seasons inflict an amount of damage which cannot be estimated. The appointment of Miss Ormerod as consulting entomologist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England shows that this subject of injurious insects is being taken up thoroughly, and if her warnings and directions to farmers regarding the stamping out of these pests were attended to, considerable gain would result. One somewhat peculiar instance of injury being done is by the carrion beetle develop- ing vegetarian habits. Naturally a gross flesh-eater, it has acquired a taste for mangold, and has during the past summer wrought considerable havoc in that crop in Somersetshire. The Hessian Fly, about which such alarm was created in 124 [Proc BANe Pa C!, 1886, is an old enemy. From a paper by the late Robert Pat- terson, F.R.S., published in 1840, I find that exactly one hun- dred years ago there was a similar alarm lest it should be im- ported from America, and that the Privy Council sat day by day debating how to ward off the calamity. Fortunately, on its appearance here this insect brought all his known enemies with him, and Miss Ormerod has hatched out specimens of the whole seven parasites which infest him. It is interesting to note that they are all Russian, and though heretofore we did not know the country of which he was a native, we now find it by the company he keeps. There are many other matters to which I would like to have called your attention, but I have already trespassed too far upon your time, and must apologise for the somewhat inordi- nate length of this address, and for having introduced into it many topics which do not appear to be quite cognate to the objects of our Ciub. I think, however, that their connection is not quite so remote as it might seem tobe. The progress of mechanical science has given us largely increased facilities for travel, and has tended to open up unexplored and undeveloped countries, to which British civilisation and commerce may be extended, and as that extension proceeds, the opportunities afforded for the investigation of the physical configuration, geological structure, and natural products of these countries, and of comparing them with those of our own, become greater ; while, on the other hand, the researches of naturalists who have gone off as pioneers to these far off lands have shown the commercial advantages to be gained by their being opened up to British trade. Central Africa has been made known to us by the travels of Livingstone and Stanley. The Congo, one of the largest water-ways of the world, has been investigated, showing a reach of navigable water 1,068 miles long, from Leo- poldsville to Stanley Falls. The great affluents already ex- plored give a tutal of 6,000 miles of water-way accessible from the former place, and this may possibly be increased by further exploration. 1888-89. ] 125 In the far north, British enterprise has opened up a new water-way from the Arctic Ocean to Central Asia. Captain Wiggins for many years held the opinion that the Gulf Stream flowed eastward, along the coast of Lapland, towards Nova ‘Zembla, and that this force, combined with the volume of the rivers Obi and Yenisei, drove the ice to the north of the Kara Sea, leaving the route through the Kara Straits open in the summer months. This opinion he proved to be correct in 1874, by sailing through these straits to the mouths of the Obi and Yenisei. In 1876 he ascended the latter river for a thou- sand miles, and three years later he landed a cargo at the mouth of the Obi. Last year, leaving Newcastle-on-Tyne on 5th August, on 9th October following for the first time a British sea-going steamer landed her cargo in the very heart of Siberia, at Yeniseisk, 2,000 miles from the mouth of the Yenisei, and only a few miles from the Chinese frontier. Now the Phoenix Company of merchant adventurers purpose estab- lishing a fleet to communicate with the mouth of the Yenisei, where cargoes would be transhipped to another fleet trading upon the river, and the cargoes brought down by it taken on board, thus dividing the journey, and allowing the return voy- age to be made before winter sets in. By this route Central Asia can be supplied with European commodities, and the vast mineral wealth of Siberia brought into the market. The extension in the application of electrical science, girding, as it now does, the globe with a series of submarine cables and land lines, gives us information, within a few hours of their occurrence, of those mighty outbursts of volcanic activity which so seriously alter in many instances the configuration of our earth. Chemical science, again, by patient investigation in the laboratory, revolutionises entirely an extensive branch of trade, determines the economic value and properties of newly disco- vered natural products, and aids us in the determination of the conditions under which the mineral components of our rocks have been formed. In fact, all branches of natural and physi- cal science are intimately interwoven, and I hold that the in- 126 ‘[Proc. B. N. F. C., vestigation of every one of those natural laws by which our world is held in being, or which has contributed to its adapta- tion for man, and the study of the development and utilisation of those laws, is quite within our province, and cannot but give to us an extended reverence for the wisdom and power of Him by whom these laws were set in force, and at whose word the ‘“‘ heavens and earth rose out of chaos.” The second meeting of the session was held in the Museum, College Square North, on 18th December—the President (Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A.) in the chair—when a paper was read by Mr. Robert Lloyd Praeger, B.E., B.A.—subject: “A Deep Sea Dredging Expedition.” The meeting was well at- tended by members and visitors. The reader commenced his paper with an account of the aims and objects of the expedition of which he was about to speak. The Royal Irish Academy, desiring information respecting the marine fauna of the South- West of Ireland, appointed a committee who were to explore these waters, and report on the results of their dredgings. Pro- fessor A. C. Haddon, of the Royal College of Science, Dublin, and Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., of Belfast, were heads of the scientific staff, while the general management was entrusted to Rev. W. S. Green, M.A., of Carrigaline, County Cork. Under these auspices three expeditions were despatched—in 1885, 1886, and 1888. Having briefly described the events of the two for- mer, Mr. Praeger came on to speak of the present year’s trip, and before entering on the narrative of the cruise, he described the apparatus and equipments which are used in deep-sea sounding and dredging, with special reference to the machines which were employed on the present occasion. The difficulties which attend the correct ascertaining of depths, and the obtain- ing of specimens of the sea-bottom and of the animals that live thereon, in the deep waters of the ocean, have only been com- pletely overcome during the last few years, and this is largely due to the introduction of fine steel wirein the sounding machine 1388-89. ] 127 and steel wire rope for dredging purposes, in place of the hempen cords and ropes that had previously been employed in these observations. Owing to the much smaller diameter of the wire, and its smooth surface, it is far less influenced by the retarding action of friction as it passes through the water, while, on account of its superior weight, it sinks readily, and by its employment for sounding purposes the depth can be accurately ascertained even in several miles deep of ocean. A new form of sounder, where- with a sample of the sea-bottom is secured and brought to the surface, enclosed in a cylinder of gun-metal, was described, and the machine exhibited. It was made in Belfast, from a design by Mr. William Swanston, of this city, and was used with success on the expedition. Samples of the fine wire used for ascertain- ing the depths, and of the steel wire rope used for dredging, were also shown. The lecturer then described the various forms of dredges and trawls, and explained how they are employed for the capture of the wonderful variety of animals that live on the ocean floor. Proceeding then to the narrative of their trip, Mr. Praeger stated that the party con- sisted of the Rev. W. S. Green, M.A.; John Day, Cork; Dr. =e: ball, Y.R.C.S.1.;' J. Hewitt Poole,-C.E., and W. de V. Kane, of Dublin ; and Joseph Wright, F.G.S., and the reader, of Belfast. Leaving Queenstown at four a.m. on May 27th, on board the Clyde Shipping Company’s powerful steamer Flying Falcon, a delightful day was passed in running down the romantic coast of County Cork, under a cloudless sky, with the Atlantic as calm as a millpond. Some trawling was done in Long Island Sound and Bantry Bay ex route, and at six o'clock in the evening they entered the picturesque harbour of Berehaven, and cast anchor for the night. The next day, being Sunday, was spent quietly in harbour, and the reader gave a short account of a ramble along the rocky seacoast, and described the rich flora of that district, exhibiting at the same time dried specimens of some of the rarer and more striking plants. A start was made for the deep water at eight o’clock that evening, and, steaming westward all night, a sounding was 128 [Proc. B. N. F. C., taken at four o’clock next morning, about sixty miles from land, which gave 345 fathoms. The beam trawl was immedi- ately sent down, and, on being brought to the surface at 7-30, was found to contain a large number of rare and beautiful specimens.. Among the Echinoids, or sea-urchins, Doroczdaris and Sfatangus were conspicuous, and the beautiful starfish Brissinga was present in abundance; the net also contained a fine example of the large univalve shell, Cassidaria Tyrrhena, which was first obtained as a British species on the previous cruise of the Lord Bandon. Steaming westward again, when the log registered 19 knots, another sounding was taken, and the machine recorded the great depth of 1,020 fathoms, and the sounder caine up with the interior of the gun-metal tube filled with Globigerina ooze. The Agassiz trawl was then unshipped and sent to the bottom, with 1,270 fathoms of steel rope attached; and when this great length of rope was at last reeled in, and the trawl got on board, it yielded some very extraordinary forms. During the night a gale was en- countered, and all steam was made for Valentia, but as morning advanced the storm subsided, and the boat’s head was again turned westward, and at midday, in a very heavy sea, the Agassiz trawl brought up a magnificent assortment of deep- sea animals from 750 fathoms. There were great Holothurie or sea-slugs, red, purple, and green ; beautiful corals, numerous sea-urchins, with long, slender spines ; a great variety of splen- did Asterotdea, or star fishes, two of which will constitute an entirely new genus ; and many other most interesting specimens. Photographs and drawings of these rare animals were displayed on the walls of the lecture-room. By the time these deep-sea treasures had been safely bottled away, it was blowing so hard that it was deemed necessary to run for shelter, and ere Berehaven was reached, heavy seas had swept the decks, smashing the starboard paddlebox, and wrecking the cook’s galley. Next day the gale continued, and the Flying Falcon remained at anchor opposite Castletown, while the crew busied themselves in repairing damages, and the 1888-89. ] 129 scientists in overhauling their tackle, and carefully labelling and preserving the treasures secured on the previous day. On Thursday the weather continued boisterous, and a very high sea was running outside, but some successful trawling was done in Berehaven and Bantry Bay, and in the afternoon, as the wind was falling and the barometer continued to rise, another attempt was made to reach deep water, but when the steamer had reached a point ten miles west of the Bull Rock, stress of weather again necessitated return to land. The fol- lowing day a flying visit was paid to Baltimore, and then a south-easterly course was taken, and some trawling done with good results on the fifty fathom line; and here the lecturer gave a graphic account of a narrow escape from collision with a White Star liner, which came down on them while enveloped in a thick fog, and was very near sending them to the bottom. The night was spent in the pretty barbour of Glandore, and on Saturday, after some successful dredging south of Galley Head, in wind and pouring rain, the steamer’s course was set for Queenstown, which was reached at three o’clock. The lecturer concluded by giving a more detailed account of some of the rarer forms obtained during the cruise, referring especially to the Hor- amunifera which occured, to exemplify which a number of large diagrams, artistically executed by Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., were displayed on the walls. The paper was further illustrated by samples of the dredging ropes and sounding wire, by ex- amples of some of the Echinoids obtained, and by a large chart showing the courses of the steamer on the present, and also on the two previous expeditions, while the dredge and deep- sea sounder were also exhibited, and their use and mode of working explained. At the close of the paper Professor Ever- ett, M.A., F.R.S., &c., spoke in praise of the admirable manner in which Mr. Praeger had brought the subject before the meeting. Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., gave some further information regarding the Loraminzfera which he had obtained in the dredgings, and after several other members had spoken, the audience gathered round the tables to examine the various interesting objects there displayed. 130 [Proc. B. N. F. C., The third meeting of the winter session was held on January 29th—the. Vice-president, Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., in the chair—when a communication was brought forward by Mr. William Swanston, F.G.S., entitled, “ Photography, as an aid to the Club’s Work.” The reader, on being called upon, proceeded as follows :— Twenty-six years ago the founders of our. club framed an admirable set of rules for its guidance, which have remained to the present time with scarce any alteration to govern its management. The first gave the society its name, the second defined its aim. They are—ist. That the society be called the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club. 2nd. That the objects of the society be the practical study of natural science and archzology in Ulster—afterwards extended to all Ireland. Though holding an official position in the club it will not, I am sure, be considered egotistical on my part if I state that, in my opinion, the club is, to some extent, succeeding in fulfilling its mission. Doubtless, the numbers who really work and who contribute to the club’s proceedings is small in proportion to those who merely sympathise with its doings, but this is so, and ever will be, in similar societies. It is not just, however, to measure the usefulness of the club in advancing our know- ledge of natural science or archeology by the number of its published papers, or by the thickness of its annual proceedings ; the reports of our meetings and excursions have a wide-spread circulation through the local Press, and they are, let us hope, in some degree educating, not only those who are members nominally, but the outside public as well. Looking back, one is inclined to say that there is perhaps not so much field work done by our younger members now as there was in the early days of the club, but still the work goes quietly on, and our recent publications, I think, satisfactorily prove that we are not retrograding. Much more, however, remains to 1888-89.] 131 be done under both departments of our work than has yet been attempted, and I have no hesitation in saying that as an organisation we are in a good position for doing it. What I feel is most wanted is not so much workers, as a more com- plete development of our organisation, and the better utilis- ation of the energy and skill within our borders. In natural science this might take the form of a more systematic record- ing of natural facts, and by workers as far as possible avoiding paths of research that are perhaps already well trodden, or which are being well investigated by others. This failing or weakness is not confined to our club alone, but it seems to have crept into all kindred societies, and strong efforts are being made by many of them to systematise their resources. A grand example of this is set us by the British Association in their efforts to make the work done by provincial societies, such as ours, available to the scientific world at large. What is termed a corresponding society committee was formed for tabulating all scientific papers read in the smaller societies, and publishing their titles and other particulars in their voluminous reports. This committee also suggests subjects in which they ask the aid of provincial societies. For example, they ask workers to take the temperature of the waters of lakes and rivers, collect records regarding erratic blocks, sea-coast erosion, life history of plants, and pre-historic remains. The secretary of this comprehensive committee also requests photographs of ancient monuments and other remains, also photographs of geological sections, with, of course, short explanatory notes in both cases. It is in this latter direction that I would en- deavour to direct your attention this evening. Photography is a comparatively new art-science, and the more recent in- troduction of dry plates has so simplified it, and made, it easily available for field use, that it has suddenly sprung into pro- minence, and taken a firm hold on the public taste. As one of the popular and fascinating pursuits, archeology, where truthful- ness in delineating every detail is such an essential, is especially a field in which photography can render aid. Our district— 132 [Proc. B. N. F. C., which, be it remembered, is all Ireland—is particularly rich in. monuments of its early inhabitants—monuments, too, with a character and richness almost impossible to delineate with pencil or brush, but for which the camera seems specially designed. -It is to be regretted that many of these monuments are slowly but surely passing to decay. Our Government, in taking charge of many of our most remarkable and conspicuous monuments, and preserving them from destruction at the public cost, establishes thereby the principle that it is right to act as conservators for future students. As a club we can, I fear, do little in this direction, but we can, at least, place on record the state in which they exist in our time. Those remains under the protecting care of the Government may safely be left to those appointed to look after them, but it is only one in a hundred of the many remains scattered over the country that is thus protected. The wayside pillar stone, the stone circle or the cromlech on the lone hillside, the raths and forts, castles, and abbeys of the valleys and uplands, are in many cases left to the tender mercies of the surrounding people. Superstition has saved many ; the solidity of others has evid- ently been their protection, while it is painfully evident that many of our ruined castles, abbeys, and churches have suffered much from the rapacity of those needing the material of which they are built, and by the apathy of those who should have interested themselves in their preservation. If one were to judge by a review of our summer programmes, the con- clusion might be arrived at that fashion governed our club as well as our social life. Some seasons have the botanical, others the geological feature strongly pronounced in them; while marine research at other times seized upon the fancy. Last year’s programme, like others that have preceded it, was decidedly an archzological one, four out of its six excursions having been arranged to allow the members the opportunity of examining the many antiquities within reach. Dromore, with its rath, its cathedral, and its ancient cross; Drogheda and the Boyne alone offered a programme the richest in 1888-89. | 133 antiquities ever placed before the members—monuments of surpassing interest, mounds, churches, crosses, castles, and round towers forming a collection which, with a panorama of wonderful scenery, gave a variety which it would be difficult to equal in a two days’ excursion elsewhere in the British Isles. Again, Ballycastle and Carlingford, two other excur- sions, always attractive for their scenery, are equally so to lovers of the past. Is it any wonder, then, that those members who have added photography to their many other pursuits, availed themselves of these attractive programmes and formed a feature with camera and apparatus, rather novel, we must confess, and at first sight apparently an innovation at field club excursions? It is this new element, or I might almost call ‘it, new section of the club’s members, which is, perhaps, most in need of reorganisation. At present there is no place for them; they do not fit into ‘any department properly. True, the club has a series of photo albums, and offers annually prizes for photos to fill these; but there is a lack of system in even this. The same popular subjects are frequently repeated, to the almost entire exclusion of the study and search after the detail, which often tell more of the past story of the object represented than the most artistically ren- dered picture would do. I might be pardoned for suggesting that we take a lesson out of the action of the British Associa- tion, to which I have already referred, and commit these albums to a sub committee, which might direct and regulate the intense energy of our photographic members. Lists might be issued periodically of the objects already represented in the albums, and help might be given in also noting such as are desired. The results should also be printed in some of the. approved permanent processes of photo-printing, and more often made accessible to the members than once a year, as is pretty much the case at present; the pictures should also be sup- plemented by short descriptive notes published in our proceed: ings from time to time. Many of the English societies largely employ photography in their work, and it is well known that 134 [Proc. B. N. F.C., it has become a recognised branch or department in all imperial, colonial, and even private scientific research. Pleading guilty to exposing a few plates during the past season, some of them, indeed, on the club’s excursions, and several fellow members having with great trouble and patience prepared lantern slides from most of them, it was suggested to me that they should be shown on the screen, with a short historical commentary on the subject as they pass before you. For myself I might say that I was not on the club’s excursion to the Boyne, as it was arranged for a date of which I could not avail myself, but taking advantage of an opportunity in June I visited the locality in company with Mr. Stewart. The negatives then obtained have been supplemented by others taken by members, To these again others which fall in with them have been added. and thus the scheme which originally intended the illustration of the Boyne views has grown till it embraces the entire past season’s work, as well as some of former years, together with examples of how geology, botany, and zoology may be illustra- ted. It is to be hoped that copies of most of the pictures will, before long, find a place in the club’s albums. At this point the lights in the room were lowered, and a series of 120 views were, in succession, thrown on a large screen by lime-light, many of which elicited applause by the brilliant manner in which they were shown. The reader supplemented the views with concise notes on their most striking features or historical as- sociations. The pictures illustrative of geology and botany especially elicited approbation, Three magnificent astronomi- cal photographs were also exhibited ; they were taken by Mr. S. W. Barnham, who was well known in Chicago as an ama- teur photographer before he recently accepted the post of one of the astronomers at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, in California. These photographs were sent by him to Mr. J. W. Ward, a member of the club, who had them prepared for lantern illustration. They represent the moon in three aspects, and were taken by his immense telescope in the Lick Obser- vatory. er . Permian and Carhonitnous Fossils, kas 0 \ ae eZ NCR ce x . wo q Ns The following Publications of the Club can had from the Honorary Secretartes : Seventh Annual Report—1869-70, containing Appendis 1b List of Be Trish Liassic Fossils,—Tate, 1 Plate s Eighth Annual Report—1870-71, containing Appendix II., List of Irish _Liassic> Foraminifera, — Wright, and List of the Fossils.of the Estuarine Clays of Antrim and Down, —Stewart ; Ninth Annual Report—1871-72 Tenth do. ~ 41872273" +3. ee Pare i ts) Pad Proceeds Series II., Vol. I., Part [., 1873 —74, containing Appendix IIL, List of Mosses of North East of Treland, - Stewart, and List of Creta ceous Microzoa of North of Ireland ,— Wright, 2 plates... »,.. Series II., Vol. Iv, Part II., 1874-75. IIL. 1875-76 ss 9 IV., 1876-77, containing A eate IV., Recent Foraminifera of Mow and Antrim,— Wright, 1 Plate, and Silurian Rocks of County Down.—Swanston and Lapworth, 3 Plates esi ane ‘sis = as Series IT., Vol I., Parts V. and VI., 1877-78 and 78-79 (in one) »» Series II., Vol. I., Part. VII , 1879-80, containing. Appendix-V., List. of Post! Tertiary Foraminifera of ’North- East of Ireland, — Wright, and List of “Mollusca of Boulder pes of North- East of. Ireland, —Stewart os Series IL, Vol. -H.,; Part J:,-1830-81, conti ninee Appendix ay List of Foraminifera of ‘South Donegal,—Wright, Sponge Remains from Carb. Limestone, County Sligo, —Wright, and 9? - >2 29 Fossil Sponge-spicules, Co Sligo,—Carter, 1 Plate... ra Ms oe Vol. I1., Part II, 1881-82 ' » : TIT., 1882-83, containing Appendix TV iss Suisplomental List of Mosses of the North-East of: Ireland — Stewart = x He a »» Series IT., Vol. II., Part 1V., 1883-84, containing Appendix VIl., Notes on Trish Coleoptera, — Haliday ; _Cromlechs of Antrim and Down, — Gray, 12 Plates, and Pre- Historic Monuments near Sligo, —Elcock, 4 Plates .... i as ils te »». Series I1., Vol. II.; Part Vs. 1884-85, poneanigie Appendix IX., Ostracoda of Belfast Lough,—M alcomson ; ; Fungi of North of Treland, —Jett ; HGpaminiters of ‘*Protector’’ Cruise, &e ,— Wright - Cretaceous Foraminifera of poate Hill, ne Trish Coleoptera, — Patterson, B aoe ,» Series II, Vol II., Part VI.. 1985-88, naenetie Appendix 1 Te: The Ferns of Ulster ,—Phillips and Praeger, Zon . 4 Cc peries EL Volz ET., Part VII., 1886- 87, containing er age The, _ Notes on ‘the Sections exposed at the Alexandra, Dock, Belfast, with List of Fossils, 1 Plate—Praeger “ ,- Series II., Vol, III., Part I., 1887-88, Containing Appendix TUE; Marine Shells of the North of Ireland— Praeger, fi 1G AP OP ea ln RM RI Wiis la. 3 | ANNUAL REPORT PROCEEDINGS Belfast Maturalists’ Seield Glub 1889-90. Series UX. Wolume WH. Part HH. [> fi ee Bas eZ CONTENTS: | Pye : | \ iS Sie ee , Pacer. pereet Peport % 7 - a UR ay poe os - 163 ’ Excursions—Scrabo Hilland Movilla, Glenariffe, Carnmoney and White- abbey, Kilkeel and Mourne Mountains, Loughinisland, Tynan ‘and Caledon - - - - - - 169 Social Meeting - : - - . - 188 Introductory Remarks by the President - - - - 191 Papers—Report of a Committee of Investigation on the Gravels and associated Beds of the Curran, at Larne—R. Lloyd Praeger, BE. - - > - - 198 Recent occurrence of the Stock Dove in the County of Antrim— R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. - - - - 211 ‘Some Notes on Plant Life—Rev. C. Herbert Waddell, M.A. - 212 On the Cells of Mosses—Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A. T.C.D. - 214 A Contribution to the Post-tertiary Fauna of Ulster—R. Lloyd — Praeger, B.E. - - - - - 215 Three days on Rathlin Island, with notes on its Flora and Fauna—R. Lloyd Praeger, B.F. - Lies - 218 A Gossip about British Ferns and their Varieties, with notices of local finds —W. H. Phillips. - - - 223 Microscopic Evening - - : “ - - 230 Annual Meeting - - - i - 232 Rules, Prizes, Exchanges, Officers and Members = - - - 234 PRINTED FOR MEMBERS ONLY. PRICE OF EXTRA COPIES FOR MEMBERS, 2/-.. <2 The following Publications of the Club may be obtained from ‘the Librarian :-— A FLORA OF THE NORTH-EAST OF IRELAND, including the Phanerogamia, the Cryptogomia Vas- cularia; and the Muscineze,—S. A. Stewart, F.B.S. Edin.; and T. H. ok M.A., E.LS., &e. Cambridge; MacMillan and Bowes.. SYSTEMATIC LISTS, CaBianiee OF THE FLORA, FAUNA, PALZONTOLOGY, AND- ARCHAOLOGY OF THE NORTH OF IJIRE- LAND; Vol. 1., consisting of the Appendices from 1870 to 1885 paces 27 Plates: ; in paper : in boards GUIDE TO BELFAST AND ADJOINING COUN- TIES ; containing chapters on Geology, Botany, Zoo- — logy, Topography, Historical Antiquities, Agriculture, Trade, and Excursions, with numerous Plates, Pub- lished at 3/6; Reduced Price (See also Back of Cover). 5/6 i bf =D ANNUAL REPORT PROCEEDINGS Belfast Waturalists’ “yield Club Year ending the 31st March, 1890. (TWENTY-SEVENTH YEAR.) SErRiEs II. VotumE III. Part III. Belfast: PRINTED Oe THE CLUB, By ALEXANDER Mayne & Boyp, CoRPORATION STREET, PRINTERS TO QUEEN’S COLLEGE, BELFAST. 1890. \ / J _ x { = 2 ; a f ; } , { be ~ j j ; y ‘ _ x" 7 y a . — tt ny, , ; P : : ‘ rs ee ; } 7 . Tes A . ae ome we oe - - a = ty . ‘ = LSvogl aol me ol a OF THE BeLrast NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB, FOR THE Year ending 31st March, 1890. —— E =HaN presenting their twenty-seventh Annual Report, fk 4 your Committee have pleasure in recording the LSS continued prosperity of the Club, the number of | (<2 members on the roll being about the same as at the close of last year. The year now completed has been marked by a fair amount of devotion to those pursuits for which the Club was originally established. The Summer programme was carried out, and excursions were made to the following places, viz :— 1. Scrabo Hill, Newtownards, and Movilla ... see 25th May. 2. Glenariffe via Ballymena ... oa oe ese 15th June. 3- Carnmoney and Whiteabbey AS me ine 6th july. 164 [Proc. B. N. F.C.,, 4. Kilkeel, Greencastle, and Mourne Mountains ... 24th & 25th July. 5- Loughinisland sé ea gis oe ue 17th August. 6. Tynan and Caledon vee eve se eee 7th September. The attendance at most of these excursions was quite up to the average, and several of the districts had never before been visited by the Field Club as an organised body. ‘the Committee have, as usual, to acknowledge the kind- ness of various gentlemen in granting access to their grounds, and are especially indebted to Sir J. C. Stronge, Bart., for admission to Tynan Abbey, and to Mr. Robert Hassard, J.P., for permission to pass through the grounds of Parkmore. An application having been made to the Club by Messrs. William Gray, M.R.I.A., and R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., who have received grants from the Royal Irish Academy to investigate the flint implement beds and Estuarine Clay deposits of the North of Ireland, offering out of these grants a sum of £5, provided the Club would contribute a similar sum, to be de- voted to a further examination of the Larne gravels and under- lying beds, your Committee voted this sum under the powers given by Rule VIII., and appointed Messrs. Wright, Stewart, and the Honorary Secretaries to assist Messrs. Gray and Praeger in the work. The investigation took place on May 27th and subsequent days, and a full report of the results was read by Mr. Praeger at a meeting of the Club on the 19th November, and is incorporated in the Proceedings of the current year. The following communications were brought forward during the Winter Session :— Introductory Remarks by the President, William Gray, M.R.LA. Report of the Committee appointed to investigate the Gravels and un- derlying Beds at Larne, by R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. Notice of the occurrence of the Stock Dove in the County of Antrim, by R. Lloyd Praezer, B.E. ‘“Some Notes on Plant Life,’’ by Rev. C. Herbert Waddell, M.A. 17th Dec. i On the Cells of Mosses,” by Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., T.C.D. 19th Nov. 1889=90.] 165 ‘* A Contribution to the Post-tertiary Fauna of Ulster,” by R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. 28th Jan. ‘* Three Days on Rathlin Island, with Notes on its Flora and Fauna,”’ R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. ‘* A Gossip about British Ferns and their Varieties, with Notices of eo Feb. { local Finds,” by W. H. Phillips, In addition to these Lecture Evenings, an Opening Social Meeting was held in the Museum on November 13th, which was largely attended, and a microscopic evening was held on March 26th, when an instructive hour was spent in the manipulation of the microscope, and in a survey of the lesser world which it reveals. Your Committee take this opportunity of calling the attention of the members of the Club to the circular recently issued under the auspices of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, by Messrs. Robert Patterson and R. Lloyd Praeger, on the proposed ‘‘ Vertebrate Fauna of Ulster,” and of inviting their co-operation in promoting the valuable objects to which it is directed. It is with profound regret that your Committee have to record the decease, upon the 11th April, of their fellow-member and late President, Mr. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A. Their feelings may perhaps be best expressed in the words of a re- solution passed by them upon the next day, and which they here subjoin :—“ It is with deep sorrow that the Committee of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club have to record the death of their esteemed colleague, Hugh Robinson, M.R.I.A., one of the founders of the Club. Whilst they acknowledge his untiring services for many years as Hon. Secretary, and his subsequent cordial interest in the Club’s work during his terms of office as Vice-President and President, they feel that their loss is far more than that of a mere colleague, however able; it is of a tried and sincere friend. They tender to Mrs. Robinson and the other members of his family their deep sympathy in this painful bereavement.” 166 [Proc. B, NoF. C., It is scarcely needful to remind the earlier members of the Club, but those who have joined in more recent years may be interested to learn the great services rendered by Mr. Robinson in the founding of the Club and the earlier administration of its affairs. Mr. Robinson has himself—but with a modesty in which his own share is almost entirely suppressed—in a recent number of our Proceedings narrated its history ; and if in those days the success of the Club was largely due to the ubiquitous energy of our President, Mr. Gray, it was in an equal degree the result of the business habits and assiduous attention to necessary details of his colleague, whose untimely loss we have now to deplore. Your Committee again have to thank a number of kindred societies and public bodies for the interchange of copies of their Proceedings and other publications. By these means a valuable collection of works continues to be added to the Club’s property. Your Committee are glad to state that arrangements have been made for the continuation of the Annual Meteorological Reports which formerly embellished their Proceedings, and which have been discontinued since 1887, owing to the death of Mr. Lancelot Turtle, who for many years supplied an annual summary. They tender their thanks to the Council of Queen’s College, Belfast, for kind permission to use the valuable meteorological records kept at that institution, and they expect that the next number of Proceedings will contain not only a meteorological summary of the current season, but the arrears of the last two years. It is to be regretted that the Competition for the prizes offered by the Club has this year been almost totally neglected by the members, only one collection having been sent in, and the Committee trust that more attention will be given during the ensuing season to this most valuable branch of the Club’s work. The following is the report of the judges on the collection mentioned :— 1889-90. | 167 “Mr. W. D. Donnan has sent in a series of flowering plants in competition for Prize II. This collection represents 254 species, correctly named and beautifully mounted, and complies in all respects with the conditions. We consider it highly creditable to the collector, and have great pleasure in awarding this prize to Mr. Donnan.” S. A. STEWART. W. GRay. R. Ltoyp PRAEGER. dense renee ee earner en "havjasoag “WOH ‘NOLSNVMS WVITTIM wainsvaryT, ‘SLUVMALS “VV 'S “4091100 PUNOF puv popipnuy ne G 0 FF _ ae ea ne gourlRg OF, 8 0 29F 8 0 9F G 0° Fi eee eve eee puey or courpeg GG 0 OL O eee ove an ** papreMe OZ 6c 9 910 — 2s one syoog jo oouvansuy ‘‘ ay es at oe “ —- suoIsinoxg uo ssoyT 028 ove eee ove see yseieg “M 6c 0¢¢ o2 ee “* TeP emmyooy Jo yuoy * 6 6 0 Oe ese qunoooy yuvg wo 4sereyuz ** 0 OTT gee a * saetmortg jo Aroarpeq ‘* 0 LIF = purpay “aN Bolg =“ eg 0 Z c - eee eee eve goSvysog ce 9 Z 0 oes aoe SSUTPI9001g 66 “c «ec 00 ¢ WOye1opdxy sfoavty eure] Jo pre ul yur “* 9 + 0 ee ““ qsezjog 0} epmy oy} Jo sopeg “ § ST 6 + —- SuIsT}IOApY pue ‘suryug ‘Arouotyeyg “ 0 110 pu ag Surjooy TetI00g 1oz syoxory, ‘* 0. -¢ TI sSurpesoorg jenuuny Sunuty ‘phog » oukeyy * 0 OL $¢ enUVApe Ur pred ¢ ssot ‘G1g—suoydiiosqng ‘* Lb FF Bae res Sunesoy [erog jo sosuedxmy Ag TL G& ZF ane os *** —- -SQRT MOIy QOULTeg OF, at ie ee Se 0681 ‘HOYVW 4816 ONIGNS YV3SA SHL HOS ‘ID ‘N10 CIT SLSYIVENLVN LSVATII THL HLIM INNOOOV NI YAANSVAL FHL “IG eer ne SUMMER SESSION. ab The following Excursions were made during the Summer Session :-— On May 25th, to SCRABO HILL AND MOVILLA. The first excursion of the season was made on the 25th inst., to Scrabo Hill, near Newtownards, when a party on outdoor science bent left the Ulster Hall in a four-horse brake, and, quickly leaving the smoky city behind them, were soon follow- ing the fresh green roads of the County Down. Passing the tumulus that gives name to Dundonald, they left the main road to Newtownards, and proceeded by the older and more hilly one that leads to the back of Scrabo Hill. Leaving this again by a sharp turn to the right, they passed the once well- known “ Cargo’s quarry,” now a deserted heap of grass-grown debris,and about amile further on reached the Glebe quarry, from whence the stone used in Robinson & Cleaver’s new building was taken. Nearly all the quarrying about Scrabo Hill is done under difficulties. The chief obstacle here consists of the bank of stiff boulder clay, over forty feet thick, that covers the sand- stone, a mass of unproductive material to be removed before the stone can be got at. To the geologists of the party, how- 170 Proc. B. N. F. C., ever, the clay was itself a feature of interest, being more than usually full of ice-polished stones, from the massive boulder of basalt weighing several tons, to the small hand specimen of Antrim chalk that recorded plainly the direction in which the ice-movement must have travelled. Passing round by Killy- nether House, the party made their way to the top of the hill, and most of them to the summit of the tower, the view from which nearly, if not quite, equals that from the adjacent Helen’s Tower, celebrated in Laureate’s verse. The clearness of the day allowed full justice to the panorama, which embraced Cantyre, the rugged summits of Arran, Ailsa Craig, the long stretch of the Scottish coast backed by the Ayrshire mountains, Galloway, the Isle of Man, and the whole extent of the County Down, with the broad, level sands of Strangford Lough. The scene to the geologist is particularly interesting. The undula- tions of rock of lower Silurian age, which forms almost the entire of the county, may be looked upon as a floor, upon the upturned and contorted strata of which are scattered patches of more recent formations that must have covered the silurian beds for ages, until a vast process of denudation has swept away the newer to bring the older once more tolight. The oldest of these perhaps is the little patch of Carboniferous limestone at Castle Espie, and the still smaller patch of Carboniferous shale and limestone at Cultra. There is the narrow strip, only seen at low water, of the Permian or magnesian limestone also at Cultra, and there is this outlier of Triassic sandstone that forms the bulk of Scrabo Hill, which in itself is capped by the vastly more recent outlier of basalt from the great volcanic plateau of Antrim. As we have seen again, the flanks of the hill are buried beneath a considerable thickness of the Boulder Clay, which lies as a recent covering upon all the formations alike, and whose parent ice had no inconsiderable share in moulding the features of the country as we now knowit. The sandstones of Scrabo are generally supposed to belong to the lower Triassic beds—the Bunter-sandstein of Germany. The grounds for this 1889-90. ] 171 belief are that they are apparently a continuation of the lower triassic bed of sandstone that underlies Belfast; that they are, like nearly all the trias sandstones, lev>id of fossils, and that they appear to lie above the Carboniferous fragment of Castle Espie. A geolosist of some standing in the party ventured to question this general conclusion upon grounds which may be briefly stated—viz., that the absence of fossils is of course in in itself a purely negative piece of evidence ; that as the beds are not continuous from the Antrim side of the lough and there are numerous “faults” in the district, they may be of other age besides Triassic—either Carboniferous or Permian—so long as they are later than the Silurian ; that in their hardness, colour, and general texture they more resemble the Carboniferous than the softer and redder sandstones of the valley of the Lagan. On the whole, however, most geologists will probably unite in the conclusion that the officers of the Survey have followed the weight of the evidence in placing these sandstones at the bottom of the triassic rather than in the older formation. Descending the hill, the large quarries on the Newtownards side were next visited. These are at present only partially worked, though some of them yield excellent stone. The most interesting feature is the dykes by which they are pierced. In one case the once molten lava has forced itself between the beds of the stone, now showing of course as a horizontal bifurcated dyke. Through this, the result of a volcanic outlet of a later period, is to be seen a large dyke penetrating the earlier dykes and the sandstone, impartially shattering and altering the texture of both for some distance on either side. From the edge of the quarry one looks out across the railway upon the latest of the geologic changes, and one in which man has had a share—the reclamation which has converted a strip of lough into fertile fields, laid out in, regular parallelograms, the name of the **Scrabo Isles” alone surviving as a relic of the former tide- covered stretch of mud and sand. The botanists of the party did not find much to reward their search. A member exhi- bited some fine specimens of avery rare fern, the variety 172 [Proc. B. N, F. Cc. acutum of the Black Spleenwort (Asplenium Adiantum- nigrum), obtained in the vicinity of the hill. This is one of the only two localities in which it has been found in the North of Ireland, the other being the steep basaltic cliff of Benevenagh, in County Derry. The Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus), and the Pennywort (Cotyledon umbilicus), with its succulent leaves, were also observed. Passing through New- townards, a visit was paid to the graveyard and ruined church of Movilla. Newtownards was, as its name implies, the Newtown, or “ Villa Novo,” that sprung up round the Castle planted by De Courcy on the shore of the lough, but Movilla had been a native Irish centre of religion and learning from the earliest Christian times, having been founded by St. Finnian in A.D. 540. The name “ Magh-bile,” plain of the ancient tree, suggests indeed that it was a sacred place in pre-Christian times, which from other indications is also believed to have been the case of Holywood, Knock, Downpatrick, and many other early Christian sites. The Abbey of Movilla was at the height of its importance in the seventh and eighth centuries, and was then one of the greatest schools in Ireland. After its sack by the Danes in 823 it probably never recovered its early importance, and Dr. O’Laverty suggests that it was in the next century it was partially united with Bangor. Nearly all the buildings have now disappeared except the two gables and part of the side wall of the choir. The windows still show some remains of late Gothic tracery. The most interesting feature is, however, the set of crosses now built into the side wall. One of these, with the inscription ‘‘Or do Dertrend”—a prayer for Dertrend—is supposed to be of the eleventh century, or even earlier ; but research has failed to discover who Dertrend was. The other crosses, all of which were horizontal slabs, are curious, several, from the swords and daggers, forming the tokens of the warrior, and others, with a shears or scissors by the side, presumably the token of some lady of high degree. Tea at Newtownards and the election of new members brought the day’s work to a pleasant close, | 1889-90. | 173 On June 15th, to GLENARIFE. Upwards of forty members left the Northern Counties ter- minus by the 9-5 a.m. train, bound for Glenariff, and, after a quick run, were at Ballymena transferred to the carriages of the Ballymena and Cushendall branch. This line is a narrow- gauge one, and the passenger cars on it are a departure from those on our ordinary systems, the plan of the tramway cars having been adopted. They are of unusual length, seating between thircy and forty on each side, and from their being well supplied with windows, and the occupants seated sociably wzs-a- vis, they are well adapted for excursions, affording as they do good opportunities for viewing the district through which they run. The country between Ballymena and Parkmore—the northern terminus of this newly-opened branch—is for the most part agricultural, but as we advance northward and gain a higher elevation, the open moorland is reached. Openings in the hill- sides, with patches of rich-coloured iron ore, and all the machinery and accompaniments of mining, indicate the use for which this line and its many branches were originally con- structed. Parkmore offers at first sight little to attract visitors. The view is certainly an extended one, but it is bounded on almost every side by rounded heath-clad hills. One exception is a wooded valley to the right of the line. In this direction lies Glenariff. Under the guidance of the President of the club, Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A., the upper reaches of the glen are entered—permission having been specially granted to the club. Here the Glenariff water finds its way in a compara- tively open course through a plantation of young firs, but soon its descent becomes more rapid, and its work of cutting a chasm for itself more marked. Presently a waterfall—the first of many—deepens the glen, along the steep sides of which a path has been cut. It is found difficult in such places to keep the large party together, various pursuits leading the members in different directions. The botanists, delighted with the variety 174 [Proc. B. N. F. C., and luxuriance of the vegetation, peer into the dark recesses in search of the less conspicuous plants. Others, with net in hand, are bent on making captures in the insect world, while the photographers of the party, with their array of cameras of all sizes, have sufficient scope for all their available plates, and enough to occupy their attention in choosing the best views and finding their ways to them ; warm work under such cir- cumstances this highly popular department seems to be. Still proceeding downward, other picturesque waterfalls are reached, one of which, with a double bound plunging into a dark chasm, is only seen at its best by the more active of the party, who venture down to the bottom of the rocky stream bed. Even- tually the greater number of the party find their way in small detachments to the ‘“ meeting of the waters,” where the Glena- riff and the Inver streams join. Near this point is another fine cascade. Both stream courses are richly wooded, and the view from the higher ground, looking over the many-tinted foliage and down the wide valley, with its steep and rugged sides, is very fine. There are several fine falls on the Inver water, and on the northern side of the glen are others, where side streams join, but they must be left for another day. All were loud in their praises of the beauty of the scene, while several who had ‘-done” all the attractions in the Isle of Man were strong in their assertions that the best glen in that highly-advertised holiday resort will not bear comparison to Glenariff. The botanists of the party had perhaps most to show for the day’s work. The locality was long since known for the rich flora to be found there, as is seen by the notes of the late Mr. Temple- ton. About the latter end of the Jast century the father of local botany was in the habit of visiting this rocky glen, and he fre- quently quotes the name Glenarve as the station for some rare wild-flower or fern. The most striking feature in the botany of this spot is, without doubt, the great luxuriance of its vege- tation. None of the glens in the Mourne Mountains, though so far to the south, can compare in this respect with Glenariff. Hawkweeds are abundant on the damp rocks, and three species, 1889-90.] 175 none of which are common, were met with on this occasion— namely, Hzeracium cesium, Hf. iricum, and “. vulgatum: The rarer of our two Cow-wheats, Melampyrum sylvaticum, was found in abundance, while the Northern Bedstraw, Galium boreale, an:! Wintergreen, Pyrola minor, were plentiful. The Bird’s-nest Orchis, /Veottia nidus-avis, was met with, as also the Fragrant Orchis, Gymnadenia conopsea, and the Green Orchis, Habenaria viridis. The large Sundew, Drosera anglica, grows in a bog close to the station, and wild Garlic, Allium ursinum, is quite a feature in the glen. The little Selaginella, S. spinosa, grows on the wet rocks, as also the Beech Fern, Polypodium phegopteris. Many of the commoner ferns were in great force. A visit to this spot at a later season would, doubtless, reveal still other rarities. Assembling again in the comfortable railway carriage, a hurried meeting is held— the President presiding—when a new member is elected, and a vote of thanks proposed by Rev. Canon Grainger, D.D., and seconded by Mr. Mann Harbison, is carried by acclamation to Mr. Robert Hassard, J.P., for granting the club the very great privilege of passing through the grounds of Parkmore, and thus enjoying a most delightful day in what is undoubtedly the finest of the many beautiful glens of Antrim. On the return journey, when passing through Glenravel, a fine view is obtained of Slemish Mountain, rising abruptly from the valley of the Braid- water. Again changing carriages at Ballymena, the ran home is accomplished in good time. On July 6th, to CARNMONEY AND WHITEABBEY. The third excursion of the season was taken on 6th July, to Carnmoney and Whiteabbey. A start was made from Glen- gormley about three o’clock, the party making their way first to Carnmoney Church, where they examined the beautiful Irish cross erected by their ex-President, the late General Smythe, 176 [Proc. B. N..F.C., F.R.S., in his family burying-place. The ancient graveyard, with the holy well of spring water in its centre, and the prettily- decorated modern church, also claimed their attention. They then proceeded to the fine quarry, many of the basaltic columns of which almost rival those of the Causeway in regularity. Here they are not perpendicular, however, but inclined at an angle of 40 deg. with the horizon, their ends only appearing in the quarry face. Professor Hull and other geologists have suggested that this portion of Carnmoney Hill formed one of the “volcanic necks” of the great plutonic outburst of the North of Ireland, Slemish, the rock of Dunluce Castle, and others also being similar. The members here secured a good quantity of the chalcedony for which this quarry is famous. The more active of the party climbed to the fort on the hill above, which, though not large, is very perfect, with a high rampart and deep ditch. From the quarry the route was taken beneath the richly-wooded escarpment of Carnmoney Hill to the remains of the Abbey Church from which Whiteabbey derives its name. The little church, whose inside dimensions are about thirty-six feet by eighteen or nineteen feet, has its four walls still standing, with three lancet windows in the east gable, all richly draped with ivy, and closely shadowed by several old trees, the whole forming a strikingly interesting and picturesque group, the merits of which the photographic members of the party were prompt torecognise. The advent of a somewhat robust bull upon the scene caused a hasty adjourn- ment, and the party dispersed, not all to re-assemble until they . met at the old Whitehouse near Macedon Point, the “ little pyle” of one of the old chronicles. Before leaving, however, the photographers of the party attempted to get an “ instantan- eous” of John Bull and several members of his bovine harem. Of the old Whitehouse there are still standing the walls and gables, with three circular towers, the old kitchen fireplace, and the oak beams that supported the floor, and the tradition is still cherished that this was one of the lodging-places of King William of ‘glorious, pious, and immortal” memory. 1889-90. | Lay Close by, through the courtesy of Mr. James Thompson, J.P., the party were directed to a curious specimen of the English elm, which has forked out about a foot above the sward, and, after growing in two trunks for a height of fifteen or twenty feet, re-unites and becomes apparently a single stem above that height. One of the party who climbed the tree reported that a line of junction could still be traced, although from the ground the stem appeared single. A brief meeting was held at Whitehouse station for the election of new members, the ad- vancing tide having prevented an inspection of the sandstone beds and trap dykes at Macedon Point. On July 24th and 25th, to KILKEEL AND THE MOURNE MOUNTAINS. The fourth excursion of the season was taken on July 24th and 25th, to Kilkeel and the Mourne Mountains. The un- settled weather of the previous week damped the ardour of some, but a fair number turned up at the County Down Station, and were soon speeding along the railway for Newcastle. Arrived there, the prospect of a fourteen miles drive along the coast road, swept by rain and driving mist from the sea, re- quired a little courage to face, but naturalists have faith and hope, and they were soon upon the road. Newcastle, with its lodging-houses and hotels, its half dilapidated harbour, where a pier should be receiving steamboats and tourists from the Isle of Man, is left behind. We goon past ‘“ Maggie’s Leap” and “Armor’s Hole ”; past ‘‘ Donard’s Cave,” which tradition says runs straight into the heart of the mountain, and where the saint from which it derives its nameis still said to dwell. Then we pass the picturesque ‘‘ Bloody Bridge,” with its ivy-covered arches without a parapet, and overlooking it the ruined walls of St. Mary’s Church, with its tiny chancel arch, probably of the 10th century, void of ornament, through which a beautiful glimpse can be had out seaward. The road passes many a 178 [Proc. B. N. F. C., romanticlittle gorge and glen down which the mountain streams have cut their way to the shore, and the coast itself is full of interest to the geologist, from the number of basaltic and other volcanic dykes, some of wh.ch are in their turn cut across by other dykes of a later date. The most noticeable feature from the road, however, is the thick beds of moraine matter, full chiefly of granite fragments from the hills immediately above. As the party nears Kilkeel the rain gets lighter, and by the time a few minutes have been devoted to some light refreshment in the Royal Hotel the clouds have broken, the sun has burst out, and we are revelling in a glorious July afternoon. Kilkeel presents an aspect of bustle, for itis market day. We proceed along the road to Rostrevor, past several old earthen forts, one called the “‘ Mass Forth,” reminding us of the nearly forgotten days of the Catholic proscription. Near by is the present large and handsome Catholic Church, and just beyond the corner of the grave-yard are the remains of a very fine “giant’s grave” or kistvaen, about forty feet long. The covering stones of the chamber, have, however, disappeared. On returning to the hotel a substantial tea is done justice to, and the char-d-banc once more mounted ez route for Greencastle. As we drive along the sandy spit on which the great castle stands, the Lon- don and North-Western Railway Company’s ferry steamer is passed lying with steam up at the little pier ; but we have no time for a trip to Greenore or Carlingford, so passing the coast- guard station we climb the green artificial mound that ter- minates the point. This is ‘“ Knock Tinnel,” doubtless a great burial mound of some forgotten chieftain ; but, as its name purports, better known by tradition as the “ Knock Tinoil,” or the hill of the assembly, from the summit of which edicts were promulgated, and on which the chief stood or sat when his followers swore allegiance to him. In a field close by stand the west gable and belfry of Greencastle Church. The door was at the northern side, and there is no trace of a chancel. It is the usual old Irish type of a single oblong nave without aisles. It groups picturesquely with the great castle behind 1889-90. ] 179 upon its rocky knoll. Greencastle, with its huge square or oblong keep and its massive outworks, was, next to Dundrum, the most important Anglo-Norman structure in Down. It dates from the reign of King Henry IL., or of John at the latest, though much altered and no doubt strengthened in later reigns, ‘for it is recorded that in 1343 (three years before Crécy) the “felons of Ulster” stormed and dilapidated its walls. It was speedily restored, and in 1403 the joint governor of it and Car- lingford had his salary raised from £25 to £40 a year on con- dition of spending a certain amount yearly in strengthening and keeping it in order. Again in 1495 it was enacted that none but Englishmen should be governors. It stands on the summit of a knoll of rock. Below are gloomy vaults, above a great hall forty feet by twenty, and the stone gutter of the roof formed a broad ledge where the warders walked behind the parapets. Abutting on the main keep can be traced the kitchen, guardrooms, and other structures, all now much dilapidated. Little, doubtless, cared the members of the old Anglo-Norman garrison for scenery, but the view before them was a noble one. Northward, and beyond the rich alluvial plain, stand all the finest peaks of the Mourne Mountains, southward stretches the sea, while westward rise the rocky serrated edges of Carlingford Mountains, the quaint old town with its reminiscences of Dane and Norman at its foot, and beyond the beautiful lough winding past the wooded Killowen Point to Warrenpoint and Ros- trevor, As we look a storm cloud comes driving from the westward, and from underneath it burst the last rays of the setting sun, and the whole lough is presently filled with a golden haze of sunlit rain, producing an effect such as only a Turner could paint or a Ruskin describe. The shower passes as quickly as it came, and on our way back we visit the noble earthen fort of Dunnaval. This has been cut out of the top of a great esker or gravel mound, in a commanding position midway between Greencastle and Kilkeel, the massive walls of the castle being modern in comparison with these time-worn earthworks. A stroll in the twilight to the beach and little harbour ot Kilkeel finished the day’s work. 180 [Proc. B. N. F.C., On Thursday the party were early afoot, visiting first the cromlech which stands ina ditch of a field just outside the town, off the Newcastle Road. After securing photographs of this, another visit was paid to the harbour, in which schooners and fishing smacks can lie in perfect security, but the entrance is somewhat narrow and difficult of access during an easterly gale. After breakfast a visit was made to the ruins of Kilkeel old church and graveyard, just opposite the hotel. Kilkeel (the narrow church) was described,in 1622 as being then ruinous, but was repaired and altered considerably, and used as the parish church till 1815, when the present Protestant church was built upon another site. The old church stands inside an earthen fort, and whether the custom dates from heathen times or no, corpses before interment were carried three times round the ramparts. The Rev. J. O’Laverty in his ‘“ Down and Connor” mentions an instance of this having been done so lately as twelve years ago. There is a rude granite cross of great age in the graveyard, resembling many of those in Dublin and Wicklow. A start was now made for Slieve Bingian, whose rocky summit stands out most conspicuous amongst the granite peaks of Beanne Boirchy, as the Mourne Mountains were originally called. As we cross the bridge over the Kilkeel River, the vast extent of the glacial drift through which the stream cuts its way is to be noted. Seen from the harbour’s mouth, it is even more conspicuous, where the sea has cut into the low cliffs of granite debris that stretch for several miles, and which tell a tale of the enormous amount of denudation that must have gone on amongst the mountains. On leaving the car, Slieve Bingian, which is about the same height (2,449 feet) as Errigal, in Donegal, and reminds one of it, rises before us, and the road or track passes amongst thickly scattered boulders of granite, from which it is cheering to hear the clink of the mason’s hammer, for many of these stones are being worked up into curbs and setts, and are carted down and shipped at Annalong. As we rise we skirt round a small pointed hill, Moolieve, 1,090 1889-90. ] 181 feet high, with rocky top, an outlier of Slieve Bingian, and as we come in view of its north-western side find it to be one of the most striking specimens of ice-polished rock surface to be found in Ulster. The granite rock shoulders of the larger mountains are similarly rounded. Up we go, stepping from - ledge to ledge, but the climbing, though steep, is nowhere difficult, though profusion of bilberries just now ripe offer an excuse for the climber to proceed leisurely. He has time also to note upon the damper spots the two insectivorous plants of our northern clime—Pzngutcu/a or Butterwort and Drosera rotundifolia or Sun-dew, with its tiny red, hairy leaves, each hair tipped with a seductive dew to close upon and entrap the unwary insect that alights on it. But we are at last upon the summit, and it seems incredible that Slieve Bingian is not more heard of and more often visited. The masses of weather- beaten granite that form the top, the “ Castles of Bingian,” rise tower beyond tower, of more than the height and appear- ance of genuine built castles ; battlement, pinnacle, bartisan, and broad buttressed wall, all complete as though Conway or Carnarvon had been piled upon the summit of this wild moun- tain. The peculiar weathering of the granite into what might easily be mistaken for horizontal courses of masonry adds to the illusion, and from the rocky base the slope plunges at once into a valley more than a thousand feet deep on either side. The scene around is indescribable. From one side of our rocky bastion we look into the ‘‘ Happy Valley,” a glen traversed only vy the shepherd and the turf cutter, through which the upper waters of the Kilkeel River find their way. In the opposite direction lies the valley of the Annalong River, which finds and sometimes loses its way amongst the intricacies of granite cliffs, which might be worth exploring some day. ‘Towering above this glen rise the precipitous sides of Slieve Lamagan and Cove Mountain, as rocky and wild as the wildest part of Emer- dale, yet who ever hears or tells of them? Closing the head of this valley north-eastward is Slieve Donard, which from this side appears almost a perfect cone, and towers above everything 182 [Proc, B. N. F.C.» else. Then just visible beyond the others is Slieve Bearnagh, which proudly ‘Lifts to heaven Her diadem of towers,” piled by the hand, not of man, but of nature. But Slieve Bearnagh, like Lord Nelson, deserves, and shall one day have, ‘Ca gazette all to herself.” As one looks abroad from this quoin of vantage upon the sea of mountains the old controversy is revived between the Elevationists and the Denudationists, and the question is naturally asked—Were these heights shot up by the force of subterranean fires from below, or do their summits represent the original surface-level of the strata which has been slowly carved out by the unceasing action of running water, frost, and sand? As we look southward over the gravel banks that line the Kilkeel River we may incline to the latter view, and agree that, though the forces of an earlier period may have been more potent, they were yet the same in kind, though not necessarily in degree, that operate at present. There was a time when those hills were more rugged and the valleys deeper than they are now. During the height of the great ice age, had we stood here, what should we have seen? Far away in the western horizon, where now rise the hills that divide Derry from Tyrone, we should have seen, had the perpetual fog and cloud permitted us, the glistening summit of a vast dome of hardened snow, such as now covers Greenland, and which is supposed to have stretched out on all sides till it met the great snow field of Scotland, whose edge curved in a line round the outer Hebrides, and the lesser one of the North of England and the Cumberland mountains. The officers of the Geological Survey assure us that all the ice-marks here point to a glaciation from the west-north-west, breasting against and flowing round the Mourne Mountains ; and what would then have been their lee side, about Annalong, is piled thick with glacial dedrzs.- Our own eyes have informed us that the ice wave reached to the rocks at our feet, and went clean over the polished hummock 1889-90. ] 183 of Moolieve that we have before described, and which is ground smooth on every side but the south-east. The three or four little lakes of these hills all lie too on the south-east side of high precipices, just where in this hypothesis they ought to. They are probably, like most of these mountain tarns, in part, ‘ rock basins” —that is, ground out by glacier ice, and partly dammed up by boulder clay and moraine matter. As arelic of a later phase, when the ice sheet receding lett only small local glaciers, are the moraines that stretch across the mouth of the Happy Valley, and of the Annalong and Newcastle valleys in their upper part, and many a perched boulder, some of great size, tells a similar tale. Two members, with the expenditure of a little trouble, got a camera to the top, and on the ascent and at the summit took several views, only regretting that their stock was not enough to take double the number they had material for. The Mourne district is yet almost unworked by the photographer, and also, with the exception of the late Dr. James Moore, is almost a virgin field for the brush of the artist. When the Belfast “ Ramblers” are inclined to go further afield than the banks of the Lagan, a noble field awaits them here. Meanwhile, the botanists of the party have discovered some mountain plants among the granite crags. The Cow-berry (Vaccinium vitis-idea), with its round evergreen leaves, lines the crevices of the rocks, and with it the Dwarf Willow (Sadx herbacea), and the Crow-berry (Ampetrum nigrum) ; all three plants have their home among the barren rocks and wind-swept summits of lofty mountains ; but with them we find some of our best-known woodland plants, which are here far above their usual station--the common Wood Violet ( Viola sylvatica), the Lady Fern (Athyrium Filx-femina), and the Common Poly- pody (Polypodium vulgare). But the north wind now blows keen, and time is flying, and a descent must with all speed be made to the car, and the party are once more en route for New- castle. Tea at Mr. Lawrence’s, at the station, and a hasty meeting for election of new members, and the appointment of a delegate to the meeting of the British Association at Newcastle, brought the day’s work to an agreeable close. 184 [Proc. B.N.F.C., On August, 17th to LOUGHINISLAND. The fifth Club excursion for the year was to Ballynahinch, Loughinisland, and Clough. The 10-50 a.m. train conveyed a party of twenty-four members and friends, who were in no way daunted by the torrential rains of the preceding evening or by the still threatening aspect of the morning. At Ballynahinch half-a-dozen well-equipped cars were in readiness, and the road leading southward through a richly cultivated district is taken ; a halt is called at the northern end of Loughinisland to visit a cromlech, after which the party soon spread, attracted by the waters of the upper end of the lough, in which flourish both the white and yellow Water-lily and other less conspicuous but interesting plants. Adjoining the western shore of the lough, on what was undoubtedly once an island, but now connected by a causeway to the land, is an assemblage of ruined buildings surrounded by an ancient graveyard. The island, according to Reeves, is about an English acre in extent, and contains the ruins of three churches. The largest is called the old parish church ; the second, or middle one, is exceedingly ancient, and was probably disused when the other, which is also very ancient, was built ; the third and lowest down is called M/‘Cartan’s Ghapel. Over the door “are the letters’ P. M- @.7 (2 helim M‘Cartan), and the date 1639. Continuing the drive, Clough is reached, and the ancient rath, surrounded by a deep fosse, is visited. This rath is surmounted by the remains of a small but solidly-built castle, an unusual accompaniment of these earth- works, and probably the work of a much later period than the rath. The return journey is through Seaforde and by the Spa, where another halt is made. The President (Mr. William Gray, M.RI.A.) here intimated that he had many years ago noticed some remarkable markings in rocks a short distance off, and he considered the Club should visit them. Accordingly the way is led through some fields, and after clearing away some bramble and moss from a rock exposure the surface is laid bare, and certainly the markings brought to view are most un- 1889-90. ] | 185 usual in character. A close examination proves them to be natural, but they might easily be mistaken for the rude stone inscriptions of ancient man, and it is quite possible that similar markings may ere now have figured in the note-books of enthu- Silastic antiquaries. The markings in this case occur on an exposed protrusion of basalt, or probably portion of a large _ basaltic dyke, and are doubtless due to the weathering of the soft coatings of nodules of rock foreign to the basalt. The light suiting admirably, a photograph of a portion is taken to assist in further reference tothem. After tea in Ballynahinch a visit is paid to a castle some distance north of the town. This, as is usual with such structures, is on high ground, and from its remains it seems to have been a place of considerable importance. The botany of the district had not been lost sight of. To those in quest of lacustrine plants Loughinisland offers attractions that are irresistible. A lake with gravelly bottom and shallow, reedy margins, more or less sheltered by trees— such are the conditions here. In such a place one may look with confidence for some of the rarer plants, and will not be disappointed. The Great Reed-grass (Phragmites communis) grows here in immense luxuriance, and the Reedmace ( 7ypha latifolia), popularly known as Blackheads, flourishes abundantly. The Great Water Docken (Rumex hydrolapathum) occurs more sparingly. These are amongst the giants of our water plants, but peer close into the water in certain places and it will be seen that nature has not by any means been exhausted. Unnoticed by the ordinary observer, tiny plants grow on the lake floor, and these minims usually have the greatest charm for the naturalist. Several Charas flourish in Loughinisland, and in some parts the little round leaves of the Waterwort (Z/atine hexandra) form a green carpet down under the water, where the plant flowers and ripens its seed without ever being in contact with the atmosphere. A Bur-reed (Sparganium simplex) and many other of the more common water plants were also seen. At Clough some plants that prefer rocks, or stone and mortar, were observed. The Black Spleenwort (Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum) 186 [Proc. B. N. F. C., and the Wall-rue fern grow on the walls of the old castle ; the latter grows most luxuriantly and abundantly on walls near Clough. The Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. trichomanes) and the Scaly Hart’s-tongue (Ceterach officinarum) were seen on the walls in the neighbourhood, but more sparingly. Belfast was reached about 8-30 p.m., after a most enjoyable and instructive excursion. On September 7th, to TYNAN AND CALEDON. The last field meeting for the season took place on September 7th, Tynan Abbey being the locality visited. Rather a smaller party than usual responded to the circular, and left by the 8-45 train. On arrival at Tynan they at once proceeded to the village, in which is an ancient cross of large size, which has evidently been taken good care of. Time, however, has almost obliterated the carvings with which it was once embellished ; on one of the panels figures representing the temptation can still be traced, but the other subjects represented are too much weathered to allow of their being interpreted. Shortly after leaving the village the richly-wooded grounds of Tynan Abbey are entered, the party being conducted to the house—an impos- ing building of comparatively modern date. Its situation is very fine, surrounded as it is by exceptionally well-grown timber, and overlooking asmall lake. On one of the terraces adjoining is an ancient stone cross, one of three within the grounds. Sir J. Calvert Stronge, Bart.-—the proprietor of the estate—informed the members that they were erected in their present positions many years since, having been removed from Glenarb, County Tyrone, where they were at the time being destroyed and used for building purposes. The second cross visited has quite a romantic situation on a small island enshrouded by trees ; and the third, which, on the side of the main avenue, is erected over an arch and well, is sheltered by venerable hawthorns. 1889-90. ] 187 The evidence of the ill-usagejthey are said to have at one time received is borne out by the fact that many missing parts seem to have been supplied at the time of their erection. These three crosses, which may be said to be of small size, are some: what similar in character. The ornamentation is simple, con- sisting for the most part of sunk mouldings running parallel with the outer margins of the stone. The photographers of the party ‘‘ took” these crosses from various points, and no doubt they will in due time be represented in the Club’salbums. The lakes, woods, and slow streams that abound in the district visited promise well for the botanical collector, but, the season being now far advanced, not many rare plants were met with. The tiny and scarce Trefoil (Zrzfolium jiliforme) was seen at Tynan, and in woods at the same place Arctium nemorosum, a rather rare Burdock. A rare Sedge (Carex paludosa) is plenti- ful by streams and by the margin of the lake. The Greater Celandine grows on some hedge banks, and the small, silky form of Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris var. minor) was found sparingly. A rare fern, the Marsh Fern, grows by the side of a little lake near Caledon, and the rector, Rev. Mr. Armstrong, kindly indicated the spot, but time did not permit the party to reach it. The ground so hurriedly passed over on the present occasion is a promising district for sylvan and aquatic plants, and the botanist visiting it at an earlier season, and in less haste, would doubtless be well rewarded. Leaving the grounds, the road is taken to Caledon, where tea is served in the Caledon Arms Hotel, after which the business meeting of the dayfis held, and a vote of thanks is unanimously accordedjto Sir J. Calvert Stronge, Bart., for his kindness not only in “granting the Club liberty to examine his extensive grounds, but in greatly en- hancing the pleasure and interest of the excursion by accom- panying the party for the greater part of the day. 188 [Proc. BANE. C.,; WINTER SESSION. a re Note.—The authors of the various Papers, of which abstracts are here appended, are alone responsible for the views expressed in them. ee SOCIAL MERTING. ber 13th, by a social evening in the Museum, College Square North. According to the practice of recent years, the lady members dispensed tea and other refresh- ments in the lower room with their accustomed grace and skill, after which a brief business meeting was held in the lecture- room, the chair being taken by Mr. W. Gray, M.R.IA., the Pre- sident of the Club. In thecourse of his remarks he referred to his recent visit to Newcastle-on-Tyne, where heattended the meeting of the British Association as Delegate from the Club, and in that capacity was placed on several of the Committees. Tothe work of these he referred, stating that the Geological Committee were anxious to encourage the recording by photography of geological phenomena, and solicited the co-operation of photographers, professional or amateur, for this purpose. The Biographical Committee, of which Mr. Gray was also a member, he stated, 1889-90. ] 189 had under consideration the reckless destruction of native wild plants, especially ferns, many species of which, particularly about our large towns, have practically ceased to exist. He re- commended the members of the Club to devote their attention to this subject. The President then called on Mr. Vinycomb to describe a ‘finely carved oak bedboard exhibited by Mr. Seaton F. Milligan, M.R.I.A. The bed, of which it formed a part, was recently sold by an old family in the County of Cavan. Mr. Vinycomb pointed out that the coat of arms carved on the bedboard were those of the Tudor dynasty. He described the arms and sup- porters of the various English sovereigns, and pointed out that with all but certainty this bed must have belonged to Queen Elizabeth, and on her death may have been bequeathed, as was customary in those days, to some connection, and brought to Ireland early in the seventeenth century. Mr. John Hamilton then drew attention to some “ weather prophets ”—two little green frogs in a glass case, natives of the South of France, which in dry weather lie low in the moss and grass, but on the approach of rain climb up the stems. They seemed able to climb about the sides of the glass jar with the greatest ease. Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., then made a few remarks upon the table of fossil fish, which formed a special subject of the evening’s exhibition, and traced the changes in structural character from the earliest ganoid fishes of the Upper Silurian period to the vertebrate and scaled fish of recent times. Mr. Robert Welch referred to a few photos recently taken of eggs and nests of wild birds, chiefly in Rathlin Island. Next came the election of new members, among whom the name of the most Reverend the Lord Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore, so widely known as a distinguished archzologist, and already so intimately connected with the Club, was re- ceived with loud applause. The company then scattered about the rooms to examine the various objects lent for exhibition. (73 190 [Proc. B. N. F.C., In the centre of the lecture-room was the table of fossil fish, which included some magnificent specimens from the Creta- ceous rocks of North America, lent by Mr. Joseph Wright, and also a large and varied collection of teeth and hard bony palates of fishes that browse upon coral, lent by Mr. C. Bulla, and some nearly unique specimens sent by Mr. Parker, of Oldham, who has devoted himself for the past thirty years to the study of fossil fish. Mr. D. M‘Kee on a separate table also exhibited a large collection of fish remains. A number of bronze weapons, and several very curious ancient bronze cauldrons recently found, were exhibited by Mr. Seaton F. Milligan, in addition to the carved Elizabethan bedboard before described. The President (Mr. Gray) lent a case of extremely fine speci- mens of Zeolites and other minerals from the trap rocks of Antrim. He also showed an aquarium, with a number of specimens of the Hydra, and gave a personal explanation of them during the evening with the microscope. Other micro- scopes were exhibited by Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., who had a large set of Horaminifera recently dredged from a depth of 1,000 fathoms off the south-west coast of Ireland. Mr. John Donaldson showed a microscope with revolving plate, extreme- ly useful for purposes of study. Messrs. Elliott, I. W. Ward, and R. Welch also exhibited microscopes. An interesting series of photographs taken by Messrs. Swan- ston and John Donaldson during their summer trip to Norway were well worth study, especially for the forms of glaciers. Mr. George Donaldson showed an album of photos, chiefly archzo- logical, taken during recent excursions of the club. The President lent a splendid collection of Californian photographs. A set of water-colour sketches of the “ Seven Churches” and the Valley of Glendalough, County Wicklow, were exhibited by Mr. J. P. Addy. A number of pictures by Callow, the two Nicholls, and Burgess, kindly lent by Mr. Robert Reid and Mr. W. Nicholl, decorated the walls. 1889-90. | 191 The first regular meeting of the winter session was held in the Museum, College Square North, on Tuesday evening, November 19th. The President (Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A.), opened the proceedings. He said:—In taking a rapid survey of the events that have transpired around us since I addressed - you in 1880—events that were the direct outcome of that address—I think we cannot fail to see that our speculations have not been altogether visionary, that our deliberations had a direct practical result, and that to-day we are in the enjoyment of public advantages, the direct outcome of our Club’s thought and action. In my address of November, 1880, I held out the hope that a proper fernery and aquarium would be formed in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately my project had to give way to the directors’ more popular scheme for providing what is now known as the Exhibition Hall. Since then nothing has been done to provide an aquarium ; indeed, the small tanks formerly maintained have been aban- doned, and what is equally to be regretted, the whole botanical collection, the pride and glory of the original promoters, has been entirely rooted out. During the past year a fernery has been formed in the Botanic Gardens, on the site of my original project. I would be glad to find it more educational in its char- acter, and to see more attention given to our native ferns. It is, however, a step in the right direction, and I hope the directors will see their way to aid in making the love of flowers more popular, by favouring us occasionaly with a worthy exhibi- tion of flowers in bloom. Another outcume of the address of 1880 is the adoption of the Public Libraries’ Act, and the establishment of a central municipal institution, embracing a Public Library, an Art Gallery, and a Museum. This project, I submit, must be considered a most important event in the history of Belfast, and is the direct outcome of our deliberations here. The first formal action was taken at a meeting called on my requisition, and held on April 11th, 1881, at Messrs. Campbell’s establishment, then in Donegall Place, resulting 192 [Proc. B. N. F.C... in a deputation to the Town Council on May Ist, 1881, praying that legal steps be taken to ascertain the wishes of the rate- payers as to the adoption of the Public Libraries’ Act. The prayer of this memorial, ably supported by the several members of the deputation, was rejected by a resolution of the Council, adopted on July ist, 1881, and signed by the late Sir John Savage. We renewed our action in April, 1882, again appearing before the Council on June Ist, and on July ist the Town Council yielded to the influential deputation that supported the memorial, and agreed to take the ratepayers’ opinion by vote. This was done in October of the same year, and on December Ist, 1882, the successful result was formally declared at the monthly meeting of the Council. Prompt and efficient action was taken on this decision of the Council, and the following letter was sent me :— “TOWN HALL, BELFAST, 6th December, 1882. “¢ Pugric Liprary. “ Dear Sir, ‘¢T am instructed by the Library Committee to intorm you that they have had the subject of the building of a Library under consideration, and that they will be glad to receive any suggestions from the Deputation who waited on the Council some time ago respecting same.—Yours faithfully, “SAMUEL Brack, Town Clerk. “Wn. Gray, Esa., M.R.1.A., Mount Charles.” Just at this juncture I had promised the Club a paper on “The Public Libraries’ Acts, and the possible consequences of their adoption in Belfast;” and therefore I considered it advisable to hold over our reply to Mr. Black’s letter until after my lecture. My paper was read on December 19th, 1882, and on December 21st our Promoters’ Committee met at the Chamber of Commerce, and formulated a set of suggestions to be sub- mitted to the Library Committee, which was done on January 11th, 1883. Our suggestions were received by the Council with the polite intimation that they would be ‘ considered,” and at the May meeting of Council they were published in the form of an appendix to the report of the Library Committee, 1889-90.) 193 which contained some free comments on them. The mover, referring to our recommendation for a Composite Committee said it was the duty of the Council alone to put up the building’ and “‘ when this duty was discharged, they could open the doors and have a large Committee for the carrying out of the work when it was once commenced on a sound foundation.” This was stated by the Council in 1883, or six years ago. The large or Composite Committee has not yet been formed. We must, therefore, assume that it is because in the opinion of the Council the scheme is not yet ‘‘ commenced on a sound founda- tion,” an opinion in which the generality of the ratepayers may have their misgivings. For myself, I think we have made a reasonably good start. The suggestions recommended that the Town Council’s scheme under the Act ‘*should be framed with the view of making the proposed institution Edueational in character, utilising the experience of other towns, and avoiding all unnecessary expense and all temporary experiments. What is to be the permanent Municipal Institution should be commenced at once, and all expenditure from the beginning should be devoted towards the ultimate realisation of a central educational institution that will be really worthy of the wealth, intelligence, and commercial importance of the capital of Ulster.” And that ‘‘ the required building should include provision for at least a Newsroom, a Lending Library, a Reference Library, a Museum, an Art Gallery. A Public Hall or Exhibition Room capable of accommodating about 1,000 people, and a suitable Lecture-room to seat 500, should be added as funds will permit.” The suggestions met with the ‘general approval of the local press, which emphasised the recommendation that the institution should be Hducational in its character. Fifteen days after we presented our suggestions, designs were called for, and the Town Surveyor’s conditions informed architects that the buildings should comprise “ A large General Library and Reading room in one, a Lending Department, a Select Library, a Picture Gallery, a Ladies’ Reading-room, an additional Picture Gallery or Lecture-room, with the usual offices, &c.” Unfortunately there was no Museum referred to, and the Lecture-room was not provided in the selected plan. As soon as the plans were exhibited their deficiencies were clearly and fully pointed out, but no steps were taker to meet the objections, 194 Proc. B. N. F. C., and the building was put in hand, progressing deliberately until the foundation stone was laid on June 18th, 1884, by his Excellency the Earl Spencer, K.G., &c. The omission of a Museum has been all along seriously commented upon, because it was considered one of the most essential points in the scheme of the promoters as a necessary condition towards obtaining any valuable aid from South Kensington. Upon this ground the necessity for a Museum was most forcibly advocated by the Joint Committee from the ScHooLt oF ART, UNITED TRADES’ CounciL, and our NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLuB, who waited on the Library Committee, 3rd December, 1883. With an expression of regret that local building materials were not used in the superstructure, I must pass over the long time occupied by the erection of the building, from the laying of the foundation stone on 18th June, 1884, up to the 13th Octeber, 1888, when the Lending Library was formally opened by His Excellency Lord Londonderry, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In preparation for that event, the Mayor called a meeting of citizens to consult as to the best means of furnishing the Art Gallery, and a committee was formed with the result that by their aid a very interesting and instructive loan collection of art objects was brought together in a few weeks, which became a source of intellectual recreation to the thousands who visited the gallery during the short time it remained open. The com- plete success of this undertaking demonstrated the value of a composite committee, and should be an inducement to the Town Council to adopt such a committee for the entire management of the Library and all that is possible under the Libraries Act. This management has been adopted with great advantage in all the best regulated Public Libraries throughout the Kingdom. Since the end of last year, when the Loan Exhibition was closed, I had a correspondence with the Library Committee, and advocated the necessity of obtaining a loan from South Kensington, so as to occupy the rooms vacated by the late local 188990. | 195 exhihition. The monthly reports of the Library Committee will show the progress made in this direction, which involved the necessity of having a Museum under the Public Libraries ‘Act. At the January meeting, the report only referred to improv- ing the light and ventilation of the reading-room. _ At the February meeting, a Councillor asked a question about the promised South Kensington loan. An Alderman answered that their Committee were in communication with South Kensington, and the authorities there were to place at the disposal of our Library Committee, a collection of objects in two departments, namely, Plaster Modelling and Ironwork, and that further particulars would be given next month. This was encouraging, but the March and April meetings passed without any further reference to the matter. At the May meeting, it was stated that a formal application had been made to South Kensington, and in the discussion thereon, it was stated that up te that date no formal application was made, so that all the promises previously given were with- out foundation. I visited South Kensington early in May, and confirmed this fact, and ascertained that the authorities were most anxious to assist Belfast, and were prepared to deal liberally with the City, but that State aid was only given to localities willing to help themselves, and that collections for extended periods of exhibi- tion could only be given to “ permanent Museums or Schools of Science and Art, and to Museums established under the Public Libraries Acts, or under Municipal Authority.” Here then we have the official confirmation of what I have been contending for so long, namely :—That in order to obtain the great advantages offered by the State, we must have a museum under the Public Libraries Act. At the Council meeting on ist June, no reference was made to the matter.’ At the last Library Committee meeting a few days before the July Council meeting, a letter was read from me, and in reply I was told by the Town Clerk that the Com- 196 [Proc, B.N. F. C., mittee’s report on 1st July would refer to the Museum. The report did not refer to it, and in reply to a question from one of the Council, the Town Clerk explained that a reference to the Museum was accidentally omitted from the report. I again pressed the matter upon the attention of the Library Com- mittee, and at the August meeting the report of the Library Committee contained the following paragraph :— ‘Your Committee have to report that they have for some time past been in com- munication with the Directors of South Kensington Museum, with a view of ob- taining from them a loan collection for Exhibition in the Free Library. ‘Two mem- bers of Council and the Town Clerk, who were lately in London on other business of the Corporation, had an interview with Sir P. Cunliffe-Owen, Director, and Mr. Cundall, Inspector, and your Committee are glad to be able to report that arrangements have been made for a loan collection, to be sent to Belfast in November next, and allowed to remain on Exhibition for six months. Your Committee have undertaken to supplement it with local exhibits, and feel assured that parties having such will lend them for Exhibition.” : At this meeting the Mayor made the very important an- nouncement—“ That it was a rule of the Science and Art Department, that the inhabitants must make some effort them- selves before it grants any loan.” The monthly meetings of the Town Council for September and October passed without any reference to the exhibition. The Library Committee’s report read at the November meeting of Council stated, that final arrangements were made for a loan from South Kensington, and the Chairman expected ‘that the Museum would be opened in a month or six weeks. I had a communication from the Committee intimating that ‘it is not probable the exhibition can be open much before the beginning of the year.” But the Chairman’s remarks were valuable as being the first intimation that the Council had yielded to pressure and authority. As all my recommendations for a Town Museum, published by the local press or placed directly before the Town Council, had been ineffective, I was most anxious to obtain from the Town Council an official acknowledgement of their intention to have a Town Museum formed. I therefore wrote again, and had the satisfaction of receiving from‘ the 1889-90.]. at . 197 Town Clerk under date 15th November, 1889, the following reply :— ‘“That Mr. William Gray be informed in answer to his letter of this date, that it is intended to have a Museum in connection with the Library, and that, a number of purchases have been made, with the assistance of the authorities of South Kensington Museum, who have also kindly promised a further collection on loan when the Com- mittee are ready to receive them.” So that because the Town Council has wisely yielded to a long sustained pressure, and resolved to establish a Town Museum, we obtain at once the advantages offered by the State, namely :—We get a GRANT TOWARDS THE PURCHASE of Works of Art, I believe a grant of £500, to supplement a local expenditure of £500, giving us a permanent collection of Works of Art, of the value of £1,000, and in addition a liberal loan of examples of applied Art, which is to remain for six months and will be renewed at the end of that ,term, thereby commencing a permanent Museum capable of extension with time, and one that must be free to the public. Already a thousand pounds worth of Works of Art have been purchased and are being packed for Belfast, and a contribution from South Kensington is ready to be forwarded. If we but “wait a little longer’ we will have a permanent Museum opened for Belfast. This is the direct outcome of our efforts, and a most signi- ficant proof that mere spectators or amateur scientists can sometimes accomplish something practical. Norz.—It may be interesting to compare the letter from the late Edward Benn, with the letter referred to above from the ‘Town Clerk, under date 15th November, 1889. Mr. Benn’s letter is dated 17th August, 1873, and referred to a movement I then commenced for the promotion of a Town Museum. GLENRAVEL, BALLYMENA, 17th August, 1873. My Dear Sir, : { thought to have heard from you before this about the Museum. I now write to say that I will give £1,000 towards this object, and hope that something will, be done that will be a credit tothe Town. When you have secured a site let me know, and I will give my view of the matter. ia ‘ha Yours faithfully, “EDWARD BENN. Mr. Gray, Mountcharles, Belfast. 198 [Proc. B. N.°F.‘C., The President then called on Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger to read the report of the Larne Gravels Committee, which was the next item in the business of the evening. It is here published im extenso. REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION ON THE GRAVELS AND ASSOCIATED BEDS OF THE CURRAN, AT LARNE, CO. ANTRIM. (Compiled by R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E.) ew, I.—ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE INVESTIGATION. In the Proceedings of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, for 1886-7 (Series II., Vol. II., p. 519), there appears the report of a committee “ appointed to investigate the Larne Gravels, and determine the position in them of the Flint Flakes and Cores for which they are noted.” In this report the general features of the Curran and of the beds in question, and also the different views held by local archzologists, regarding the distribution in the gravels of the worked flints, are fully and accurately set forth, and need not be further dwelt on here. The Gravels were at that time carefully scrutinised down to a depth of about twelve feet by a number of competent observers, and this scrutiny showed that flakes and cores were in abundance on the surface and for a few feet downwards, and became fewer as the depth increased. Lower than seven feet no flakes were found, with the exception of one well-formed example, which suggested the idea that it might have accidentally fallen from a higher zone. The conclusions of the committee referred to are that the Gravels form a stratified deposit resting on the Estuarine Clay, and that man manufactured the flint flakes subsequent to the accumulation of the gravel beds in their present position. It was, however, generally felt that a more extended examina- tion of the lower bed of coarse gravel, where the single flake above-mentioned was obtained, was desirable, and might yield interesting results. 1889-90. | 199 At a committee meeting of the Club, held in the Museum, on sth April, 1889, a letter was read signed by W. Gray, M.R.I.A., and R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., in which the writers stated that being at present engaged in investigations of the Post-tertiary deposits of the North of Jreland, the former as regards the flint implements found in connection with these beds, and the latter as regards the fossils which they yield, they now proposed that the Field Club should co-operate with them in making a complete and exhaustive examination of the Gravels and underlying beds at Larne. In this way they hoped to settle definitely the questions of the geological age of the deposits, and the position in them of the worked flints ; a full report of the proceedings, accompanied by figured sections and lists of the fossils obtained, to be brought before the Club and embodied in their Proceedings. A resolution was passed approving the suggestion, and appointing Messrs. S. A. Stewart, F.B.S.E., Joseph Wright, F.G.S., and William Swanston, F.G.S., a committee to co-operate with the above-named. This committee was authorized to expend a sum of £5, a like amount being advanced by Messrs. Gray and Praeger. IIlL—NARRATIVE OF THE INVESTIGATION. The spot selected for the investigation was at the place marked A on the map accompanying the above-mentioned re- port. This is on the southern side of the railway, 1,200 feet from the edge of the quay in front of the southern terminus, the exact spot being 75 feet North by West (magnetic), of the eastern corner of the houses called ‘“‘The Strand” in Fleet Street ; here the escarpment of gravel is at its highest. The debris that lay along the base of the bank was carefully cleared away, leaving a clean and almost perpendicular face of gravel 15’-6” in height. On the turf on the top of the bank above this cleared face a space 9 feet long by 5 feet broad was marked out, and a cutting of this area was carried down the whole depth of the section exposed, the material being taken out in horizontal layers and cast down on the cleared ground below, 200 [Proc. B.N. F.C., by three workmen stationed above, where it was spread out and carefully examined, and then cast back by three other men posted at the foot of the bank, the flints and shells from each zone being labelled and put away in numbered bags. In the ground at the foot of the cleared face a trench 6 feet long by 3 feet wide was sunk to a depth of 6 feet, in order to prove the underlying strata and correlate the beds ; all the material from this excavation was also closely scrutinized. At a convenient spot 30 feet north of the cleared face a trial pit 6 feet square was sunk through the beds underlying the gravels as far as the funds at the disposal of the committee would permit, and samples of the clays and sands here found, as well as of the different beds of gravel above, were secured and brought away for microscopic examination. Altogether some 32 cubic yards, or 41 tons, of the gravels were subjected to a rigid scrutiny, as well as some 5 cubic yards of the underlying clays, &c., so the committee can claim that their examination of the beds over the area selected has been tolerably complete ; and, altogether 140 worked flints from the various zones were labelled and brought away to illustrate this report, and for the present may be seen in the Museum of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, whence they will be transferred to the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, in Dublin. The investigation was begun on May 27th. Mr. Gray, Rev. Canon Grainger, D.D., M.R.I.A.; Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Praeger superintended the commencement of operations, and the latter two remained in Larne during the period occupied by the work, which was seven days. ‘The services ot three workmen had been kindly granted by Mr. B. D. Wise, Chief Engineer of the Northern Counties Railway, and three more were obtained from a local contractor, and with this staff the work proceeded rapidly and satisfactorily. The day was spent in the examination of the upper bed of gravel, and in the evening a depth of 8’-9” (the surface of the bed of fine sand subsequently mentioned) had been attained, and work was suspended. | | ae | : 889-90. ] 201 Next day three men were started to clear the ground for the trial pit, a short distance from the gravel escarpment, while the other three excavated a trench, at the foot of the cleared face, to determine the nature of the underlying strata, it having been resolved to reserve the examination of the lower bed of gravel for the following day (Saturday), when it was expected that others interested in the work might attend. During the afternoon Mr. Gray was present, and assisted the investigation. On the 29th inst., the sinking of the trial pit through stiff Estuarine Clay was continued. In the afternoon the trench at the base of the cleared face had attained a depth of 5/-6” below the level of the ground, at which depth the Estuarine Clay was struck. No further excavation here being desired, as the clay was being thoroughly examined in the trial pit, and Mr. Gray having arrived, the exploration of the lower bed of coarse gravel was commenced, the mode of excavation and examination being that already detailed. At a depth of 13 feet work was sus- pended for the day. Rev. Canon Grainger and Mr. W. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A., arrived as the day’s work was concluding, and examined the sections, and the flakes, &c., which had been found. On Monday, July ist, the sinking of the trial pit through the beds below the Estuarine Clay was continued, but in the even- ing a stratum of coarse gravel was reached, so charged with water as to flood the excavations and endanger the stability of the banks, and it was determined not to attempt any deeper sinking here, as it would entail heavy expense in staying and pumping. On 2nd inst., the scrutiny of the lower gravel, which had been stopped at 13 feet, was continued, Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., being present, in addition to Messrs. Stewart and Praeger. The following morning the examination of the lower gravel was concluded, and some time was spent in inspecting sections of the gravels exposed at other points on the Curran, the points of resemblance or difference to the typical section chosen for detailed examination being noted. The dip of the various beds 202 [Proc. B, N. F. C., was taken, and levels were run to a fixed bench-mark, that the heights of the beds might be referred to the datum of the Ordnance Survey. This concluded the field work of the investigation. IIIL.—GEOLOGICAL AND PALAZONTOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE BEDS. Beds A and B.—The first bed in descending order, or upper gravel, the surface of which is 35 feet above Ordnance Survey Datum, or 22 feet above high water mark, consists of 6 feet of coarse gravel, composed of pebbles up to 6 inches diameter, chiefly of trap and chalk, with a matrix of yellow sand ; the uppermost 1/-6” has been disturbed by cultivation, and consists of brown, gravelly soil. This bed is regularly stratified and has a dip of about 8° South-east. Fossils are not uncommon, though less frequent than in the underlying beds ; they con- sist chiefly of littoral shells which still abound in the adjoining waters, but are in an extremely fragile state, owing to the disintegrating effect of the percolating water. A full list of the species observed in this and the succeeding strata is appended. Bed C.—-Below this gravel bed come several alternating bands of fine gravel and sand, attaining a depth, at the point examined, of 3’-6”. Shells of littoral species are frequent, and several bivalves were found (Zafes decussatus, Ostrea edulis, Lucina borealis), with the pairs of valves still in the natural position. The basal zone is a band 9” thick, of fine brownish sand, which is persistent over the whole length of section exposed (200 feet), having a uniform dip of 2° South-east; it yields abund- ance of Littorina litorea, L. obtusata, and similar shells. Bed D.—Underlying the sandy zones is another bed of coarse gravel, 3/-6” in thickness, resembling in general appearance and characteristics the upper gravel. The dip, however, is in a different direction, and at a high angle, showing a steep slope (t in 3) along the face, and the same at right angles to this direction, which combined, give a dip of 25° West. Fossils are numerous, Littorvine being again the prevalent species, but 1889-90. ] 203 many others occur, their names being given below. The lower 2'-6” of this bed was below the level of the ground at the base of the escarpment, and was examined by means of the trench already mentioned. In places near the base of this bed the matrix was observed to be red and clayey, but very soft, and apparently the result of infiltration. _ Bed E.—Next in descending order came a band 2’-6” deep of black clayey gravel, in which much water was encountered. Except for the clayey matrix, it did not differ materially from the overlying gravel, and the fossils obtained were similar. Bed F.—Below this was 1/-0” of black, coarse sand, stained with iron in places, this being the transition bed between the gravels and the Estuarine Clay. TZapes aureus and Cardium exiguum now became characteristic species. Bed G.—Underlying the sand was typical Estuarine Clay— tough homogeneous blue clay, with well-preserved littoral shells, and abundance of Grass Wrack (Zostera marina). It was observed to correspond exactly with the clay exposed at the old pottery (see previous report), and like it, merged downwards into black sand. A large sample (30 lbs.) of this interesting bed was brought away for more minute examination. Bed H.—Next came a stratum 2’-0” in thickness of fine blackish sand, much resembling the clay, both in colour and in the shells which it yielded, and not separated from it by any sharp line of demarcation. Littorina obtusata and Trochus cinerareus, which prevail throughout the series, were present in this zone in great profusion. Bed I.—Below the black sand a deposit of considerable interest was discovered, consisting of coarse, blackish gravel, containing large, rounded boulders of up to 2 feet diameter, covered with Sfzrordzs and Corallines so fresh looking, that when cleaned, the stones might easily have been supposed to have just been brought from some neighbouring beach. Shells were abundant, and in a far better state of preservation than those in the gravels above. Lzttorina obtusata again pre- dominated, occurring in great abundance. On account of the 204 [Proc. B. N. F. C., quantity of water encountered here, further sinking was impracticable, and the excavation was stopped at a total depth of 29 feet below the surface of the gravels, without the base of Boulder Clay being reached. : At the section exposed a short distance to the northward, by the side of the road running from Larne to the Harbour, and near the large stone building used as a grain store, an exami- nation of the beds showed that the Boulder Clay, which contains the characteristic polished and grooved pebbles, rises up at one spot to within 2 feet of the surface, the gravels resting directly on it. It dips rapidly southward and eastward, and runs down under the section previously examined. This bank of Boulder Clay is of small extent, as at the old pottery, about 200 yards further north, the gravels are again seen resting on the Estuarine Clay. Behind the store just mentioned a good section of the gravels is exposed, some 12 feet in height ; the base is sandy and rests on Boulder Clay. Ata depth of 9 feet below the surface a sandy layer was observed full of the littoral bivalve Zapes pullastra. ‘The pairs of valves were in all cases in juxtaposition, and the plane of the valves perpendicular, showing that they lived on the spot where they are now found. IV.—DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTER OF THE WORKED FLINTS. The uppermost zone of gravelly soil yielded flakes in the greatest profusion, at least 10 to every cubic foot, and it was observed that they were most abundant in a pebbly layer in the lower part of this bed, at a depth of 1/-0” to 1'-6” below the surface. The flakes are all of a rude type, with little appear- ance of secondary chipping, the edges blunt, and the surface much oxidized ; undoubted cores are rare, and no scrapers or other implements were here discovered. In the succeeding 4’-6" of gravel much fewer flakes were found, and their number was observed to rapidly diminish as the depth below the surface increased, and they ceased altogether at a depth of between 4and 5 feet. In character the flakes found in this upper gravel 1889-90. ] 205 were identical with those from the surface layer. In the sandy and gravelly zones lettered C, flakes are very rare, only two being found by the committee. Next in order is the lower gravel D, and as this bed was considered to require special ex- amination, it was divided into four zones (lettered D1, D2, D3, and D4, in descending order), which were consecutively ex- amined, the flints from each zone being kept separate. It was found that flakes occur sparingly all through this bed, from top to bottom; a few cores were also obtained, and one fine example of a rude celt (at a depth of 11 feet from the surface). It was noted that the flints were fresher and less oxidised than those of the upper gravel, and the edgessharper. In the next bed, E, which consists of black clayey gravel, and which could not be so thoroughly examined on account of water coming in, one fine flake was obtained (19 feet below surface) ; it was remarked that it bore no trace of oxidation, and that its edges were as sharp as if it had been just struck off. Underlying this bed came the Estuarine Clay and associated strata, in which no flakes were discovered ; but it is worthy of mention that in the lowest bed of gravel, at a depth of 28 feet below the surface, several flint chips were obtained bearing a considerable resemblance to flakes. Table showing Distribution of Worked Flints. Thick- : . No. of worked | No. per cubic ft. of ey) ese Material. flints found. material examined. of bed, Bed A. | 1-6 Gravelly soil. Great quantity. At least 10. » B. | 4-6 Coarse gravel. Quantity diminishing} 10 diminishing to 0. », C. | 3-6 Sandy layers. 2 013 eple| 2-14 : 30 “31 ais ; is : re | Coarse Gravel. ioe 4. | 2-15 3 08 », EH. | 2-6 | Coarse clayey gravel 2 "04 206 [Proc. B. N. F.C.,: V.—-CONCLUSIONS OF THE COMMITTEE. The Curran Gravels form a stratified deposit extending over a considerable area, and possessing at each point the same characters. They consist of beds of gravel and sand which rest unconformably on one another, the whole series resting on the Estuarine Clay, which in turn rests on the Boulder Clay. In places where the surface of the Boulder Clay has had a greater elevation during the Estuarine Clay period, the latter has not been deposited, and the gravels lie directly on the former. The gravels were probably thrown down by powerful currents as a bar across the entrance of Larne Lough ; the shells which they contain lived on the spot where they are now found. The character of the fauna in the whole depth of strata, and its similarity throughout, point to the conclusion that no marked climatic changes occurred during the period of deposi- tion, the temperature of the sea being about the same as at present. There is no trace of ice action in any of the beds ex- © amined, and the character of the fauna of even the lowest bed of the series shows that it was deposited subsequent to any glacial period. The worked flints which the gravels contain consist almost entirely of rude flakes, and occur chiefly on the surface of the deposit. They decrease rapidly in quantity through ‘the upper bed of gravel, and are nearly absent from the sandy layers; and in the lower gravel they occur sparingly throughout the bed down to a depth of 20 feet below the surface, where the Estuarine Clay series begins. 1889-90.) 207 Tabulated List of Mollusca observed in the Gravels and Underlying Beds. Note.—The fossils of the gravel beds A to D having been already investigated by *Hull, fGrainger, and others, no ex- haustive examination of these zones was considered necessary, but the lists given below indicate the character of their fauna. More attention was given to beds G, H, and J, as these are not easily accessible, and as their fossils have not previously been catalogued. Beds E and F being subordinate zones, were not separately ex- amined. SPECIES. Anomia ephippium Ostrea edulis Pecten varius maximus Mytilus edulis Crenella decussata Nucula nucleus Montacuta bidentata Lucina borealis Axinus flexuosus Cyamium minutum Cardium exiguum ———- edule Cyprina Islandica Venus lincta ovata gallina Tapes aureus virgineus pullastra decussatus Tellina Balthica tenuis Mactra subtruncata Bed I. (Blk. Gravel.) Gravels. Al/O;A asilolo o oO oO PO; } A r| ft Pal nstake vr Teel a eee pe || Se se || Site real see 1 ee Taleeee |e ere] coe es er * British Association Report, 1872. ve Hh ese REMARKS. Small. One large valve. Seven fine examples. Only one valve found. One specimen. Abundant in the clay. Rare but general. One fragment. Of large size. One young specimen. t British Association Report, 1874. SPECIES. Scrobicularia alba Solen ensis Thracia papyracea Corbula gibba Patella vulgata Helcion pellucidum v. levis Tectura virginea Fissurella Greeca Cyclostrema nitens *Trochus cinerareus umbilicatus zizyphinus Phasianella pulla Lacuna divaricata’ puteolus Littorina obtusata rudis litorea Rissoa inconspicua membranacea v. elata violacea striata Hydrobia ulvee Skenea planorbis Coecum glabrum Turritella terebra Cerithium reticulatum Purpura lapillus Buccinum undatum Murex erinaceus Nassa reticulata pygmea Pleurotoma rufa Utriculus obtusus Acera bullata Limnea palustris Cancer Balanus Spirorbis Corylus avellana — ooe| eos wee] eee v. arctica eos] coe tee] eee 208 TABLE—Continued. Gravels. | =| aS S slolale°las S S|3| Sissies MO); e2 Rr AR feo eer Hf cliee vr | r f c 5 date ee VI ee Esl ere vr | vr step) ice olals vr ee fa Do lecale-ved ne Seales ee le Veta ee al tcl ae! WE ee ee leae ae Te f|rj|ec]|ve| ve Bm Ne zo peclog vil oe | Oue f Sle eee Svae a Gees co | fr Var foes lee 5 Ones ie G4) 4.26 be lleSret Cc f ve | r alice Plies vaca eee Sa (ake tie See Me ike ee 6 Gi r vr | © hh ae r & her eet ae = Vr | of Var Wit Pec se Vrs hes PRi are BoA Ue ££ ea me yin the sell cee Cees % | Bed I. (Blk Gravel.) HHH gq: [Proc. B. N. F.C., REMARKS. “S. piperata occurs in some abundance in the clay at the old pottery. Two single valves. Of depressed shape. One very young ex- ample. Throughout the beds, One large example. Generally abundant. In the upper beds, Rissoe and other small shells do not occur, having been destroyed by the action of per- colating water. One specimen. Remarkable for its rarity. One example. One example. Claws chiefly—un- determinable. A few hazel nuts in the lowest bed. 1889-90. ] 209 The Report was illustrated by large diagrams, and photo- graphs taken during the excavations, and by samples of all the beds mentioned, collections of fossils, and over one hundred flint implements from the Gravels. | Mr. Gray, the President of the Club, opened a very interest- ing discussion upon the report, stating that he had strongly advocated the necessity for this careful and systematic investi- gation of the Gravels, and was delighted to have the opportunity of joining in a work that had been so thorough and satisfactory. although the results tended to confirm the opinions of the officers of the Geological Survey and other Irish and English investi- gators, rather than hisown. He(the President) had maintained that the worked flints were found only on the surface or ata moderate depth below it, and were not found in the stratified marine deposits of which the accumulation of gravel is made up. He was now prepared to give up this idea, and to admit the fact that the worked flints are found more or less throughout the several marine deposits resting upon the Estuarine Clay, and that this conclusion, taken together with the fact that worked flints are dredged from the harbour near Greencastle, presents phenomena that call for further elucidation. The discussion was continued by Rev. Canon Grainger, D.D., M.R.I.A., Messrs. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., W. H. Patterson, M.R.LA., R. M. Young, B.A., F. W. Lockwood, Mann Harbison, George Donaldson, S. A. Stewart, F.B.S.E., and R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., B.A. General satisfaction was ex- pressed at the results of the investigation, and at the thoroughness with which it had been carried out. 210 [Proc. B.N. F.C., EXPLANATION. OF “PILATES. Plate I. shows a diagramatic section, drawn to scale, of all the beds exposed during the investigation. The figures at top and bottom of the left hand margin show the level of these points reduced to Ordnance Survey Datum. Plate Il. is a collotype print of a photograph taken during the investigation by Mr. W. Gray, the point selected being a few yards S.W. of the trial section. This shows the natural appear- ance of Beds A., B.,C, and D.; the unconformability of the two last-named zones, and the steep dip of Bed D., may be noted. The section shown is 15 feet in height. Plate 1. SECTION OFTHE BEDS ON THE CURRAN AT LARNE. GRAVELLY SOIL... CLOAIRSIETFGIRVA NIE a? Noeeen tena COARSE GRAVEL BLACK MUDDY GRAVEL BLACK SAND gst ” \\ HWM, 3:00... \| ESTUARINE CLAY 3:0 \\ \ \\\ “" ABLACK SAND 2: Sree Te Sa agli —— ERS SA NER COARSE BLACK GRAVEL ib: i : Reta tam 2'6,Base not reached ode ee L.WM “INYUVI SNVYYUHNO AHL LV LNAWdYVOSS TWSAVHD FHL Yu WoL fe a \ x 1889-90. ] 211 The third communication was on the recent occurrence of the Stock Dove in the County of Antrim, and was also brought forward by Mr. Praeger. He said that in consequence of a letter in one of the local papers reporting the breeding of the Stock Dove (Columba enas) near the town of Antrim, in May last, he was requested by the committee to examine into the matter and to report to them concerning it, which he had now much pleasure in doing. The nest in question was found in the deer-park of Viscount Massereene by the Rev. J. Gordon Holmes, Vicar of Antrim, who, in response to enquiries, kindly sent one of the eggs for identification, accompanied by a detailed descrip- tion of the nest. These were forwarded to Mr. J. E. Harting, of London, who pronounced them to be undoubtedly those of the Stock Dove. The nest which ‘fr. Holmes found was situated in a hole among the roots of a large elm which formed a tangled mass on the edge of a steep bank; it consisted of a few twigs and roots, and contained two fresh eggs. The Stock Dove was first found in Ireland by Mr. Thomas Darragh, of Belfast, in 1875, when two birds were shot near Dundonald, Co. Down. The next year another specimen was obtained in Co. Down, and in the following spring this species was found nesting near Dundonald by Mr. Darragh, and in Ravensdale Park, Co. Louth, by Lord Clermont. It had now been authentically discovered breeding in Co. Antrim, and its further spread in Ireland would be watched With interest. Irish specimens of the Stock Dove, and of its congeners, the Rock Dove and the Ring Dove or Wood Pigeon, were exhibited. The election of several new members brought the evening’s proceedings to a close. The third meeting of the Winter Session was held in the Museum, College Square North, on Tuesday evening, 17th December—the President (Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A.) in the chair—when two communications were brought forward. The 212 [Proc. B. N. F.C, first was by Rev. C. Herbert Waddell, M.A., entitled “Some Notes on Plant Life.” The lecturer stated that it would be impossible in a single lecture to give anything like a complete account of plant life. All he could do would be to give an outline of some of the most interesting parts of the economy of plants. Some of the lowest forms of plants and animals were then described and illustrated by coloured diagrams, and it was shown that the two kingdoms are divided by a faint and uncer- tain line at this region. The question was asked, What are all plants and animals, what is man himself made of ? In reply, it was pointed out that all living organisms are built up of a colourless viscid substance called protoplasm. Ameéa, one of the lowest animals, consisted ofa structureless mass of protoplasm. Ameeban life was certainly very simple and primitive. The ani- mal could move in any direction, and seize a diatom or other prey with that part of its body which happened to be nearest, not taking the trouble toturn round. Protoplasm was the substance which built up the bodies of all plants and animals. Like a builder, it has been given the wonderful property of being able to gather, select, and prepare the complex materials of which the marvellous human body, the mighty oak, and the humble wayside flower respectively con- sist. As a rule, protoplasm occurred in plants in little masses called cells, surrounded by cell walls formed of cellulose. These grouped together formed a tissue. Inside the cell was the nucleus, embedded in the protoplasm. In a similar way man built his structures—houses, ships, &c.—of many compartments. This kind of construction united a sparing use of material with strength and lightness, and afforded easy means of intercom- munication. According to the new theory, the “ continuity of protoplasm,” all the cells were connected one with another by minute pores opening through the cell wall, but this had not been proved as yet. Mr. Waddell then explained the reason of the flow of sap, and other vital processes in the plant, and, in a drawing of a common desmid (Clostertum /unula), explained a curious motion of the cell contents called Cycloszs, It is in- 1889-90.] 213 teresting to watch this process under the microscope, and it can be easily observed in the cells of the American weed, stinging hairs of nettles, &c. In the desmid a little group of granules keep up a slow but continuous motion round and round, but - what this motion is for,no one knows. The structure and use of leaves in the life of a plant were then explained and illustrated by a section of the common Liverwort, showing the pores or Stomata which were found in great numbers on the surfaces of leaves. Their green colour arose from the grains of chlorophyll contained in their cells. These green parts were not only ornamental, but were also the most useful and hard- working parts of the wholeorganism. Leavescorrespond more or less to lungs; for the chlorophyll has in sunlight the power of assimilating carbon from the atmosphere ; and when it is re- membered that there is only ‘04 per cent. of carbon dioxide in the air, and that half a plant’s weight is made up of carbon, the enormous work they do is apparent. Chlorophyll was truly a wonderful substance, and did a mighty workin nature. These little grains were the manufactories of the plant, mills to grind its corn, teeth to masticate it, stomachs to digest it. All of us were dependent upon them for our daily food, for every particle of food that we ate had at some time or other passed through these mills, and been prepared for our use. These chlorophyll mills inéthe leaf only worked by means of light. Fungi, which were not manufacturing plants, could live in the dark. All other green plants were hard workers, and the power they used to drive their were fills sunlight. With the first rays of the rising sun the mills commenced to work, and went on con- tinuously until sunset. Then they had rest, and other parts of the plant took up other divisions of labour— growth and cell division were greatest during darkness—and thus was caused an alternation of rest and work. It had been proposed to make plants work night and day under electric light, and thus ripen peaches and strawberries, but such long hours of work would be sure to wear out their constitutions. The chlorophyll was hard at work all summer gathering in and laying up supplies 214 [Proc. B. N. F. C., against hard times in storehouses, in bud, or tuber, or bulb, or stem. With the autumn deciduous plants left off work. The green chlorophyll passed away in the beautiful tints of autumn leaves. Then they withered and died. This had long been foreseen and provided for by the great Architect of nature. By a beautiful and simple contrivance a little wedge of differ- ently constituted tissue had been growing across the base of the leaf stalk, and thus formed a joint, beginning at the outside and making its way across. Then a slight touch of wind or frost was sufficient to break the remaining connection, and the leaf fell. Plant life was a most interesting part of biology, and much was to be gained in its study ; but it was full of mysteries. Protoplasm—In this the life of the plant was centred, but how little did we know about it! The life seemed to be there: what the life was we could not tell. As Tennyson says— Little ower—but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is. The second communication was by Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., T.C.D., ‘‘On the Cells of Mosses.” Mr. Lett described mosses as, of all tribes of plants, the best adapted for studying how vegetable cells come into existence, Increase in size, multiply and reach maturity, because mosses are in most stages of their growth of a semi-transparent nature, and can be found at any time of the year, and almost everywhere. The growth of a moss was briefly traced from a spore up to the complete fruit- bearing plant, and it was shown how cell walls, protoplasm, cell sap, chlorophyll, tissues, &c., can be studied by their aid. A vast field of interesting work is also contained in comparing the cells of mosses, which are very various, long, linear, square, hexagonal, rhomboidal, sinuous, &c. The preparation of speci- mens of the cells of these plant for examination under the microscope was alluded to as affording a field for experiments in order to obtain a perfectly satisfactory and trustworthy 1889-90. ] 215 medium for mounting them as microscopic objects, so as to have the cells as nearly as possible in the same state as they were when the plant was growing. At the conclusion, Mr. Lett mentioned having found during ‘the summer of 1889 the tollowing mosses in the County Antrim :—Sphagnum rigidum, and S. molle, which have hitherto been collected in only one other Irish locality, near Hilltown, in the County Down, where he found them a few years ago. He also announced meeting in last June with Sphagnum Austint in Glenariff, County Antrim. This is an extremely rare moss, having as yet been discovered in only two British localities—the Hebrides and Westmoreland. An inter- esting discussion and the election of new members brought the meeting to a close. The fourth meeting of the Winter Session was held in the Museum, College Square North, on Tuesday evening, January 28th—the President (Mr. William Gray, M.R.L.A.) in the chair—when two communications were brought forward by Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. The first paper was on a some- what technical subject, the title being ‘A Contribution to the Post-tertiary Fauna of Ulster.” The reader stated that having been recently engaged in an examination of the Estuarine Clays of the North of Ireland, he now ventured to bring before the Club a few notes of shells observed by him in these beds, which have not previously been recorded therefrom. The Estuarine Clays, he explained, form a series of marine deposits, consisting mostly of tough homogeneous blue clay, attaining a considerable thickness in places ; they usually rest on submerged peat, post-glacial sands, or Boulder Clay, and are often over- laid by raised beaches, which have accumulated to a depth of ten to twenty feet in some spots, since the deposition of the clay beds. The Estuarine Clays yield a rich and varied molluscan fauna, characteristic of the littoral and laminarian 216 [Proc. B. N. FC. zones, and differing somewhat from that now inhabiting the adjacent waters. The Belfast clay forms a thick deposit of large area in the Lagan estuary, and has. been examined successively by Thompson’, Hyndman’, Grainger*, Stewart‘, and the writer’. The bed at Magheramorne, on Larne Lough, is singularly rich in shells, a list of which appears in Stewart’s paper, mentioned below ; in addition to these, the writer has examined Estuarine Clays occurring at Eglinton and Limavady Junction, on Lough Foyle, at the mouth of the Bann, and at Larne, Kilroot, Holywood, Kircubbin, Downpatrick, Newcastle, Greenore, and Dundalk. The following species of Mo//usca are additions to the fauna of the North of Ireland Estuarine Clays :— Lima Loscombit, G. B. Sowerby. A single valve of this species occurred among a large number of examples of its So DEetay L. hians, at Magheramorne. Crenella decussata, Montagu. This rare and beautiful little northern shell occurs sparingly at Magheramorne and Larne. Nucula sulcata, Bronn. A single valve in the Downpatrick bed. Does not now inhabit the North of Ireland. Nucula nitida, G. B. Sowerby. Eglinton, sparingly. Peptunculus glycymeris, Linné. Frequent at Magheramorne. Kellia suborbicularts, Montagu. Magheramorne, rare. Gastrana fragilis, Linné. A valve of unusual dimensions (2:1 xX1°5), at Downpatrick. Not previously noticed in the North of Ireland, either recent or fossil. Mactra solida, Linné. Magheramorne, very rare. The varieties ¢runcataand elliptica have been previously recorded from the Belfast bed. 1 Belfast Museum Collection. 2 British Association Report, 1857. % Natural History Review, Vol. vi, for 1859. 4 Annual Report, Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, 1870-1: Appendix. 5 Proceedings, Belfast N.F. Club, 1886-7: Appendix. / 1889-90. ] 217 Thracia distorta, Montagu. Several valves at Magheramorne. They are of remarkable size (9 xX1‘z), these dimensions being half as large again as those given by Jeffreys. Trochus helicinus, Fabricius. Not uncommon in the Maghera- morne deposit. Trochus millegranus, Philippi. Several small examples at Downpatrick. Phastanella pulla, Linné. This pretty shell is frequent in the clays at Larne, Magheramorne, and Downpatrick. Rissoa reticulata, Montagu. Magheramorne, not common. Rtssoa albella, Lovén, var. Sarsa. A single specimen at Magheramorne. Rissoa parva, Da Costa. Magheramorne bed, rare. Though extremely abundant at the present day, it has not been hitherto noticed in the Estuarine Clays, where its place is taken by FR. violacea. The typical form appears to be very rare everywhere as a fossil. Rissoa costata, Adams. Kircubbin, frequent. Skenea planorbis, Fabricius. In the clays at Limavady Junction, Magheramorne, Larne, Downpatrick, and New- castle ; abundant in some of these beds. Odostomia nitidissima, Montagu. Two examples of this tiny and exquisite shell were found at Eglinton. Jeffreys says that it has never been found fossil. Several other Odostomie have been found, which are believed to be additional species ; but these are not recorded till they have been examined and confirmed by an authority. Utriculus truncatulus, Bruguiére. In the Downpatrick bed, very rare. Utriculus obtusus, Montagu, var. Lajonkaireana. Sparingly at Limavady Junction, where the typical form was very common, along with UW. mapimillatus. A curious monstrosity of U. obtusus also occurred, having a slender tapered spire as long as the mouth. 218 [Proc. B. N. F.C., ’ In connection with this subject, the subjoined note of recent shells was added :— Tapes decussatus and Scrobicularia piperata. These two ' species, which are so abundant in, and characteristic of our Estuarine Clays, were considered to be now extinct on the North of Ireland shores, and this opinion has been recently endorsed by the writer. Mr. Wm. Swanston, F.G.S., has since informed him that he obtained the latter in a fresh state.on the strand near Horn Head, in Donegal ; and they have both been taken by the writer (the former alive, the latter recently dead), at Fort Stewart, Lough Swilly, during the past summer. | Gastrana fragilis. This shell is noted above as having been found fossil at Downpatrick. A number of fresh single valves were obtained on the Lough Swilly shore along with the two last-named species ; and Rev. Canon Grainger. M.R.I.A., has since informed the writer that he has also taken it there. It without doubt lives in that locality. The second paper was entitled “Three Days on Rathlin Island: with Notes on its Flora and Fauna.” -A large map of the island hung on the wall, and on the table were collections of the local birds and birds’. eggs, plants, and antiquities, to which constant reference was made, and during the course of the lecture lantern views, artistically executed by Mr. Welch from photographs taken by him on the island, were successfully exhibited by Mr. George Donaldson. The reader first described the position and physical features of Rathlin, which lies off the North Antrim coast, separated from the mainland by a deep and turbulent sound, through which the tides run with tremendous force, so that except during calm weather the passage is effected with difficulty. The island is almost com- pletely surrounded by high, inaccessible cliffs, but at the 1 Proc. B.N.F.C., 1886-7: Appendix, and ‘‘ Marine Shells of the North of Ireland,” in Proc. B.N.F.C., 1887-8: Appendix. 1889-90. | 219 ; southern extremity the ground becomes lower. The greater part of the surface consists of rocky heath, with frequent marshes and lakes. The flora and fauna of an area thus isolated might, he said, be expected to possess interest for the naturalist, and in this respect Rathlin has claimed a fair amount of attention from local scientists. At the beginning of the present century, Mr. John Templeton examined the flora of the island; in 1836 Dr. David Moore paid it a visit ; and in the following year an elaborate paper dealing with the zoology, botany, and geology, as well as with the scenery, history, agriculture, and statistics of the island, appears in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, from the pen of Dr. James Drummond Marshall. Miss Gage, sister of the courteous and kindly owner of Rathlin, prepared a list of its flora for the Botanical Society of Edinburgh in 1850, and Mr. Gage himself has for many years made the birds of his little kingdom his especial study. In 1884, Mr. S.. A. Stewart, a leading member of the Naturalists’ Field Club, contributed a most valuable paper to the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, in which the flora of the island is fully and accurately described. Mr. Praeger next touched on the scenery of the island, with special reference to the magnificent sea cliffs, which form such a conspicuous feature. It is at the north-west extremity that these cliffs attain their greatest elevation, and there the huge wall, from 300 to 450 feet in height, rises sheer out of the water, carved by the ocean into vast amphitheatres and bold headlands, with occasional detached rock-pillars of great height standing in fantastic shapes, like giant sentinels guarding that savage coast. Amid these craggy fastnesses the seabirds have their home, and hither as spring advances come thousands of guillemots, razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, and black-backed gulls, to bring forth their young on the lofty ledges of the cliffs. The kestrels yell from the adjoining rocks ; the hooded crow and chough flit along the shore; cormorants sit motionless by the water’s edge; an occasional raven soars majestically around the topmost crags. In the marshes above coot, waterhen, and dabchick push their 220 [Proc, B. N. F.C., noiseless way among the reeds; teal and wild duck have their nests among the high watergrass ; overhead, the lapwing utter their melancholy musical note, and the brown snipe, wheeling in wide, rapid circles, produces that weird, bleating sound which still puzzles naturalists to explain. On the flower-bespangled heaths the rocks re-echo the cheerful chatter of wheatear, pipit, and stonechat; the yellowhammer sings his short, sweet song ; the linnet pours forth his livelier lay, and, above all, the skylarks soar heavenward, filling the whole air with music. Having touched on the geology of Rathlin, the reader came on to speak of a visit which Mr. Robert Patterson, Mr. Welch, and he paid to the island in the spring of last year. Leaving Ballycastle early one May morning under a cloudless sky, with the white cliffs of Rathlin flashing back the morning sunlight, a light southerly breeze wafted them across the Channel into Church- Bay, whence they made sail down to the west end of the island. . Once round Bull Point, the heavy surge of the Atlantic swell was encountered, and the oars were got out. Now they approached the great bird colonies, and the rock-ledges were lined with razorbills and guillemots standing in close packed rows, while in the water a constant commotion was kept up by the numbers: of the same birds that dived or fluttered away before the approach of the boat. Doonmore, or the Great Stack, a huge rock pillar that raises its perpendicular sides and dome-shaped top to a height of some 200 feet above the sea, now appeared in. view. What a sight its top presented! So thickly packed were the guillemots that there did not appear to be standing- room for another bird: it was a living mass of bird-life. As the rock was neared, air and water alike became alive with birds. Doonmore being inaccessible to all but the most ex- perienced climbers—the last time it was scaled being some ten years ago—a landing was effected on Stack-na-cally, from the summit of which a magnificent view of the cliffs and sea-birds was obtained. Then they rowed on below gigantic cliffs. The air around was simply blackened by the innumerable birds that rose in tumult as the boat advanced, yet apparently without 1889-90.) 221 diminishing the thousands that crowded every niche and ledge of the great basaltic wall. Like volleys of black’ and white cannon-balls, the guillemots and razorbills rushed past, dashing into the foaming water, or sailing swiftly for a hundred yards and wheeling back to their perches again ; while like snowflakes the pretty kittiwakes floated on outspread sunny wings, and, above all, the black-backed gulls sat on the loftiest cliffs, shouting and laughing in half a dozen discordant tones; and the whole air was filled with a musical din that was quite indescribable. Thus they proceeded, enveloped in a cloud of birds, till high on the cliff above their heads they saw the mysterious “Sun Rock,” a most peculiar example of radiating columnar structure, which forms an interesting and striking object. There the ground swell became so heavy, and the risk of accident so great, that the skipper ordered a retreat, which, however, was not made until a second landing had been with difficulty effected, and some instantaneous photographs secured of the birds and their nests, and of the magnificent cliffs and rock pillars, which were most artistically displayed by Mr. George Donaldson by limelight on a large screen. The return was effected without mishap, and as night was falling the boat landed its passengers in Church Bay. On the following morning an early start was made on foot for the north-west end of the island. The wind rapidly increased in force as the day advanced, and by the time the party reached the shelter of the bay in which the Great Stack stands, a furious gale was blowing. The channel was white with roaring waves, and the dim out- line of the mainland was scarcely discernible through the thick mist of driving spray that intervened. According to arrangement, a party was to have sailed across from Ballycastle and joined them at the Stacks, but it was only too evident that no boat could cross the wild waste of waters that stretched between the island and the Antrim shore. So the day was spent in exploring along the base of the cliffs, disturbed only by furious gusts that raged and roared among the rocks. The following day turned out very wet, with pelting rain and wind 222 [Proc. B. N. F.C., and thick mist, but the party were out all day along the northern cliffs; and in the evening, just as they were setting sail for Ballycastle, the clouds broke, the fog lifted, and before afresh easterly breeze they covered the seven and a half miles of water in fifty five minutes, and once more stepped ashore at Ballycastle. In conclusion, the reader briefly summarised the zoological and botanical notes taken during their three days’ visit. Of birds, they had observed 47 species on the island. one of which, the Sedge Warbler, is an addition to Mr. Gage’s very complete list of 132 Rathlin birds. Of the 318 species of Flowering Plants and higher Cryptogams recorded in Mr. Stewart’s list as growing on the island, they noted 228, and obtained 29 additional species, as follows:—S&rassica campestris, R7*hanus Raphanistrum, Drosera rotundifolia, Honkengja ,eploides, Cerastium tetrandrum, Alchemilla arvensis, Rubus Ideus, Pyrus Aucuparia, Sempervivum tectorum,t Carum Carui,t Scandix Pecten-Veneris, Myrrhis odorata,t Aster Tripolium, Fraxinus excelsior,t Veronica scutellata,* V. serpyllifola, Beta maritima,* Ulmus montana,{ Salix viminalts,t Populus tremula, Alnus glutinosa,t Scilla verna,* Luzula sylvatica, Scirpus cespitosus, Carex praecox, Hquisetum arvense, E. maximum, Lastrea dilatata, Botrfchium Lunaria. Of these, the species marked (fT) are to be considered introduced plants ; those bearing an asterisk were previously recorded in Miss Gage’s list, but were not found by Mr. Stewart. Mr. Welch’s photographs, exhibited by limelight, were much admired, as was a beautiful series of guillemots’ eggs, showing the great variation of colour to which the eggs of this bird are subject. At the close of the papers a discussion ensued, in which Messrs. Hamilton, Welch, John Marsh, Lockwood, the President, and others took part. The fifth meeting of the Winter Session was held in the Museum on February 19th—the President (Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A) in the chair—when a paper was read by Mr. W. H. 1839-90. 223 Phillips, entititled “* A Gossip about British Ferns and their Varieties, with notices of local finds ; with illustrations.” The Chairman, in his introductory remarks, referred to the long- continued and earnest way in which Mr. Phillips had worked at this most attractive department of botany, and the well- ‘recognised position which, as a result, he now occupied of being one of the foremost British authorities on that subject. Mr. Phillips, on being called upon, said—In the Proceedings of the Club for 1885-86 appears an appendix, entitled “ The Ferns of Ulster,” by W. H. Phillips and R. Lloyd Praeger. In this list an attempt has been made to put in a permanent form as much information as was possible to be obtained of all the species of British ferns that had been found in Ulster, their localities, and first finders. Besides this we gave lists of all the varieties which had been found by ourselves and others, as far we could get information. As compared with any similar lists published elsewhere, it shows a good record of work done in this province, but unfortunately by a very few people, our own names occurring conspicuously, not from our wish to monopolise everything, but from the absence of other workers in this field of botany, the few varieties found by others being more the result of accident than the reward of careful search. Out of the 46 species of ferns indigenous to Great Britain and Ireland, Ireland yields 32 species and the province of Ulster 31. The varieties we record number over 150, of which Polystichum angulare is credited with 55, and Athyrium with 30. It occurred to me that a paper on these varieties, with illustrations of local finds, would be of interest to the Club. In compiling this list we were struck with the almost complete absence of any records of finds by dona fide working men. In Ireland working men do not take any interest in ferns, either as hunters or cultivators. With them all kinds are alike—brackens. The working men in England are largely members of geological and botanical societies. Many of them have been both finders and cultivators of ferns. Many of the best forms have been the results of their hunting when on holiday excursions, 224 [Proc. B, N. F. C., Ferns, Lycopods, and Zguiseta have come down to us from a period of the world’s history when probably flowering plants had not commenced to appear, that first essential of floral existence, bright sunshine, being obscured by a dense and con- stant veil of cloudy moisture floating in an atmosphere of tropical temperature. That period of the pre-Adamite age in which ferns commenced to grow corresponds with the third day’s work of the Mosaic account of the creation. After the muds had ceased to flow and the limestone rocks by upheaval appeared above the waters, the warm, moist, carbonic atmo- sphere thrown off by the fresh lime muds produced such a rapid growth of vegetation that the whole land became quickly clothed with ferns and magnificent trees. Amongst the buried forests of the Mountain Limestone 500 varieties of this vegeta- tion, tree-ferns, and species of pines are found hardened to stone. Ferns are there seen in astonishing variety and of very different sizes. Some, resembling the common bracken of the woods, grew into trees of large dimensions, bending with flowing fronds; others remained lowly, like the ferns that flourish in our vales to-day. Gradually these ancient forests sank beneath the floods of sea water, and, settling into the sand and mud of the sea bottom, have been transformed by time, heat, and pressure into the black shining coal seams, which now reveal their history to our curious eyes. Francis estimates the recent ferns of Great Britain at forty-one species, and as the flowering plants of the country do, not fall short of 1,400 species, the ferns bear the rather small proportion of I to 35 ; whereas of the British Coal Measures flora, in which we do not reckon quite 300 species of plants, about 120 were ferns. Three- sevenths of the entire Carboniferous flora of Great Britain belonged to this familiar class, and for about 50 species more we can discover no nearer analogues than those which connect them with the fern allies ; and if with the British Coal Measures we include those of the continent of America we shall find the proportion in favour of the ferns still greater. The number of Carboniferous plants hitherto describedtamounts to about 500, and of these 250, or one half of the whole, are ferns. 1889-90. ] 225 It will thus follow that, in rightly estimating;the economic value of ferns, we must not, asjis usually done,*consider it nil, but place to their credit thegreat advantages which the world has derived from coal, without which it would have been well nigh impossible to carry on the vast manufactories which now exist, our steam and gas engines, our locomotives by sea and land. What wonderful products are derived from coal; and from the tar residuum of gas-making there are several hundred different substances extracted—sulphate of ammonia, oils, the wonderful aniline dyes, of all the hues of the rainbow, and the latest product saccharine, the sweetest substance yet discovered. Ferns are mentioned by the older botanists, and their nomenclature handed down to us, but little had been done in the way of cultivation or finding new forms until about 45 yearsago. To those who have taken up the study of our native ferns, and have thus been enabled to form a just opinion of the wealth of: beautiful forms into which our few British species have sported, either under natural condi- tions or in cultivation, it is a matter of surprise that popularly they should be so little known and so rarely cultivated, as the popular taste is largely created by those who cater for it, the proper display of a good thing being generally the needful pre- liminary to the demand for it. To nurserymen generally must be imputed much of the blame attached to the ~ neglect of these beautiful plants, well-grown specimens of which are very seldom displayed for sale, though exotic ferns with less pretentions to beauty are grown with the greatest care and shown by thousands. An idea seems to prevail that British ferns are common, and only fit for stop-gaps in out-of-the-way corners where nothing else would grow. This ignorance has been in no small degree shared apparently by popular writers on the subject, since in all but two or three works the varieties are relegated to an entirely subordinate position, while in some they arefnot even;alluded to. What should we think of a rose-book or series of rose-books professing by their titles to exhaust the subject,Swhile confining themselves exclusively 226 [Proc. B. N. F.C., to wild roses, and never even distantly alluding to the glorious array of Marechal Neil, Gloire de Dijon, and the hundreds of rivals of the queen of flowers? Yet this is precisely what has been done in ferns. The time has happily passed when all botanists were content to regard the varieties of ferns as only monstrosities—mere garden varieties. It has long been re- cognised that, with very few exceptions, all the more marked forms have been found growing wild, nature being solely re- sponsible for them. It is also beginning to be recognised that varieties do not appear at haphazard, but in conformity with certain fixed laws of development or deviation to which all species are more or less subject. The varieties of ferns cannot, therefore, be dismissed without attention, even if the extreme beauty of many of them did not render this impossible. He must, indeed, be wanting in some quality of sense or in know- ledge who can regard all the varieties of the British ferns as only degradations. Can it be maintained that many of them are not in every sense higher developments, possessing, with all the symmetry of the normal form, greater delicacy of division and of texture, more freshness and variety of colour, more grace of habit, often larger size, and at times an intricacy of detail or of structure which interests the mind not less than it attracts the eye? The late Colonel Jones, of Clifton, that faczle princeps of fern. hunters and raisers, in a paper read before the Bristol Naturalists’ Society, 1888, after enumerating the ferns found in the neigh- bourhood of Bristol and Somersetshire, says :—‘‘ It was in the lower parts of the Quantock district that the late Mr. Elworthy, many years ago, made those remarkable finds in Polystichum angulare which helped to give a greatly increased interest to the study of British ferns; and subsequently Mr. G. B. Wollaston, Rev. C. Padley, Dr. Wills, and Colonel Jones found many fine and distinct varieties in the same district. Nor may it be without interest to bear in mind that it was in this same district which formed Mr. Elworthy’s happy hunting ground, that Mr. Perceval made his remarkable discovery of Devonian 1889-90. ] 227 corals, not less beautiful than geologically interesting. It would show that the affinity between this part of Somerset and South Devon, where so many of the finer forms of Polystichum angulare have been found, is not merely superficial. Nor may it be unworthy of notice that that energetic discoverer, Mr. W. H. Phillips of Belfast, has proved by his researches that a certain marked botanical affinity exists between the South-West of England and Ireland, the North more particularly. There are certain marked forms of Polystichum angulare of which single plants had been found in the West of England, and which, after very exhaustive researches, having never been found in any other part of England, had long been classed among the forms peculiar to the South-West. Yet after all this had been com- fortably settled, Mr. Phillips turns up with his inconvenient discoveries and unsettles everything. If there were two ferns which had earned the character of having been entirely unique those ferns were Polystichum angulare rotundatum, of Elworthy, a Somerset form ; and Polystichum angulare acrocladon, found by Mr. Mapplebeck in South Devon. Mr. Phillips produces unmistakable counterparts of both. Another most rare and marked form, Polystichum angulare brachiato-cristatum, which long experience had seemed to have conclusively proved to be peculiar to the South of England, Mr. Phillips finds in the North of Ireland. It was the same with another rare and beautiful form, Polystichum angulare setoso-cuneatum, of which only two plants had ever before been found, one by Mr. Moly, the other by Mr. Wollaston, and both in the South-West of England. Also the extreme form of Polystichum angulare grandiceps, two plants of which, apparently identical, had been found by different people in other parts of Ireland, and was found more than once by Mr. Moly in Devon. The grand form of Polystichum angulare polydactylum, found by the late Rey. Charles Padley in the Vale of Avoca, was long considered a unique plant, until found by Colonel Jones in the South of England. To these may be added the Polystichum angulare dwisilobum Phillips, on which Mr. G. B. Wollaston, the 228 [Proc. B. N. F. C., greatest authority on Folystichums, has passed his judgment, calling it ‘a gem of the first water;’ and the Polystichum angulare divisilobum Crawfordie, found some years ago by a labourer at Crawfordsburn. These most exquisite forms had only hitherto been found in Devonshire.” He concludes in these words :—“ Nature herself having in this as in many other ways linked Ireland to us so closely in every branch of natural history, shall we not all breathe a prayer—more than that, resolve—that nothing shall ever sever the connection?” Shortly before Colonel Jones’s death, in a letter to me about some of my fern finds, he says:—‘“‘I have always regarded the ferns in question as a distinct credit to you and to Ireland ; and goodness me! when I think of it, where would British ferns be in case of a severance of Ireland from us? I do not think that this side of the subject. has ever received the attention it deserves.” Within the last two years the collection at Kew has been immensely enriched by gifts and bequests representing many thousands of the finest forms. To what may not such a collection as this be expected to grow, containing all that is most beautiful, rare, and strange amongst the varieties of British ferns? Nor should such a collection fail to excite a special interest in this country as being illustrative of, and at the same time a record of, a branch of botany exclusively British, and likely to remain so. For whatever discoveries in other parts of the world may be in store for the future, it is at present the fact that in no country of any considerable size has the natural tendency of ferns to vary been developed to anything like the same extent as in the British Isles. However great our taste and fancy for ferns may be, we can never realise the enjoyment to be derived from them unless we are successful in cultivating them. The love of ferns does not merely consist in admiring them in a state of maturity when presented to the eye, but in gathering them from their native haunts and bringing them under cultivation, in administering to their wants, and anxiously watching them as they slowly unfurl their fronds. The common hedgerow, the old wall, the 1889-90.] 229 rocks by the sea, the wooded glen, the wild moor, and the stream provide for us the kingdom of ferns, whose peculiar habits form a pleasant study for our hours of recreation. The fern lover who has any leisure at command is almost sure, sooner or later, to become a fern hunter, and to be successful a familiar ‘knowledge of all the normal ferns is necessary, so that at a glance he can recognise them, and then an education of the eye by constant, careful examination of the plants which come in his way, that should there be any abnormality in the fronds over which his eye travels, it may at once be detected. It may not be out of place here to add a word in justice to the true hunter of varieties, who is too often confounded in the minds of the thoughtless with those ruthless destroyers of species who, year by year, throw back the fern line farther from our cities. How sad to see the quantities of ferns in our markets each week with all the roots cut off to make them look smart. I never see these without the thought that death in a few days must be the result. How often in glens do we find ferns rooted up by thoughtless persons and lying thrown away. Whena fern has been dug out, and not required, it should be planted again. The true hunter of varieties is, on the contrary, the preserver of rare forms, and but for him many a beautiful thing which is now a delight to many hundreds would have perished entirely. Asa rule the finer organisms, if left to themselves, have scarce a chance of permanent survival in the hard struggle that is ever going on. The fecundity of ferns is enormous. Mr. Druery has calculated that a fully developed frond of Polypodium vulgare bears no fewer than 200,000,000 spores. The lecturer then called attention to some of the more marked groups into which the varieties are divided, explaining the characters by reference to a magnificent display of dried specimens, mounted, and hung onthe walls, numbering several hundreds, and made up principally of local finds ; and attention was drawn to several forms lately found. A most beautiful collection of ferns sent by Mr. O’Kelly, nurseryman, of Bally- _vaughan, County Clare, was exhibited. ‘These were all his own 230 [Proc. B, N. F.C., finds in County Clare. There were nine most strange and beautiful forms of Ceterach officinarum. One in particular is deserving of special notice, mz/tifido-cristatum, a perfect gem. Until lately no varieties of this species had been found. Mr. O’Kelly is the first and only finder. All who wish for really good varieties should write for these ; no collection can be complete without them. Amiens—Societé Linnéenne du Nord de la France. Memoirs, 1886-88. Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club. Proceedings, Vol. XII., Part II. Cardiff Naturalists’ Society. Report and Transactions, Vol. XXI., Part I. Dublin Science and Art Museum. List of Irish Birds, by A. G. More, F.L.S., &. i Royal Irish Academy. Proceedings, Series III., Vol. I., No. 2. Transactions, Vol. XXIX., Parts XII. and XITI. Eastbourne Natural History Society. Transactions, Part III., Vol. II., New Series. Edinburgh— Botanical Society Transactions and Proceedings, Vol. XVI1., Part III. Frankfurt—Monatliche Mitthielungen, aus dem Gesammt- gebliete der Naturwissenschaften. Nos. 9, 10, 11, 1889-90. ys Societatum Litteree. Nos. 10, 11, 12, 1889-90. 1889-90. } 241 Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club. Transactions, Vol. V., Parts 6 and 7. Liverpool Geological Association. Journal, Vol. IX., 1888-89. Shanghai—China. Catalogue of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Collection at the United States International Exhibition at Philadelphia, 1886. Toronto—Canadian Institute. Annual Report, 1888-89. Proceedings, Series ITI., Vol. VII., Fas. I. U.S.A.—Milwaukee Public Museum. Annual Report, Seventh. s New York Academy of Sciences. Transactions, Vol. VIII., Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Proceedings, Part II., 1889. Salem—Essex Institute. Charter and Bye-Laws, 1889. Do. Bulletin, Vol. XX., Nos. 1 to 12, Vol. XXI., Nos. 1 to 6. From Joseph Smith, Junr., Warrington. Ten detached papers on scientific subjects. 242 [Proc. B. N. F.C., BELFAST NATURALISTS FIELD CLUB. + TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, 1890-91. ¢, aaa a LIST OF OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. PRESIDENT : WILLIAM GRAY, M.R.I.A. VICE-PRESIDENT : JOHN VINYCOMB. TREASURER : LIBRARIAN : S. A. STEWART, F.B.S. Edin. | WILLIAM SWANSTON, F.G.S. SECRETARIES: F. W. LOCKWOOD, | R. LLOYD PRAEGER, B.E., WARING STREET. i HOLYWoOpD. COMMITTEE: JOHN J. ANDREW, L.D.S., DANIEL M‘KEE. R.C.8., Eng. GEORGE DONALDSON. WILLIAM SWANSTON, F.G.S. JOHN DONALDSON. Rev. C. HERBT. WADDELL, M.A. W. A. FIRTH. ROBERT J. WELCH. JOHN HAMILTON. JOSEPH WRIGHT, F.G.S, 1889-90. | Members. Any changes in the Addresses of Members should be notified to the Secretaries. Edward Allworthy, Mosaphir, Cave Hill Road. John Anderson, J.P., F.G.S., East Hillbrook, Holywood. Robert Anderson, Meadowlands. J.J. Andrew, L.D.S., R.C.S. Eng., Belgravia, Lisburn Road. Mrs. Andrews, Seaview, Shore Road. James M. Barkley, Holywood. Robert Barklie, Wilmont Terrace. James Barr, Beechleigh. William Batt, Sorrento, Windsor. Miss Emma Beck, Old Lodge Road. George R. Begley, Wolfhill Lodge, Ligoniel. James Best, Great Victoria Street. F. J. Bigger, Ardrie, Antrim Road. Edward Bingham, Ponsonby Avenue. Mrs. Blair, Camberwell Terrace. E. Blair, Camberwell Terrace. J. H. Boyd, Eblana Street. Edward Braddell, St. Ives, Malone. Hugh B. Brandon, Atlantic Avenue. Chas.H. Brett, Gretton Villa South. John Thorley Brindley, Ulsterville Avenue. Rev. John Bristow, St. James’s Parsonage. John Brown, Belair, Windsor Av. Robert Brown, Donoughmore. Thomas Brown, Donegall Street. John Browne, J.P., Ravenhill ouse. John Browne, M.R.I.A., Drapers- field, Cookstown. W. J. Browne, M.R.I.A., Highfield, Omagh. W. W. Brydon, Silverstream, Green- island. Chas. Bulla, Wellington ParkTerrace. Henry Burden, M.D., M.R.I.A., Alfred Street. J.R.Burnett, Rostellan, Malone Road. Wm. Campbell, Allworthy Avenue. Ernest Carr, Botanic Avenue. Miss Carruthers, Claremont Street. E. T. Church, Donegall Place. Stanley B. Coates, L.R.C.P., Edin., Shaftesbury Square. James Coey, Victoria street. Wn. F. C.S8. Corry, Chatsworth. Rev. W. Cotter, D.D., Riversdale Terrace, Balmoral. George B. Coulter, Helen’s Bay. Mrs. Coulter, Helen’s Bay. James Creeth, Riversdale Terrace, Balmoral. Robert Culbert, Distillery street. Samuel Cunningham, Glencairn. Francis Curley, Dunedin. Mrs. Curley, Dunedin. William Curry, Botanic Avenue. Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, Clandeboye (Hon. Mem.) J. H. Davies, Glenmore Cottage, Lisburn. Henry Davis, Holywood. Robt. Day, J.P., F.S.A., M.R.LA., Cork. Wakefield H. Dixon, Dunowen. George Donaldson, Bloomfield. John Donaldson, Thorndale Terrace. W. D. Donnan, Holywood. W. J. Dunlop, Bryson street. David Elliott, Albert Bridge Road. George Elliott, Royal Avenue. George H. Elliott, Lorne Villas, South Parade. Lavens M. Ewart, J.P., Glenbank. Godfrey W. Ferguson, Murray’s Terrace. J. H. Ferguson, Belgrave, Knock. Joseph Firth, Whiterock. Wm. A. Firth, Glenview Terrace, Springfield Road. Thomas J. G. Fleming, F.G.S., Limavady. T. M. H. Flynn, Sunnyside, Bess- brook. J. Starkie Gardner, F.G.S., Damer Terrace, Chelsea (Hon, Mem.) 244 R. M. Gilmore, GardenVale Terrace, Athlone. W. J. Gilmore, Camberwell Villas. George J. Glen, Hartington Street. William Godwin, Queen Street. Rev. David Gordon, Downpatrick. James Goskar, Carlisle Circus. James Gourley, J.P., Derryboy, Killyleagh, Rev.CanonGrainger,D.D.,M.R.I.A., Broughshane. Robert Graham, Brookview Terrace. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A.,Mountcharles, Miss Gray, Mountcharles. George Greer, J.P., Woodville, Lurgan. Edward Gregg, Donegall Pass. John Hamilton, Mount Street. Richard Hanna, Charleville Street. Mann Harbison, Ravenhill Terrace, Rev. Canon Hartrick, The Rectory, Ballynure. Sir James Haslett, J.P., Princess Gardens. Thos. Hassan, Strangemore House. W. D. Hazleton, Cliftonville. F. A. Heron, Cultra. J.S. Holden, M.D., F.G.S., Sud- bury, Suffolk (Cor. Mem.). John Horner, Clonard Foundry. . Alexander Hunter, Northern Bank. W. J. Hurst, J.P., Drumaness, Ballynahinch. James Imrie, Fitzroy Avenue. Hugh Smith Jefferson, Rosnakill, Strandtown. James F’. Johnston, Holywood. Wm. J. Johnston, J.P., Dunesk, Stranmillis. Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S., Chelsea, London (Hon. Mem.), John Kane, LL.B. Archibald Kent, Newington Street. Wm. Kernahan, Wellington Park. George Kidd, Lisnatore, Dunmurry. F. Kirkpatrick, Ann Street. Wm. J. Knowles, M.R.LA., Bally- mena. Robert A. Kyle, Richmond. W. W. Lamb, Salisbury Avenue. [ Proc. B. N. F. C., Prof. Charles Lapworth, F.G.S., Mason College, Birmingham (Hon. Mem.). F. R. Lepper, Carnalea. é Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., T,C.D., Aghaderg Glebe, Loughbrick- land. Prof. E. A. Letts, Ph.D., F.C.S., Craigavad. Frederick W. Lockwood, Wellington Park Terrace. James Logan, Donegall Street. Joseph Lowe, Essex Street. W. B. Lowson, Chichester Park. H.W. Luther,M.D.,Chlorine House. John Mackenzie, C.E., Myrtlefield. Henry Magee, Eglantine Avenue. Rev. J. J. Major, Belvoir Hall, Ballymacarrett. Harold Malcolmson, Holywood. Greer Malcomson,GranvilleTerrace. Jas. Malcomson, Rosemount, Knock. Mrs.Malcomson, Rosemount,Knock. John Marsh, Glenlyon, Holywood. Mrs. Marsh, Glenlyon, Holywood. Joseph C. Marsh, Castleton Terrace. J. M‘Clelland Martin, Oceanic Avenue. Henry Merrick, Great Victoria Street. Seaton Forrest Milligan, M.R.1.A., Royal Terrace. R. Joynt Morrison, Limestone Road. Thomas Morrison, Great George’s Street. David Morrow, Church Hill, Holy- wood. John Morton, Clifton Park Avenue. James Murdoch, Denmark Street. Joseph John Murphy, OsbornePark. Mrs. Agnes Murray, Ulster Terrace. J. R. Musgrave, J.P., Drumglass House, Malone. Thomas M‘Alister, Eglinton Street. Joseph M‘Chesney, Holywood. Francis P. M‘Clean, Huntly Villas. H. M‘Cleery, Clifton Park Avenue. Rev. Ed. M‘Clure, M.A., M.R.I.A., Onslow Place, South Kensing- ton, London (Cor. Mem.). John M‘Clure, Donlure, Bloomfield. 1889-90. | Sir Thomas M‘Clure, Bart,Belmont. Wn. J. M‘Clure, Elizabeth Street. Jas. M‘Connell, Caledonia Terrace. F. W. M‘Cullough, C.E., Chichester Street. W. F. MacHlheran, Botanic Avenue. Miss M‘Gaw, Wellington Park Terrace. J. H. MaclIlwaine, Brandon Villa. Mrs. MaclIlwaine, Brandon Villa. Daniel M‘Kee, Adela Place. W. S. M‘Kee, Fleetwood Street Alexander MacLaine, J.P., Queen’s Elms. John M‘Liesh, The Mount, Mountpottinger. John M‘Liesh, Jun., The Mount. Robert M‘Liesh, The Mount. William MacMillan, Enniscorthy. Jas. M‘Mordie, Belgravia Avenue. John M‘Stay, College Square Hast. Lucien Nepveu, Claremont Street. W. Courtney Nesbitt, Kinnaird Terrace. Wm. Nicholl, Donegall Square North. Jerdan Nichols, Meadowbank Street. H. J. Nicholson, Windsor Gardens. Mrs. Nicholson, Windsor Gardens. Henry O’Neill,M.D.,College Square Kast. James O’ Neill, M.A.,College Square Kast. H. Lamont Orr, Clanbrassil Terrace. A. T. Osborne, Eglantine Avenue. David C. Patterson, Holywood. Robert Lloyd Patterson, J.P.,F.L.S., Croft House, Holywood. Robert Patterson, Windsor Park Terrace, Lisburn Road. William H. Patterson, M.R.IA., Garranard, Strandtown. Herbert Pearce, Fitzroy Avenue. James J. Phillips, 61, Royal Avenue. William H. Phillips, Lemonfield, Holywood. KE. W. Pim, Elmwood Terrace. John Pim, J.P., Bonaven, Antrim Road, 245 Joshua Pim, Slieve-na-Failthe, Whiteabbey. Thomas W. Pim, The Lodge, Strandtown. KE. A. Praeger, Woodburn, Holy- wood. R. Lloyd Praeger, B.A., B.E., Holywood. Joseph Radley, Prospect Hill, Lis- burn. John H. Rea, M.D., Shaftesbury Square. D. Redmond, Antrim. Right Rev. Dr. Reeves, Bishop of Down and Connor and Dromore, Conway House, Dunmurry. Robert Reid, King Street. Richard Ridings, Hampton Terrace. Rev. George Robinson, M.A., Beech Hill House, Armagh. George Robinson, Woodview, Holy- wood. Hugh Robinson, M.R.I,A., Helen’s View, Antrim Road. Jas. R. Robinson, George’s Terrace. William A. Robinson,J.P.,Culloden, Cultra. Richard Ross, M.D., Wellington Place. Wm. A. Ross, Iva-Craig, Craigavad. John Russell, C.E., The Hyries, Neweasile. Robt. A. Russell,Colinview Terrace. John Ryan, Myrtle Hill Terrace, Cork. James Shanks, Ballyfounder, Porta- ferry. Chas. Sheldon, M.A., B.Sc., D.Lit., Royal Academical Institution. Edward Smith, Chichester Terrace. Rev. W. 8S. Smith, The Manse, Antrim. Rey. Canon Smythe, M.A., Gosle Glebe, Carnmoney. Wilson Smyth, Virginia Street. Adam Speers, B.Sc., Holywood. A. C. Stannus, Holy wood. Sir N. A. Staples, Bart., (Life Mem.). Jas. Stelfox, Oakleigh, Ormeau Park. John Stevenson, Coolavin. J. M‘N. Stevenson, Carrickfergus. Lissan, S. A. Stewart, Springfield road. William Swanston, F.G.S., Clifton- ville Avenue. Mrs. Swanston, Cliftonville Avenue. Richard Glascott Symes, M.A., F.G.S., Portrush. Samuel Symington, BallyoranHouse. Alex. Tate, C.E., Longwood. Prof. Ralph Tate, F.G.S., F.L.S., Adelaide, South Australia, (Hon. Mem.). H. F. Thomas, Lower Crescent. S. G. Thomas, Limestone Road. Mrs. H. Thompson, Crosshill, Windsor. George Thomson, Falls Road. Prof.James Thomson, LL.D.,F.R.S , Florentine Gardens, Glasgow, (Hon. Mem.). John Todd, Clonaven. W. A. Todd, Elgin Terrace. W.A. Traill, B.E.,M.A.I., Portrush. W. J. Trelford, Vicinage Park. James Turner, Mountain Bush. Jas. G. Turtle, Cambridge Terrace. John Vinycomb, Holywood. Rev. C. Herbert Waddell, M.A., itewell. Miss Wardell, Cavehill Road. 246 [Proc. B, NF. '€i,7 W. F. Wakeman, M.R.1.A., Dublin (Cor. Mem.) Thos. R. Walkington, Edenvale. George G. Ward, Eversleigh, Strand- town. Isaac W. Ward, Salisbury Terrace. Thomas Watson, Shipquay Gate, Londonderry. Charles W. Watts, F.I.C., Holborn Terrace. Isaac Waugh, Clifton Park Avenue. Robert J. Welch, Lonsdale Street. Walter L. Wheeler, Lennoxvale. Wm. Whitla, M.D., J.P., College Square North. James Wilson, Oldforge, Dunmurry. Jas. Wilson, Ballybundon, Killinchy. James F’, Wilson, Greenville Terrace. Berkley D. Wise, C.E., Northern Counties Railway. Rev. Robert Workman, M.A., Rubane, Glastry. Thomas Workman, J.P., Craig- darragh. W.C. Wright, Lauriston, Derrie- volgie Avenue. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., Alfred Street. Mrs. Wright, Alfred Street. William Wylie, Mountpleasant. Robert Young, C.E., Rathvarna. / 888 688 eee The following Publications of the Club can be had from the Librarian :— Seventh Annual Report—1869-70, containing Appendix i a of the Irish Liassic Fossila,—Tate, 1 Plate ~» 2/6 Eighth Annual Report —1870-71, containing Appendix II., List of Irish Liassic Foraminifera, — Wright ; and List of the Fossils of the i? ” Estuarine Clays of Antrim and Down,—Stewart ee ona 26 Ninth Annual Report—1871-72 ee ee ee te wee 1/- Tenth - do. 1872-73 ee ee ee oe ee 1/- Proceedings—Series If., Vol. I., Part I, 1873-74, containing Appendix III., List of Mosses of North-East of Ireland—Stewart ; and List of Cretaceous Microzoa of North of Ireland ae 2 plates... 2/6 y» Series II., Vol. I., Part II., 1874-75 nei ee fe Sf 99 93 29 Iil., 1875-76 ee ee . ee 4/- =f IV., 1876-77, containing Appendix IV., Recent Foraminifera of Down and Antrim, — Wright, 1 Plate ; and Silurian Rocks of County Down ~Swanston and Lapworth, 3 Plates “+ ng + ese eq .. 2/6 » Series II.,, Vol. I., Parts V. and VI., 1877-78 and’78-79 (mone) 1/- | s, Series II., Vol. I., Part VII., 1879-80, containing Appendix v., List of Post- tertiary Foraminifera of North-East of Ireland, — - Wright; and List of Mollusca of Boulder Clay of North-East of Treland, Stewart = “ wid . 2/- 4 5 », Series II., Vol. II., Part I., 1880-81, containing As wane VI. List of Foraminifera of South Donegal—Wright ; Sponge Remains from Carb. Limestone, County Sligo— Wright ; and Fossil Sponge-spicules, County Sligo —Carter, 1 Plate .. 1/6 » Series II., Vol. II., Part IT., 1881-82 +3 eS » 1/- i III., 1882-83, containing Appendix VIT., Supplemental List of Mosses of the North-East of f Ireland— Stewart ae ee box, a= »» Series IT., Vol. IT., Part IV., 1883-84, ARES VIIL., Notes on Irish Coleoptera, —-Haliday ; Cromlechs of Antrim and Down,—Gray, 12 Vlates; and Pre-Historic Monuments near Sligo, —Elcock, 4 Plates .. “s BE ae jin »» Series II., Vol. II., Part V., 1884-85, containing Appendix IX., Ostracoda of Belfast Lough — —Malcomson : Fungi of North of Ireland,—Lett ; Foraminifera of ‘‘ Protector’? Cruise, &e., — Wright ; Cretaceous Foraminifera of mes Hill Berk: Trish Coleoptera, — Patterson ss | 3/- », Series II., Vol. IT., Part VI., 1885-86, epSening Appendix bes The Ferns of Ulster, —Phillips and Praeger .. se 2/2 ,, Series II., Vol. II., Part VII... 1886-87, containing Appendix IF; Notes on the Sections exposed at the ‘Alexandra Dock, Belfast, with List of Fossils, 1 Plate —Praeger ace _2/- » Series IJ., Vol. III., Part I., 1887-88, containing Appandis III., : Marine Shells of the North of Ireland, — Praeger Be 2/- y» Series II., Vol. III., Part II.,1888-89 .. oe vat Ae ee wy | ee a 2 a a a a a a. in 2 ain. ain 2 in 2 ai 2 1; i Tl, Votume III. Parr IV. BELFAST NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB. 1890-91. q Ganual Report == | — and b Pevenninge CONTENTS. : PAGE khonal Report - - - - =~ 249 ~ Excursions — Kilroot and Whitehead, Killinchy and Strangford Lough, ', ~~ Magheramorne and Islandmagee, Cushendall and Paeeloannood, ee Cave Hill, and Glenarm - ent es - 257 ¥ Social Meeting “a : ‘ - x - 278 5 | Opening Address by the Président - - - - 283 bat) | ~ Papers—A Notice of some ancient Grave-slabs found near Dundonald— Tt . H. Patterson - - - - 285 — 3 & On Foraminifera which construct their ser of BEpunesspicuiss—= > oa Joseph Wright” oe - 286 5 ee _ The Primrose and its Allies—W. D. andes - - 287 . - " Some new or rare North of Ireland Plants—R. Lloyd Praeger - 288 a6 _ Strange Pets I have had—W. H. Phillips. - - 290 4 Shek - Four’ Days in Arran— F. W. Lockwood = - = 295 4 | A Chat about Lichens—Henry Davis - - - 297 “— gis The Birds of the Bog Meadows—Robert Patterson - = 298 | _ Microseopical Evening < . : 2 = SOL a Papers—Notes on some rare Hepatics and Mosses found in Ulster—_ - i : H. W. Lett - : je - - 303 x The Gold Antiquities of Ireland—C. Winston Dugan - 304 q | Annual Meeting = - a 2 : - 807 — i: Meteorological Summaries, 1888-90 - - : - 311 4 | Rules, Prizes, Exchanges, Officers and Members - . - 318 PRINTED FOR MEMBERS ONLY. _-—s«PRICE OF EXTRA COPIES TO MEMBERS 1/= The following Publications of the Club may be obtained from the Librarian :— A FLORA OF THE NCRTH-EAST OF IRELAND, including the Phanerogamia, the Cryptomogia Vas- cularia, and the Muscine,—S. A. Stewart, F.B.S. Edin.; and T, H. Corry, M.A., F.L.S., &e. Cambridge; ; MacMillan and Bowes 5/6 SYSTEMATIC LISTS, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE FLORA, FAUNA, PALZONTOLOGY, AND ARCHAOLOGY OF THE NORTH OF IRE- LAND; Vol. 1., consisting of the ecppen dices from 1870 to 1885 inclusive, 27 Plates ; in-paper..)-3<. Sis See ae w= in boards... ees oes whe ott Jane OF GUIDE TO BELFAST AND ADJOINING COUN- TIES ; containing chapters on Geology; Botany, Zoo- logy, Topography, Historical Antiquities, Agriculture, Trade, and Excursions, with numerous Plates, Pub- lished at 3/6; Reduced Price ... ae soe Dim (See also Back of Cover). ANNUAL REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE bel AS | Ree Ores lS mia) C1 HS For the Year ending the 31st March, 1891. (TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR) SERIES. I. VOLUME III. 1890-91. Beltast : PRINTED FOR THE CLUB, BY ALEXANDER Mayne & Boyp, 2 CORPORATION STREET, PRINTERS TO QUEEN’S COLLEGE, BELFAST. 1891. en oe a OG ae Be OF THE BeLpast NATURALISTS’ FIELD GLuB, FOR THE Year ending 31st March, 1891. a) =eEN submitting their twenty-eighth Annual Report, 4| your Committee have satisfaction in recording a year of marked activity and steady progress. The Giemeeet membership of the Club, which at the beginning of the year stood at 251, now numbers 281, 28 names having been withdrawn from the list through death or resignation, and 58 new members having been elected. The Summer programme was a successful one, and was carried out in every particular. Excepting only the first day of the long excursion, the Club was on each occasion favoured with magnificent weather, in spite of a generally unfavourable season. On two excursions of the year the party numbered over sixty. The field meetings were as follow :— 1. Kilroot and Whitehead... toe eee 24th May. 2. Killinchy and Strangford Lough soe ove 14th June. 3.. Magheramorne and Islandmagee os nee 5th July. 4. Cushendall and district ane ave Eva 3oth & 31st July. 5. Cave Hill eee eee ees poe 16th August. 6. Glenarm ess aus aus oes 6th September. 250 [ Proc. B.N.F.C., The Committee beg to thankfully acknowledge the kind permission of the Countess of Shaftesbury to visit the Deerpark, and of Robert Armstrong, Esq., to pass through the grounds of Thronemount, on the occasion of the excursion to Cave Hill ; and the valuable assistance of Mr. B. D. Wise, A.M.LC.E., a member of the Club, to the geologists at Whitehead. The Winter Session opened on November Ist with a Social Meeting, the attendance at which was above the average of some years past. An exhibition illustrative of the art of chromo-lithography was made the specialité of the evening, and through the courtesy of three well-known local firms, to whom the best thanks of the Committee are due, a very interesting and instructive exhibition was brought together. In addition to an evening devoted to the microscope, to be presently referred to, five ordinary meetings were held, at which thirteen different communications were brought forward. The dates and particulars of the Winter meetings, all of which were well attended, are given below. ast Nov. Social Meeting. Opening Address by the President. ‘¢ A Notice of some ancient Grave-slabs found near Dundonald,” W. tgth Nov. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A. ‘On Foraminifera which construct their Tests of Sponge-spicules,”’ Joseph Wright, F.G.S. ‘The Primrose and its Allies,” W. D. Donnan. 16th Lec. {ro new or rare North of Ireland Plants,” R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E. ‘* Strange Pets I have had,” W. H. Phillips, F.R.H.S. { Proposal to transfer the books which the Club has received as exchanges or otherwise to the Belfast Free Public Library ; the Secretaries. zoth Jan. 4 Suggestion to form a Joint Microscopical Section of the Club and Natural History and Philosophical Society ; the Secretaries. vs ‘Four Daysin Arran,’’ F. W. Lockwood. ‘© Chat about Lichens,” Henry Davis. 17th Feb, | ‘The Birds of the Bog Meadows,” Robert Patterson. 17th March Microscopical Evening. *6 Notes on some rare Mosses and Hepatics found in Ulster,”’ Rev H. 14th Api {. W, Lett, M.A. ; ** The Gold Antiquities of Ireland, ‘“ Cc, Winston Dugan, M. A, 1890-91. } 251 The question of the furthering of the science of micro- scopy by the Club’s agency having been brought before the Committee, was referred to a general meeting, at which it was decided to form a special Section of the Club for the prosecution and encouragement of microscopical work. This Section, which has its own Chairman and Committee of Management, held its Inaugural Meeting on March 17th, when twenty members attended with their instruments, and illustrated nearly as many different branches of microscopical research, to the satisfaction of | a company of some two hundred members and their friends. The Committee trust that the new Section will receive the support of all members who are interested in this important department of the Club’s work. Application for membership of the Section, which does not involve any additional fee, should be made to the Secretary of the Section, Mr. H. M'‘Cleery, 82 Cliftonpark Avenue, Belfast. By a resolution passed at last Annual Meeting, a special committee was appointed for the purpose of systematising the photographic work of the Club. The report of this committee will be laid before the meeting. The means available for the cataloguing and storing of the Club’s books and exchanges having been considered by the Committee, an application was made to a general meeting of the Club for power to approach the management of the Belfast Free Public Library with a view of ascertaining whether certain privileges of consultation would be granted to members, should the Club hand over to the Library their entire collection of books. This sanction was duly obtained, and overtures were made to the Library Committee, but your Committee regret that the terms proposed on behalf of the Library were not such as they considered themselves justified in accepting. The Committee have pleasure in being this year again in a position to publish in the Proceedings a meteorological sum- mary, such as was for many years contributed by the kindness of the late Mr. Lancelot Turtle, J.P. Abstracts for the last 252 | Proc. BN, EX; three years will appear with the forthcoming number of the Proceedings. ‘These will carry on the record continuously from the last annual summary supplied by Mr. Turtle. The Com- mittee again thank the Council of Queen’s College, Belfast, whose kindness in granting access to the records kept in that institution has enabled these abstracts to be prepared. It is with great satisfaction that your Committee are this year able to record a large increase in the number of collections submitted in competition for the prizes offered by the Club and by private members, eight collections having been sent in to the Secretaries by the date specified. The advantages to be derived from a participation in this important branch of the Club’s work, both by the habits of close and accurate observation and neatness of manipulation which it induces, and by the assistance which it renders towards a systematic knowledge of the natural history and archeology of our district, cannot be too strongly impressed on members. The following is the report of the judges appointed to examine the collections submitted, and to award the prizes :— ‘We have examined the collections sent in in competition for the prizes, and have to report as follows :— Prize 1. Best collection of Flowering Plants.—The only competitor is Mr. W. D. Donnan, whose collection represents 294 species and eight varieties. These plants, which are addi- tional to 254 sent in last year, are well selected as specimens, correctly classified and named, and well worthy of the prize, which is now awarded to Mr. Donnan. Prize 3. Rev. S. A. Brenan, B.A., has collected and sent in a large quantity of mosses, representing nearly 100 species. This collection includes several of the rarer species not hereto- fore recorded from the North of Antrim, and shows a com- mendable amount of zeal and energy. On these grounds we consider Mr. Brenan’s plants deserving of the prize offered by the Club, and we accordingly award it to him. While making this award, it is necessary to observe that the value of these 1890-91.] 253 specimens is greatly diminished by their being unmounted and unclassified, and that several of them are erroneously named. Further, there is an undesirable and unnecessary repetition of the commonest species, as in the case of Hypnum cupressiforme, . which is represented by no less than fourteen separate speci- mens. The task of examining the collection is thus rendered more difficult and less instructive, and the objects contemplated by the Club in these competitions are not so fully attained as should be. Prize 6. Best collection of Ferns, Equiseta, and Lycopods.— Mr. W. D. Donnan isa competitor, with a series of 32 specimens. This collection represents 21 species of Ferns, 7 of Equiseta, and 4 of Lycopods. It thus includes two-thirds of the vascular cryptogams which are native in Ireland, and we consider it to merit the prize offered for these plants. Prize 8. In competition for this prize Miss Sydney M. Thompson submits a number of fossils, representing 24 species. These specimens were obtained from the Chalk and Greensand rocks of the County of Antrim, and include the greater part of the most characteristic fossils of the Irish Cretaceous strata. Miss Thompson has complied with all the conditions of the competition, and we consider that her collection merits the prize, which is now awarded to her. Prize 11. Miss Thompson has sent in a collection in com- petition for this prize also, which consists mainly of Graptolites from the Silurian schists of County Down. There are specimens of the much-disputed Oldhamia from the Wicklow Cambrian rocks, and 14 species of Graptolites. Taking into account the labour and difficulty involved in obtaining such a series, we consider the collection highly creditable to the collector, and have no hesitation in awarding the prize to Miss Sydney Thompson. Prize 16. For this competition Rev. S. A. Brenan, B.A., has a series of Beetles which we consider deserving of the prize. The specimens number nearly 400, and represent 182 species, which 254 [Proc. B.N.F.C.,, ' may be accounted a good amount of work for one season. It is to be regretted that Mr. Brenan was unfortunately prevented, by circumstances beyond his control, from making such a scientific arrangement and classification of these specimens as would display them to the greatest advantage, and more fully meet the requirements of the Club. Prize 20. Mr. William Hanna, B.A., submits a series of microscopic slides in competition for this prize, consisting of a series of sections illustrating the development of the chick. They are very complete, and highly illustrative of a subject not hitherto undertaken by any member of the Club. The slides. as such are excellent in every respect, displaying a scientific knowledge and manipulative skill that is highly creditable to the collector, who beyond question merits the prize offered. Prize 23. Miss A. H. Tate competes for this prize with twelve photographs illustrative of Irish archeology. This set includes several local remains not hitherto illustrated, and we have much pleasure in awarding the prize to Miss Tate. (Signed), WILLIAM. GRAY. WILLIAM SWANSTON. S. A. STEWART.” An application was lately received from the Royal Meteo- rological Society requesting the assistance of the Club in the department of phenological observations. The Committee are glad to state that no difficulty was experienced in providing from among the Club’s members the requisite number of observers in the Counties of Down and Antrim, and they take this oppor- tunity of thanking those members for their willing aid. The attention of members is again called to the work which is being carried on by the Belfast Natural History and Philoso- 1890-91. | 255 phical Society in regard to the compilation of a work on the vertebrate fauna of Ulster, and they trust that all assistance wil be given, and all occurrences of rare birds, fishes, &c., imme- diately communicated to the Secretaries of the Fauna Com- mittee, Belfast Museum, College Square North. In conclusion, your Committee have again to return their thanks. to those kindred societies and public bodies who have favoured the Club with an interchange of their Proceedings and other publications during the past year. “uainsaty, “SdITIIHd “H “A G & BF 0 & - ee see eae eae pueyy utr souvleg 66 e ZL It 926 oo “+ TeqMeproUy Genel i srenomg ALAT[OC 9 910 ony ping soUvINSUT 6 & LF - ag sodeysog — : SHSNadxy Tvuangy ‘* ORO oy < 3 = "" popreay sozitg 9 O1g Wi suorjdriosqng Sutjoey[oo uorsstmwu0g 02 °8--8 Sass re a Il@H one] Jo yuoy 0-0 € a " savak e ‘Arvuung yeorsoporceqeyy, 00% ese eet ve nc: aseg yoog a3 Geral oT sna SUISHIOAPY pure “Suryutg ‘Areuotyejg ‘4 & SL &@ ag oer ssuIpoooo1g [enuuy suyuug * ¢c Surly [eto0g Jo sosuedxm Ag @ OF 0 & G & P8F Ser, 20 9 §L 0 Jy 9 0 §& 910 0. Gl TI 0 OL 99 20 Ws SS SE TE TP "hamawoy uw “THOAVUd AAOTTI “WX ‘L681 ‘HOV LSIE ONIGNA YVAA SHL YOS ID “dN10 A194 SLSIIVAYNLIVN LSVATIGT FHL HLIM LINNOOOV NI YAUNSVEUL AHL AG *J091100 PUNO; pue poyIpny eee see eee eoueleg OT, puvyeary “AN el0OL A ce ce cc "* ssurpssoorg * e. & EF 0} opM4y ey} Jo sayeg “ ses SUOISINOXy UO UTED “S SurJooTT [eI00g A0F syoxory, “f oe eee suondrosqng * JUNOIDY ISP] WOIF voULTVg OJ, SUMMER SESSION. a fp The following Excursions were made during the Summer Session -— On May 24th, to KILROOT AND WHITEHEAD. The first excursion was made on Saturday, May 24th, Kilroot and Whitehead being the district visited. Leaving Belfast by the 9.50 train, the party was joined by local contingents at several stations ev route, so that nearly forty members and their friends mustered on the platform at Kilroot. Arrived there, a move was made first to the gravel beds, a short distance west of the station, long known for the flint implements which they yield. The deposit, which consists of stratified gravel, composed mainly of local rocks, and containing marine shells, is now nearly worked out, having been utilized for rail- way ballast; but a number of rude flint flakes were collected. The secretaries here announced that two books would be offered as prizes for collections made during the day—one for the best collection of flowering plants, the other for the best collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils. The members were not slow to enter into eager competition for the prizes, and as the party 258 [Proc. B.N.F.C., proceeded along the railway towards Whitehead every hedge- bank and copse were carefully explored for botanical specimens, the ladies of the party proving themselves especially active and observant. A member of the Club, Mr. B. D. Wise, M.Inst.C.E., chief engineer of the Northern Counties Railway, having kindly placed at the disposal of the Club a lorry manned by stalwart navvies, it was speedily loaded with cameras, vasculums, and geological hammers, and proceeded down the line in front of the party. At one point a detour was made in order to pay a visit to the site of the old church from which the district Kilroot derives its name, and which is associated for a brief period with the early days of the great Dean Swift. This isa very ancient ecclesiastical foundation. O’Laverty, in his valuable history of the diocese, gives it as the “ Ceall-Ruaidh” where St. Ailbé (whose death is recorded a.D. 527) landed with a small band of disciples, after having “sailed in a great calm over the sea in a most wretched boat.” In acknowledgment of their merciful preservation he directed his companion, St. Colman, to build here a church, and, when the latter objected, on the plea of scarcity of water, St. Ailbé blessed a stone, and a small spring of water trickled out, “ which,” said he, “though small, will never fail, and will continue till the end of the world.” The tiny stream still forms a well for the adjoining farmhouse, and overflows into a pretty duck-pond. Of the first ancient cell or oratory no trace now remains ; and of the church or churches which must have succeeded it, the founda- tions are buried under the long grass of the graveyard, though a rude stone font still stands in its centre. Abutting on acorner of the graveyard are the picturesque ivy-covered ruins of ‘‘Brice’s” or “ Bruce’s” house, surrounded with tall trees, which now form the “‘Copse where once the garden smiled, And still where many a garden flower grows wild.”’ Amongst these the sweet-scented verbena, not often seen except under glass, was observed growing luxuriantly to a height of eight or ten feet, This mansion house is reported to 1890-91.] 259 have been once the residence of the bishops of Connor. Re- suming their walk along the railway, the party soon reached the commencement of the great bank of New Red Sandstone which extends along the shore till it is cut off by the basaltic rocks of Whitehead. These Keuper Marls, as the upper divi- sion of the New Red Sandstone is called, here form a steeply sloping bank of bright red hue, traversed by irregular seams of gypsum and selenite. Now the hammers and picks were got to work, and a number of fine specimens obtained. The sulphate of lime occurs here in various forms—in transparent blocks formed of thin lamellz, which can easily be split asunder, which form suitable examples for experiments in polarization of light ; in lustrous masses of fibrous texture, to which form most of the larger specimens belong; and in white granular masses composed of numbers of small transparent crystals loosely bound together. Proceeding slowly along this interesting escarpment, a halt was called just beyond where the railway emerges from a deep cutting through a projecting spur of red marl, flanked by a trap dyke, and opens into the pretty bay on the southern side of Whitehead. Here, the Secretary’s whistle having called the party together, the formal meeting of the day was held, the only business transacted being the pleasant formality of electing a number of new members. A short descriptive address was then given by the President of the Club (Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A.) on the geology of the neighbour- hood. In the course of his remarks he pointed out that the geological features displayed in the immediate vicinity of where they now were, illustrated admirably the structure of the greater part of Antrim and the adjoining counties. Looking southward from Whitehead over the undulating hills of County Down to where rose the distant blue peaks of the Mourne Mountains was, as it were, looking backward into remote geological time, and the record which it has left is displayed in the series of rocks that extend from point to point. The ' granite represents the fundamental rock—the base on which the whole series of stratified rocks has been laid down. Lying 260 [Proc. B.N.F.C., against the fianks of the Mourne range, and stretching out over Down and Armagh, we have a vast accumulation of Silurian rocks, containing in some places abundant remains of a strange and very ancient fauna, as described in Mr. Swanston’s exhaustive and very interesting paper dealing with that subject. Immensely newer than the Silurians are the lowest beds exposed in this part of the County Antrim—the Triassic rocks which crop out along the slopes that flank the base of nearly all our Antrim escarpments, and which consist of red sandstones, clays, and marls, containing beds of rocksalt and gypsum. The upper strata of the Triassic rocks pass gradually into the Lower Lias beds, where the latter occur, but we miss the great series of Jurassic rocks, such as the Bath and Portland Oolites. The Cretaceous rocks, Chalk and Greensand, rest upon the Lower Lias, or on the New Red, where the Lias is absent. The Chalk constitutes the white cliffs that are so familiar to us all round the Antrim coast, and which so enhance the beauty of our district. It is made up almost entirely of the shells of micro- scopic animals, and was deposited as soft mud at the bottom of an ancient sea. Then, above all, is the Tertiary formation, represented by the exceptional series of basaltic rocks, which have been forced up by internal forces from profound depths below, and have spread in the form of great sheets of lava over the ancient surface. It will therefore be seen that the geology of County Antrim includes five main formations, which occur in the following descending order—Trap, Chalk, Greensand, Lias, and New Red Sandstone. The sequence may be diagram- matically represented by one’s open hand, a space being left between the second and third fingers. The thumb indicates the exceptional trap rocks. The four fingers represent the stratified deposits, Chalk, Greensand, Lias, and New Red Sandstone. The parting between the second and third fingers represents the absent series of Oolitic or Jurassic rocks. Meanwhile the photographers of the party, regardless of the fascinations of geology, were preparing for a royal salute from a whole battery of cameras; and a pretty study they had to 2 1890-91.] 261 beguile them away. A clear blue lagoon of still water lay in front, crossed by a bridge of several spans, supported on columns of white chalk. On the further side stood a row of whitewashed cottages, nestling at the foot of a steep bank, which, covered with a blaze of yellow whins, rose to a height of several hundred feet, terminating in the precipitous escarp- ment of Whitehead. But the abrupt appearance of an un- ceremonious goods train, which came flying round a sharp curve in the rear, effected a sudden interruption in the proceedings, and produced some striking examples of instantane- ous work on the part of some knights of the camera who had incautiously pitched their tents between the metals. The shore at this point, where the sea was eating into the bank of soft marl, offered a fine section of the beds—a cliff over fifty feet high, with an irregular network of veins of selenite—while on the beach, at its base, huge blocks of the same mineral were lying about. This place also furnished the curious phenomenon of a raised beach, full of recent marine shells, apparently underlying a considerable depth of Triassic rocks. Needless to say, a landslip, such as frequently occurs here, accounted for the anomaly. After a short inspection of the outcrop of Greensand at the base of the Chalk, the party passed through the tunnel which pierces the head, and visited the large quarry near by, which displays excellent examples of columnar basaltic structure. Then an adjournment was made to the prettily-situated refreshment rooms beyond the railway station, where, after a hearty tea, the examination of the botanical and geological collections was gone into, Messrs. Stewart and Praeger acting as judges. For the botanical prize there was keen competition, Miss Donaldson being first with a collection of sixty-three species, and Mrs. Wise a good second with fifty-nine, while two other ladies followed closely with fifty-seven and fifty-one species respectively. The geological prize was awarded to Mr. M'‘Kee, whose collection included ten species of fossils from the Chalk, Greensand, and Lias, besides a number of rock specimens. Among the plants the best species found were the purple 262 [Proc. B.N.F.C., willow (Salix purpurea) and one of the interesting group of the Characee (Nitella opaca). A rare butterfly, the Little Blue (Polyommaius alsus), was obtained on the slopes near Whitehead, and also the chrysalis of the Burnet moth. The prizes having been awarded, the road was taken for the railway station, and the party reached Belfast at 7.30. On June 14th, to KILLINCHY AND STRANGFORD LOUGH. The second excursion was made on June 14th to Killinchy and Strangford Lough, and again the Club were favoured with magnificent weather. The morning, indeed, was somewhat gloomy, but, trusting to the indication of a high and steady barometer, an unexpectedly numerous party assembled at the Ulster Hall at ten o’clock, and were soon rattling through the town in three well-appointed brakes, bound for the shores of Strangford Lough. Nor did the weather disappoint those who, overlooking its somewhat fickle disposition, had put their trust in it ; by the time Dundonald was reached the party were revel- ling in the bright sunshine of a perfect June day. Passing through Comber, no halt was made till Balloo Crossroads, near Killinchy, were reached, at which point the party dismounted to visit a fine eld earthen fort, or rath, which stands by the side of the Saintfield road. It is still in a tolerable state of preserva- tion ; the fosse which surrounds it is of considerable depth, and a portion of the breastwork which surmounted the steep earthen wall and protected the interior is still intact. Resuming the journey, the main road was forsaken near Moorhall, and a bye road led down towards the lough, which now appeared in front, affording exquisite glimpses of grassy islands, and bays and lagoons of intensest blue. Beyond lay the long fertile stretch of the Ards peninsula, over which the blue mountains of Wigton- shire and the Isle of Man were distinctly visible. A lane winding by the water’s edge led to Ringhaddy Castle, standing in 1890-91.] 263 picturesque decay on the inner extremity of what was formerly an island, though now joined to the mainland by a substantial causeway. The photographers were now in their element, and for a time focussing and exposing were the order of the day. Crowning the hill, which rises immediately behind the castle, are the remains of Ringhaddy Church—a simple nave, the crumbling walls of which are crowned with polypody and spleenwort. The east window appears to have been of com- paratively large size. Surrounding the site of the church two faint circles of earthwork may be traced, which, however, are probably of comparatively modern date, and may have formed the boundary of an old churchyard in proximity to the building. The secretary’s whistle now called the party together on the wooded margin of the lough, where two large boats lay ready on the calm water. The embarkation being effected, the brown lug-sails were hoisted, and before a gentle easterly breeze the boats glided out on the calm blue waters of Strangford Lough, and shaped their course northward among the islands. Such was the clearness of the water that the forests of Zostera and Chorda which grew on the bottom, tenanted by their marine inhabitants, could be minutely examined from the boat’s side as they passed by in succession, interspersed with barren gravelly patches, and deeper tracts where the bottom was not visible. Gliding smoothly onward, Roe Island and Trasnagh Island were passed on the right hand, and Darragh Island and Conly Island on the left, and rounding Sketrick Island the boats ran before the wind up a narrow winding channel, and soon their keels grated on the shingle at Ballydoran. A short walk brought the party to Sketrick Castle, visited by the Club on one of their excursions three years ago, but which can well afford a second visit. A massive square keep rises on the shore of the island, guarding the narrow causeway which forms the sole connection with the mainland. A huge piece has fallen, leaving a wide gothic arch in the front wall of the castle, but it still stands, a grim reminder of past troublous times. Advancing on it by a winding road, the Club made a rapid reconnoitre of the position, 264 [Proc. B.N.F.C., but, instead of steel-clad warriors pacing the massive battlements with clanking stride, the only visible enemy consisted of two parsons, reposing in luxurious ease on the summit of the mossy wall. A field battery of quick-firing cameras was speedily brought into action, and under cover of their well-directed fire a storming party crossed the causeway, and soon the mystic emblems of the Field Club were seen on the topmost pinnacle of the tower. The party now proceded on foot past Whiterock towards Killinchy, and, being met on the way by the machines, they drove through Killinchy village to Ballygowan, the bog on each side of the road being brightened with extensive patches of snow-white cotton grass, and tall spikes of purple foxglove. On the way from Whiterock several of our less common plants were noted. In Killinchy village the chervil (Chaerophyllum anthriscus) grew in some abundance, and in fields near the same place the shepherd’s needle (Scanadix pecten-Venerts) and the toothed corn salad (Valertanella dentata) were found growing in profusion. At Ballygowan an important part of the day’s duties was effected in the shape of tea, which was provided on substantial lines by Mrs. Magee, after which the business meeting of the day was held—the Vice-President (Mr. John Vinycomb) in the chair, when a number of new members were elected. Then the brakes were once more mounted, and punctually at 8.30 Belfast was reached, after a highly successful and enjoyable day. On July 5th, to MAGHERAMORNE AND ISLANDMAGEE. The third excursion of the season was taken on Saturday, the 5th July, to Magheramorne and Islandmagee. Notwithstanding the unpropitious weather of the previous week, a good-sized party mustered at the Northern Counties Railway, and were rewarded by seeing the clouds of the morning rapidly dispersed before a brisk north wind, which covered the wavelets of Larne Lough with caps of white foam. The members of the party 1890-91.] 265 first took their steps to the large quarry close to Magheramorne station, whence limestone is shipped to Glasgow and other British ports. The white Chalk with flints is here quarried in two levels, making altogether a thickness of considerably over a hundred feet. Its surface, as seen in the upper quarry, is very uneven, having evidently formed at one time an ancient land surface, the hollows of which are now filled with rolled flints, covered with a layer of volcanic basalt, as usual in the district. The basalt, in turn, has its coating of the glacial epoch, but in this case the ordinary yellow Boulder Clay is only about four or five feet thick, and between it and the basalt is a partially stratified bed of brown gravel, apparently an interglacial deposit local in its character. The Boulder Clay, gravel, and basalt all thin out rapidly to the northward, and have evidently been subjected to a powerful denuding agency coming from that direction. After witnessing from a safe distance the firing of several ‘‘shots,” the party returned to the shore, and crossed in a capacious ferryboat to the opposite side. The route was then taken along the flat beach towards Barney’s Point. The numerous boulders, relics of the ice age, made walking in some places a little difficult, but the fringe of stranded Zostera marina which marked the extreme limit of the highest spring tides formed a strip of soft carpet easy to the feet. The pursuit of some moth or butterfly, or speculation upon some wave- or ice-borne lump of quartz or conglomerate, passed the time till the point was reached, a place well known amongst local geologists as one of the best outcrops of the Lias. The tide was unfortunately too high to allow. access to the more fossiliferous beds, but a careful search amongst the gravel of the upper part of the beach was rewarded by a number of characteristic fossils, including several small, but nearly perfect ammonites, and the fragments of many of a large size. An examination of the sand at high-water mark showed also many minute shells, spines of echinoderms, &c., of Liassic age. Striking inland from here, the party returned towards Larne by the road, which skirts a narrow deep valley 266 [Proc. B.N.F.C., that bisects the island, and which during a period of greater submergence would have turned it into two or three instead of one island as at present. The “ Druids’ altar,” a fine cromlech, with a capstone that weighs about five tons, resting upon four other stones, was passed, and some members also visited the iron ore quarry near by, which is no longer worked. The swell rolling in from the open sea made the passage over the ferry a somewhat lively affair, though of short duration. An American liner lay at the quay taking in iron ore, and the new cross-channel steamer Princess Victoria had her steam up ready for starting, whilst the travelling crane was busy at the shipment of boxes of salmon for the English markets, of which during the season it seems upwards of thirty tons are shipped daily. Then came the rush of passengers from the Belfast train, in five minutes all were aboard, and the Princess Victoria. was steaming full speed out into the Channel. The party of naturalists made their way to the King’s Arms, and after the much needed refreshment of tea adjourned to the old graveyard of the Inver Church. The original building has been replaced by the present comparatively modern structure, but some of the stones in the graveyard bear the date of over two centuries back, 1633 showing on one of them. On July 30th and 31st, to CUSHENDALL AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. The two-day excursion of the present season was held on July 30th and 31st, Cushendall and district being the locality selected by the Committee out of a large number of interesting spots proposed by members at the last annual meeting. On all three previous excursions of the present session the Club were favoured with magnificent weather, in spite of a generally unfavourable season, and it was only to be expected that such good fortune could not last for ever. Wednesday morning looked unsettled, and a comparatively small number of members 1890°91.] 267 and friends sallied forth, Among these one-half were ladies, who, to their credit be it said, cheerfully faced the probability of adownpour of rain among the Antrim mountains in the noble cause of science, and subsequently endured rain, wind, and mud with a calm indifference worthy of true naturalists. Leaving Belfast by the 9.5 train, a strong contingent joined the party at Ballymena, where the narrow-gauge railway was taken. The morning had brightened, and a brilliant gleam of sunshine made the hopes of the party rise in spite of falling aneroids; but as the railway, steadily ascending, allowed views of the more distant hills, an ominous greyness spread across the western sky, and by the time Parkmore was reached rain was falling heavily. Nothing daunted, cloaksand waterproofs were donned, and mounting a well-appointed waggonette, provided by Mr. M‘Neill, of Larne, Glenariff was soon reached. No longer in its condition of pristine wilderness, this lovely glen can now be traversed from end to end without difficulty. Without in any way interfering with or destroying the natural beauties of the place, paths have, thanks to the energy of the Northern Counties Railway Company, been constructed along the steep, and in places precipitous sides of the glen, and the beautiful waterfalls and rich luxuriance of verdure can be seen and admired by those who have not that natural propensity for climbing that was previously indispensable. Down in this deep ravine the rain fell more quietly, and interfered but little with the enjoyment of the party. The cascades, swollen by heavy showers on the mountains, were roaring in wild confusion of brown foam among their rocky chasms, and were seldom seen to greater advantage, and the rich vegetation, at all times of the most charming green, was rendered still more vivid by the rain drops that shimmered on every leaf. The luxuriance and variety of the fern world was a point of special comment. Three of our rarer species were noted—the beech fern (Polypo- dium phegopteris), bladder fern ( Cystopterts fragilis), and sweet- scented mountain fern (Lastrea montana). When the glen had been thoroughly explored the party proceeded by road 268 [Proc, B.N.F.C., down the wide vale of Glenariff towards the sea. The high hills and rugged cliffs on either side looked strangely huge and gaunt in the grey mist, and this effect, with the great masses of cloud which hung around the mountains, gave an additional grandeur, if not beauty, to the scene; and the numerous waterfalls that come down the cliffs, in dry weather mere trickling streamlets, were now transformed into roaring cascades that bounded into the valley in huge leaps of over a hundred feet atatime. 392 [Proc. B.N.F.C., condition of these, considering the coarse nature of the stone, and the many centuries that it has been exposed to the weather, is wonderfully clear and sharp. For seven inches from the base the shaft is one inch wider than in the main portion, and it is not sunk, there being simply an interlaced pattern cut on it. The west face of the shaft is entirely filled with figures representing events in early Bible History. Commencing from the bottom, there are Adam and Eve under the tree of know- ledge of good and evil, Noah in the Ark on the waves of the flood, and the angel with the sword expelling Adam from the garden of Eden. The north face of the shaft is divided into four panels, each with a narrow bead framing round it; the bottom one is of interlaced work, the next above of two figures, which have not yet been identified ; and two more panels above of interlaced work. The east face of the shaft is—like that of the west—not divided into panels ; it is occupied by five tiers of figures all much the same in character. At the bottom are four small squarish brackets, or pedestals, on which stand the first group of three figures. These are clothed to the knees like all the other figures that are distinguishable on the cross, and they are of unequal height, the smallest figure being that on the south or left hand, and the largest that on the north. Above them is another precisely similar group. The position occupied by the third row of these figures is where I have come to the conclusion that the blow was struck that broke the stone in two. These figures are much injured, but I think they are the wise men from the East, because the fourth row is of two figures with one much smaller between them, this I take to be a representation of the Nativity—the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Holy Child Jesus, and Joseph. One of these figures bears in its right hand a palm branch. The top or fifth row on this face is of three figures with the central one the tallest, 1891-92. ] 395 On the south face there are three panels, the bottom one being much the smallest, and representing King David with his harp, above which are two panels of interlaced work. The three-inch bead is wrought round the top of the shaft, and projects, like the portion next the base, one inch beyond the main portion. The head of the cross measures four feet across the arms, and three feet from the top moulding of the shaft, just described, to its apex. The arms are connected by a ring or collar, the enclosed space being perforated, leaving a knob on each segment of the ring. These knobs in many other crosses are formed in the angles of the cross itself. The top ends in the usual represen- tation of a shrine or church with a steep projecting roof. One bit of the top on the north-east is broken off, but this has been done at some very distant date. There was a story told to the rector that the fragment was in a well on the east slope of the churchyard, and, though the supposed site was pointed out, a man whom we had at work could find no trace of it after two days excavating. Some persons wished to have this defect made good with cement, but my advice was taken to leave it alone. The stone out of which this head was cut was not of as durable a nature as that which was wrought into the shaft, for the weathering has been much greater on it. But from several examinations that I made of the head while it was on the ground, I could see that originally it was everywhere carved with either figures or ornamental patterns. On the west face it is possible with the aid of the photograph now in the Club’s album to make out a representation of the crucifixion. This west face has traces of eight other figures, about which I cannot speak particularly. In the uppermost part of the top, just under the little eave of the apex, are two spirals intended to represent the clouds of heaven, or merely to fill a vacant space. On the end of the north arm is a figure in full dress, about which I can say nothing. On the east face the weathering has been so severe that 394 [ Proc. B.N.F.C,, nothing can be made out, except that there are traces of figures all over it. On the south, under the arm, is a well-preserved bit of ornamental work. The pattern is a double row of spirals separated by a small double bead. This is the place in which, on many other crosses throughout Ireland, the carving is best preserved, as it has been protected by the overhanging arms. Discussion on the paper followed, in which Messrs. F. W. Lockwood, Edward Allworthy, and F. J. Bigger took part. Note.—The illustrations ot the cross have been drawn by Mr. F. W. Lockwood, from photographs apecially taken by Mr. R. Welch for the Club’s antiquarian photo- graphic survey of Ireland. Mr. Francis Joseph Bigger, junior secretary, then exhibited and described the ancient Celtic shrine which was recently obtained ia Lough Erne by Mr. Thomas Plunkett, M.R.LA. He said that the shrine was dredged up accidentally by fisher- men last April from the bottom of a secluded bay on the southern shore of Lower Lough Erne, half-way between Enniskillen and Belleek. It got entangled in a night-Jine on which hooks were placed, and was brought to the surface of the water from a depth of 24 feet. The inside is formed out of one piece of wood, the outer covering is bronze. It contained asmall inner bronze shrine in which the relic had been kept ; but this inner shrine was not perfect, and must have been broken open before it was thrown into the lake. This interesting reliquary no doubt belonged to an ancient abbey, the foundation and foss of which are at present clearly traceable on a point of land that juts out into the bay where the shrine was found. This tongue of land is marked on the old maps ‘‘ Abbey Point,’”’ but the history of the abbey is un- known, and it is evidently one of the oldest remains of the kind on Lough Erne. There are frequent references to shrines or reliquaries such as this one in the Annals of Ulster between the fifth and tenth centuries, and Dr. Petrie says from the number of references to shrines in the Irish annals that previously to the irruptions of the Northmen in the eighth and ninth centuries there were few, if any, of the distinguished churches 1891-92. ] 395 in Ireland that had not costly shrines. In Dr. Oscar Mont- clin’s work, Zhe Civilisation of Sweden in Heathen Times, there is an illustration of an interlaced pattern exactly the same as may be seen on the end of the shrine. The date he assigns is between the fifth and sixth centuries. In the duals - of Ulster for the year A.D. 836 it is recorded that the Gentiles destroyed all the churches on Lough Erne, and probably this was the time that the shrine was thrown into the lake. It will be observed that the shrine is shaped similar to an an- cient Celtic cill, and the interlaced ornament along the upper ridge is very beautiful, and is divided into panels, each one bearing a distinct pattern. The roof-shaped lid is detached from the body, and on one side is a beautifully carved boss with a minute interlaced design, the centre being an amber bead. Its diameter is 1,3, inches. The body of the shrihe is composed of one piece of yew. wood hollowed out, and is covered with a bronze sheeting with round moulded angles. On one end is the remains of a handle with Celtic design, the’other being lost. The shrine is 7 inches long by 3 inches wide. The front side bears the marks where two bosses have been attached, but both are now lost ; the other side bears two plain round rings of bronze. The lid is made in the same way as the body, and is at the base 7 inches long by 3 inches wide, and 32 inches from ridge to base. The ridge is five inches in length, and 3? of an inch in depth at the centre or either end. The bronze coating of the inner shrine alone remains, and would form a coffer of the same shape as the outer shrine ; its dimensions are 43 inches long and 14 inches deep, whilst the sloping lid is 14 inches from ridge to edge. The breadth is 14 inches, and both ends show the remains of handles. The wood composing the sides is 5% of an inch thick, and is in good preservation. The shrine is now in the Royal Irish Academy. Mr. Robert Patterson, M.B.O.U., then drew attention to two birds which he exhibited, and which, he stated, were new to Ireland. The first was a good specimen of Wilson’s petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), which was captured alive in a field near 396 [Proc. B.N.F.C., Dunmurry on October 2nd, and was sent to Belfast for preser- vation by the owner, Mr. Charley, of Seymour Hill. This bird was sent to London a week or so before by Mr. Patterson and exhibited before the Linnean Society. A second specimen was shot on Lough Erne at the same time. In England it is very rare, only about eight having been obtained up to the present, while there is no record of it from Scotland. The other bird was a pink-footed goose (Auser brachyrhynchus), the first recorded Irish specimen. It was sent to Mr. Patterson for identification by Mr. D. C. Campbell, of Londonderry, who states it was shot on Lough Swilly, County Donegal, about the 19th October last. The pink-footed goose is fairly common in some parts of England and Scotland, and it is remarkable it has not been obtained in Ireland until now. Mr. Campbell has, with praiseworthy generosity, presented this unique specimen to the Belfast Museum. | Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., said the Natural History and Philosophical Society were to be congratulated on having secured this unique [rish specimen of the pink-footed goose. It was some years, he believed, since any Irish naturalist had had the pleasure of exhibiting at the same time two birds new to Ireland, and the present interesting communication showed that the Ulster Fauna Committee were collecting local zoological information with energy and success. The company then gathered round the table to examine the shrine and rare birds, and subsequently dispersed. The third meeting of the Winter Session was held on Tuesday evening, December 15th, the President in the chair. On the motion of Mr. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A., seconded by Mr. Lavens M. Ewart, J.P., M.R.I.A., the following resolution was passed unanimously :—" That we, the members of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, deeply regret the death of our old and valued member, the Rev. Canon Grainger, D.D., M.R.LA., and we desire the secretaries to prepare and publish in the Club’s 1891-92. | 397 Proceedings a permanent record of the services rendered by our deceased friend in furthering the operations of the Club, and promoting the objects of its organisation.” Mr. Wm. Swanston, F.G.S., then proposed a resolution to the effect that the honorary membership of the Club be con- ferred upon Mr. Robert J. Welch for his very valuable contri- bution of photographs to the Club’s Albums of Antiquities. He dwelt on the valuable assistance which Mr. Welch had always been ready to bestow both on the Club and on individual members in everything connected with photography, and on the great value of the splendid series of 120 full-plate platinotype photographs of local antiquities which he had recently presented to the Club to form part of their photographic archzological survey of the district. In recognition of his valuable services the Committee now wished to bestow upon him the only honour in their power, and in accordance with a unanimous resolution passed at last Committee meeting, he now moved that the honorary membership of the Club be conferred on Mr, Welch. Mr. John Hamilton said he had much pleasure in seconding the resolution, and considered the honour well earned by Mr. Welch. Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A., opposed the motion on the ground that the honorary membership of the Club was intended for bestowal on very distinguished men or eminent scientists who had given assistance to the Club. He also considered that the fact of Mr. Welch being a professional photographer seriously detracted from the value of his gift as a bona-fide present to the Club, and from its meriting such a high recogni- tion as it was proposed to give. There were members who had rendered more valuable services to the Club, and on whom no honorary membership or other recognition had been bestowed. Mr. John Brown said he would certainly support the action of the Committee, though he considered there was a good deal in what Mr. Gray had said. Mr. F. A. Porter considered the resolution a most suitable one, and the proposed honour well merited by Mr. Welch. 398 [Proc. B.N.F.C., Mr. F. J. Bigger, junior secretary, doubted the advisability of Mr. Gray’s opposing the unanimous action of the Committee. He altogether differed from Mr. Gray in the idea that honorary membership should only be conferred on big-wigs who had done little for the Club, while hard-working members who had conferred considerable benefit should go unhonoured. He would wish to give credit where credit was due, and would vote for the motion. On the resolution being put to the meeting by the President it was carried mem. con. Mr. Arthur J. Collins then read a paper on “ Falconry.” The reader, after introducing his subject, spoke of the origin of this ancient sport, and stated that it was impossible to trace the commencement of the pastime. From the earliest times that history takes notice of, the peoples of most nations, but especially those of Eastern origin, had practised the art of falconry. Some idea of its antiquity may be formed from the discovery of Sir A. H. Layard of a bas-relief among the ruins of Korsabad, in which a falconer is depicted carrying a hawk on his wrist. From this it may be inferred that hawking was practised there some 1,700 years B.c. In China, falconry was known at a still earlier date, for in an old Japanese work, a French translation of which appeared at the beginning of the present century, it is stated that hawks were among the presents made to princes in the reign of the Hia dynasty, which com- menced in the year 2205 B.c. The records of King Wen Wang, who reigned over the province of Hunan between 689 and 675 B.c., show that in his day falconry was much in vogue. In Japan it seems to have been known many centuries before the Christian era, and probably at an equally early date in India, Persia, Arabia, and Syria. The date of its introduction from the East into Europe is not known, but from the brief mention made of it by Aristotle, Pliny, Martial, and Oppian, it may be inferred that it was known if not practised in Europe at least three centuries before the Christian era. John of Salisbury, who died in 1182 a.D., discussing the question of 1891-92.] 399 the origin of falconry, came to the conclusion that it was intro- duced by Ulysses after the siege of Troy—an opinion endorsed by several subsequent writers. According to Von Hammer, the Turks were the first masters of the art, and imparted it to the Persians, who in turn instructed the Greeks and Arabs. This “view receives some confirmation from a recently published French translation of an Arabic MS. of the tenth century on ** Hunting and Hawking,” by Mahomet ben Mangali. In this. work it is stated that “ the first falconer was a King of Persia.” During one of his excursions he was greatly interested in watching the movements of a wild falcon. He saw it perch on a bough ‘“ with the air of a sovereign on his throne,” where it waited an opportunity to seize a passing bird. He saw it at _ length seize one, and, having made a meal of it, fly down to the river, drink, and bathe, and again return to the tree. Struck with admiration of its majestic appearance, patience, and power over other birds, the king was seized with a desire to possess it. His fowlers gratified his wish by snaring it. He caused it to be tied to a perch near him, and succeeded in taming it, learning lessons from its many good qualities. This king was said to have been of a violent temperament, but, through watching this bird, to have become a wiser and better sovereign. The reader then drew attention to the introduction of the sport into the British Islands. About the middle of the eighth century, in a letter written by King Ethelbert of Kent to Saint Boniface of Mayence, the Sovereign asks him “to send over two falcons to fly at the crane,” for, said he, ‘‘ there are very few birds of use for this flight in this country.” King Alfred the Great was remarkable at a very early age for his proficiency in hawking, as well as in other fashionable amuse- ments. He is even said to have written a treatise on the subject, although there is no such work in existence now that can with any degree of certainty be attributed to him. Asser, in his life of this King, writes—“ His felicity in hunting and hawking, as in all the other gifts of God, was incomparable, as I myself have seen.” His grandson, Athelstan, was also much 400 [Proc. B.N.F.C., attached to this sport. After he defeated Constantine, King of the Welsh, at Brunanburg, he imposed upon him an annual tribute of gold, silver, and cattle, to which were added a certain number of hawks and sharp-scented dogs. His successor, Edgar, cancelled the monetary part of the tribute upon condition of receiving annually the skins of 300 wolves ; but it is not likely that he annulled that part of the contract dealing with the hawks, as he was notable for his enthusiasm in all field sports. Hawking does not appear to have suffered any check during the short Danish reign, for after the restoration of the Saxon rule the pastime of hawking continued to be carried on as formerly. Edward the Confessor, though said to have been better fitted for the Church than for the Throne, made hunting and hawking his one outdoor pastime. It was his chiefest delight to follow on horseback a pack of swift hounds in pursuit of their quarry, or to attend the flight of hawks taught to pursue and catch birds. In Saxon times so general was the pastime that the monks of Abingdon had to procure a charter to restrain the practice of flying hawks, in order to preserve their lands from being trampled upon. MHarold, who succeeded Edgar, was so fond of his hawks and hounds that he rarely travelled without them. He is represented on the famous tapestry of Bayeaux with his hawk on his wrist and his hounds by his side when brought before William of Normandy. At this period it was part of the education of every young man of position to be instructed in hawking, and people of rank carried with them on special occasions falcons suited to their rank. Hawking was pursued with great enthusiasm by all the Norman princes. From the time of Henry I., and during subsequent reigns, offences against the Crown were often punished by a fine of so many hawks. Prisoners were ransomed on similar terms, and lands leased from the Crown by finding annually one or more falcons, or providing for their keep, the leasing of the Isle of Man to a family on such terms being a notable instance. King John was very partial to field sports, and his love of fine horses, hounds, and hawks was remarkable. Amongst other 1891-92. ] 401 places he used to send for his hawks to Carrickfergus. Mr. Collins then proceeded to trace the continuance of hawking through subsequent reigns down to George IL., relating some suitable anecdotes. James I. was an enthusiastic sportsman, and especially delighted in hawking, spending large sums in its ‘perfection and furtherance ; also in cormorant fishing, which he practiced at the same time. A sketch of a cormorant establish- ment was then given, and the mode of training and fishing with cormorants described, illustrated by specimens. James I. had large ponds constructed on the banks of the Thames for the accommodation of his cormorants, this being the origin of the first Westminster Aquarium, on the site of which the Houses of Parliament now stand. The last member of the Royal family said to have sent for or received hawks from abroad was Frederick Prince of Wales, son of George II. This Prince used to occupy the Palace of Durdans, at Epsom, now the residence of the Earl of Rosebery, and hawked on the Downs. The readér then spoke of some old customs, laws, &c., that originated with falconry. He then proceeded to describe the species of birds used in hawking, their chief characteristics, and mode of training ; also giving a sketch of the method of capturing falcons, as annually practiced by professional falconers in Holland. Mr. Collins described some flights with falcons about Belfast by the late Mr. Wm. Sinclair and Mr. Langtry. The paper was illustrated by specimens of mounted birds, drawings, and articles used in falconry. Mr. Wm. Swanston, F.G.S., who was then called upon, stated that he had been asked to say a few words about a nodule con- taining plant remains that was upon the table. The nodule had been found in the Boulder Clay during the progress of the excavations at the Water Commissioners’ works at Stoneyford, Co. Antrim, by Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger. The leaves, &c., in the nodule are so crushed together that unfortunately no single species can be identified. There is no doubt, however, that it is similar to the nodules so frequently met with along the southern shores of Lough Neagh, and was like them derived 402 [Proc, B.N.F.C., from a bed of plastic clays and lignites, laid down on the Geological Survey Maps as of Plioceneage. Ina paper by Mr. J. Starkie Gardner, F.G.S., read before the Club in March, 1884, the supposed Pliocene age of these beds is questioned, and the probability of their being older is pointed out. Mr. Swanston also remarked that the silicified wood found in the same neighbourhood was derived from the same source, a statement which he had made before the Club in December 1884. A later incident in the history of these interesting plant remains seems to be that during some of the epochs of the Glacial Period these so-called Pliocene beds were much denuded, the softer parts being swept away, while the solid nodules and the silicified wood were scattered in a southern direction, which accounts for their presence in the Boulder Clay at Stoneyford and elsewhere as derived fossils. The fourth meeting of the Winter Session was held on Tues- day evening, January 19th, the President in the chair, when a paper was read by the Rev. W. F. Johnson, A.M., F.E.S., on ‘“The Beetles of the Belfast District.” The reader said—In dealing with the Coleoptera of the Belfast district I shall not attempt to indicate all the species which have been found within it, but shall touch upon those which are most interesting, and endeavour to select examples from each of the great divisions of the Coleoptera. My information as to the species occurring here has been derived from the lists of the collections of the late A. H. Haliday and R. Patterson, F.R.S., published by the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club ; from some notes on local Coleoptera in the latter gentleman’s book Jusects mentioned in Shakspere, and from the list compiled by myself from the collection of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, a large number of which were taken in the immediate neighbourhood of the city. The family first in order among the Coleoptera is that of the Geodephaga or predacious land beetles. Among the largest and most conspicuous of these are 1891-92. ] 403 the Carattz. The two commonest are C. nemorals and C. granulatus, beth frequently found in gardens. I have often dug up the former in my own garden, and I think there is a sort of prejudice against these beetles from their presence in such a locality, arising from an idea that they injure plants. As a matter of fact they are there in search of other insects, and are consequently very useful, and in no way injurious. C. clathratus is a very large and handsome beetle, mentioned by Mr. Patterson in his book as occurring with another handsome species, C. mztens, at Birkie Bog, and there is a specimen in the Museum collection taken by the late Mr. R. Templeton at Cranmore. Mr. Patterson mentions Axchomenus angusticollis (Junceus) as occurring in the cellar of his house, a curious locality, for this beetle, like its congeners, is mostly found in tufts of grass, or in moss at the roots of trees, under bark, &c. It is one of the largest of our native Anchomenz, but black, while many of its allies are brightly coloured. The Bembidia are small beetles of various colours, black, bronze, greenish, black with yellow markings, or straw-coloured with black markings. Several have been recorded from this district. They are found in moss, or under stones, and are fond of moisture, a favourite locality for them being the bank of a lake or river, especially if it is gravelly. The Hydradephaga form the next division. These beetles live in the water for the most part, but are furnished with ample wings, and fly in the bright sunshine or at night. Many of them are very voracious, _ especially the large Dyttscide. Celambus versicolor is a small beetle of short oval shape, ferruginous with black stripes on the elytra. The only Irish specimen of this beetle that I have seen is in the Museum collection, its captor being Mr. Hyndman. It is also recorded from this district by Mr. Haliday and from the Dublin district by Professor M‘Nab. I have, however, been unable to find it in the Armagh district, though its close ally, C. 5-42meatus, abounds there. Probably the best known of this family is Dyttscus marginals. Itisa common beetle, and its great size makes it conspicuous. A 404 [Proc, B.N.F C., smaller species, and one not quite so common, VD. punctulatus, has been found by Mr. Haliday and Mr. Templeton. Both in the larve and perfect state these beetles are very fierce, and, being large and powerful, are formidable enemies to the weaker inhabitants of the waters. The genus Gyrimus is familiar to most people under its English title of Whirligigs, so called from the habit of whirling about on the surface of the water ina kind of mazy dance. There are three species in the Belfast list —G. minutus, G. natator,and G. marinus. A close ally to the Gyrinit is Orechtochilus villosus, the chief difference being that the latter is dull and pubescent, while the former are glabrous and shining. The AHydrophilide are not well repre- sented on the Belfast list. They are subaquatic in their habits, but cannot swim like the Aydradephaga, instead of which they crawl up and down the stems of water plants. The rarest is Helophorus dorsalis, recorded by Mr. Haliday. It is a small, oblong beetle, with head and thorax iridescent, and the elytra dark bronze with testaceous markings. We nowcome to the Staphylinide, one of the largest divisions of the Coleopiera. They are all.of much the same shape, being long and narrow, with short, truncate elytra. Mr. Haliday records Caliicerus obscurus as having occurred plentifully at Holywood under the shelter of furze bushes on the fresh grass of sunny banks in spring. It isasmall beetle, 22mm. in length, dull black or pitchy brown, with lighter-coloured elytra. Bryoporus cernuus is a small beetle about 43mm. in length, shining black, with the elytra and apical margins of the hind body red, legs reddish testaceous. Canon Fowler, in his work on the Coleoptera of the British Islands, says of this insect, ‘‘ Recorded by Stephens as found near London, and in the New Forest ; also mentioned by Haliday as from near Belfast. I know of no recent captures. It occurs in several parts of France on both forest and moun- tainous localities under moss, refuse, &c.” ‘The rediscovery of this beetle would consequently be exceedingly interesting. Pederus riparius is a very pretty insect, head black, thorax red, elytra blue, hind body red, with the apex black. ‘This 1891-92. | 405 makes it a very conspicuous insect, and attracts the notice of the casual observer. The specimen I exhibit was taken by Rev. J. Bristow in this neighbourhood. The A/eaz7 are curious little beetles. They burrow in sand or mud, and throw up little casts, by which their presence is often detected. As they do not often come to the surface unless disturbed, they are frequently passed over. There is only one species in the Belfast list, B. opacus, but a search in suitable localities would probably produce others. ‘I must now call your attention to another of the great divisions of the Coleoptera. viz., the Clavicornia, which are so called from their antennz forming a more or less pronounced club at the apex. Among them are our smallest native beetles, some of the genus Faz/zum being only admm. in length. The first species I shall mention is Clambus armadillc, a small black insect, with the margins of the thorax, the legs, and the antennz reddish. It is found in vegetable refuse, hotbeds, &c., and has the power, like many of its allies, of rolling itself into a ball, and thus eluding notice by its resemblance to a minute seed. Several of the Coccinelide are recorded from this district. I may mention A/zppodamia 13-punctata, Coccinella 10-punctata (variabilis), and C. 7- punctata. ‘The first mentioned is not a very common species. Mr. Templeton took it at Cranmore, and it is in Mr. Haliday’s list. It occurs usually in marshy places on reeds and water plants. The second, (. 10-punctata, is very common, but very puzzling to the novice on account of variation in the markings of the elytra. The third, C. 7-punctata, is the common lady bird, which is be found everywhere. All three species are most useful, as both the larve and the perfect insects devour Aphides and play an important part in checking these pests. //etero- cerus marginatus was taken by the late Mr. R. Patterson in this district, and the specimen is in the Museum collection. This is the only record of its occurrence in Ireland. These beetles live in galleries which they excavate in mud on the margins of lakes or pools and on banks of muddy streams. The Lamellicornia form the next division. Several of the 406 [Proc. B.N.F.C., species are large, and from their habits well-known—e.g., Geotrupes stercorarius, the Dor beetle, and Melolontha vulgarts, the Cockchafer. Probably the handsomest is Ceztonza aurata, the Rose beetle, a beautiful golden-green insect. It has been taken here by Rev. J. Bristow and Mr. Haliday, and there is a specimen in the Museum labelled “‘ Whitehouse.” In Mr. Haliday’s list is recorded Aroma moschata, one of the Longz- cornia. It is a large and handsome beetle, and, like most of its family, feeds on wood. It is noticeable also for the odour which it emits, which has caused it to be called the “ Musk beetle.” Canon Fowler, however, considers that the odour is much sharper and more pleasant than musk. Among the Haltice are to be found some of the worst pests of the farmer. Mr. Templeton took ZLongitarsus luridus and L. levis, the latter being by no means acommon insect. Mr. Haliday records Phyllotreta undulata and P. nemorum, which are the much dreaded Turnip-flies, and the Rev. J. Bristow found the pretty Crepidodera rufipes, with its red head and thorax and dark blue elytra. Among the feteromera recorded from this district is Meloé proscarabeus, a remarkable insect from its habit of emitting a drop of oil from every joint when touched, also from the history of its larve. ‘The parent beetle lays its eggs in little holes in the ground. When the young larve emerge they climb up on flowers and attach themselves to the hairy covering of certain bees. When carried to the bees’ nest they devour the eggs of the bee and the food intended by the bee for its young. Jhey then pass into what is called a false pupa, and remain torpid for a time ; after that they become active again, and probably pass into a true pupa state, but this last stage has not been observed. The curious thing is that the perfect beetle is, as a rule, found far trom any bees. The Rhyncophora, the Jast of the great divisions of the Co/eoptera, may be recognised by the prolongation of their head into what is called a rostrum. The genus Afzon, or the Pear weevils, so called from their shape, contains a great number of species, but owing to their small size they are seldom noticed. Mr. Haliday records 4, 1891-92. ] 407 cracce, A. vicie, and A. hydrolapathi. The first two are found in various species of vetch ; the last on the common dock. A. Srumentarium, which is entirely red, and frequents Rumex acetosella, was found here by Messrs. Hyndman and Templeton. Otiorhynchus sulcatus, a large black species, is only too well known to owners of gardens and hot-houses. It attacks vines, wall fruit, and raspberries—in fact, I do not think it is at all particular what it eats. What makes it more troublesome is that it works at night and hides through the day. The best way to deal with it seems to be to spread a sheet under the affected trees, and to come at night with a lantern and tap the branches, when the beetles fall down, and can be captured and destroyed. Some of our species are very beautiful, ¢.g., Poly- drusus pterygomalts and Phyllobius argentatus, being covered with golden-green or coppery scales which shine like gems in the sunlight. Concerning Mesztes Tardyi an interesting note occurs in Mr. Patterson’s catalogue :—“‘Cranmore. Found during the entire month of June by turning up the under side of an alder which lay in the farmyard, and from which the bark had been stripped. Generally found in clusters of three or four ranged side by side. They were not found in any other situation, though the adjoining trees were carefully examined by R. T.” (Mr. Templeton). It is usually found in old holly trees, but sometimes in beech or willow. Of the Abnormal Coleoptera, one specimen is recorded from Belfast, Elenchus tenuicornis. It was taken by Mr. Templeton, and the specimen is now in the University Museum, Oxford. It is extremely rare, and is parasitic on Bombus, and perhaps on Andrena and Hlalictus. In conclusion, Mr. Johnson specially dwelt on the wide and interesting field for research provided by the beetles of the neighbourhood, and strongly recommended some of the members to take up this branch of study, which they would find most interesting and attractive. At the conclusion of the paper Messrs. J. Hamilton, William Gray, M.R.I.A., R. Lloyd Praeger, and Rev. C. H. Waddell, M.A., spoke on the subject, and asked questions regarding the paper, to which Mr. Johnson replied, 408 [Proc. B.N.F.C., Mr. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A., referred to the loss which the Club had recently sustained in the death of their distinguished fellow-member, the Bishop of the diocese. He moved—" That the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club desire to record their deep sense of the loss that Irish history and archeology had sustained in the ‘leath of the Right Rey. Dr. Reeves, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor and Dromore, and President of the Royal Irish Academy, who has done such valuable work in preserving our local antiquities from oblivion.” The resolution was seconded in suitable terms by Mr. Alex. Tate, C.E., and passed unani- mously by all present standing up in their places. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A., senior secretary, briefly announced that a scheme was on foot for the establishment of an Irish Natural History Monthly Magazine. A prospectus would be issued in a few weeks, which would be sent to all members of the Club. Meanwhile he might say that the following resolution had been passed at a committee meeting of the Club held that evening :—‘‘ That the Committee of the B.N.F.C. are glad to learn of the movement on foot for the establishment of an Irish Natural History Journal, and will have pleasure in giving the new venture all the support in their power. They will be glad to recognise the /v7sh Naturalist as the official organ of the Club, and they trust that all members will render assistance as far as possible by becoming contributors and subscribers to the journal.” Several members spoke in terms of high satisfaction of the scheme, and expressed their sense of the want of such a magazine in Ireland, and of the welcome which it would receive from naturalists all over the country. , The election of new members concluded the business of the evening. 1891-92. | 409 The fifth meeting of the Winter Session was held on Tuesday evening, February 16th, the President in the chair, when four communications were brought forward. The first paper was by the Rev. C. H. Waddell, M.A., on the subject of the late Mr. John Templeton, of Belfast, and his ornithological researches. The reader spoke of Mr. Templeton’s work as a naturalist, and said that his name did not occupy the position to which it was entitled as that of one of the great leaders of the natural history of our country. Perhaps this was to be accounted for by the fact that he did not publish any work of importance. He had intended to write a book on the natural history of Ireland, but the plan was never carried out, and thus his researches had gone to enrich the works of others. A list of the Vertebrata was published by his son after his death, and his lists of the local flora have been consulted by succeeding botanists. Mr. Waddell stated that he had been unable to obtain any information about Mr. Templeton’s journal of observations on natural history extending from 1805 to 1825, which is often referred to by him. If this were still extant, it would no doubt be of great value and interest ; he was such a keen observer, and had such an extended knowledge of every branch of the fauna and flora of the district. A passage was quoted from Mackay’s flora Hibernica, in which the author thus spoke of Templeton :—‘‘I believe that thirty years ago his acquire- ments in the natural history of organised beings rivalled that of any individual in Europe. These were by no means limited to diagnostic marks, but extended to all the laws and modifications of the living force.’ Mr. Templeton was the father of natural history in the North of Ireland, and led the way in which others soon followed. ‘The reader then referred to a copy of Montagu’s Ornithological Dictionary, now in his possession, which had belonged to Mr. Templeton, and contained pencil notes on the margins in his handwriting, a selection from which was read. In one of these he laments the destruction of rare visitants to our shores which might possibly be encouraged to stay and breed in the country, and says:—“ But a few years ago, an 410 [ Proc, B.N.F.C., ornithological friend mentioned to me that a specimen of the European bee-eater, whose wonderful combination of the most splendid colours might almost place it as a competitor for beauty with the justly-famed birds of paradise, and the wall- creeper were killed in the South of Ireland, and this spring a male and female of the golden oriole had no sooner made their appearance at Donaghadee than the male was shot.” Fortunately this bird was obtained from Mr. Joseph Russell, of Dundonald, on 11th May, 1824, and preserved in Mr. Montgomery’s collection. A passage was quoted from Montagu on account of its local interest. It referred to the white-tailed sea-eagle :— “ John Maxwell, Esq., of Ardbraccan, in Ireland, favoured us with two young birds of this species alive, taken the preceding year on a mountainous precipice or craggy cliff called Slieve Donald, impending the sea in the County of Down.” Among others, Templeton records the glossy ibis from the Bog Meadows, the goshawk and hobby as nesting in Ulster (but this must be a mistake for the peregrine), and records a nest of the woodlark with four eggs, the female hatching, found October roth, 1824. No mention was made of the grasshopper warbler, but the reader stated that this bird was frequent in the district between Carnmoney and the shore, and seemed to be increasing with the increase of meadow land in the country. Several members spoke of the interest of these original manuscript notes, and of the high position which Mr. Templeton occupied as a naturalist. The President then called on Mr. W. J. Knowles, M.R.LA., for his notice of the occurrence of flint flakes in the Glacial gravels of Ballyrudder, near Larne, Co. Antrim. Mr. Knowles said :—A few years ago there was a very good section of these gravels exposed, which I examined, and, seeing a large quantity of flints chipped and broken in the face of the section, I excavated in various places and found a number of objects 7 situ, which, if they occurred in other situations, I should have no hesitation in describing as artificially-formed flakes ; but, being found in a Glacial formation, I feel it right 1891-92. ] 4II to be cautious and wait for further evidence before speaking of them as worked flints. I prefer at present to call them flint flakes. These flakes are not of the finest quality, but they have the bulb of percussion and some other characteristics of artifi- cially-produced flakes. Two are of good size, about 3 in. long by about 2$ in. broad. One of these is an outside flake—that is, it shows on one side the outside crust of the pebble from which it was struck ; the other shows only part of the original crust. These two are only slightly weathered. A third one, scarcely so large, is also an outside flake, whitened by weathering on the face, which has the bulb of percussion. There are six other small flakes, from an inch to an inch and half long by about three-quarters of an inch broad, some of which show dressing as if they had been used as scrapers. The tenth flake is one of those three-sided flakes which have a bulb on the front or broadest face and depressions on the other faces. It has had a whitened or weathered crust all over, which has scaled off almost entirely from the two back facets, just sufficient remaining on one side to show the depression, which, like the bulb, is considered to be an indication of artificial character. In addition to the flakes I found several core-like objects which are very similar to cores produced by human agency. It seems to be a sort of doctrine that we need not look for worked flints or implements of stone in Ireland older than the neolithic age, because that Ireland, Scotland, and the North of England were covered by glaciers when palzolithic man lived in the South of England and made the flint weapons which we find there associated with the remains of extinct animals. But I think it has been proved that man was of Glacial age in Europe, and that we have had interglacial periods when he could have lived in this country. Dr. James Geikie says in Pre-historic Europe, pp. 347 and 348, that “ When the last interglacial epoch was attained a climate approximating to that of Pliocene times characterised our continent.” If this interpretation is correct, and I believe Dr. Geikie has interpreted Glacial pheno- mena more correctly than some English geologists, we might 412 Proc, B.N.F:C., hope to find evidence of man’s handiwork in an interglacial formation jn Ireland. As regards the formation, then, I believe there is no reason why it should not produce worked flints, but what reason is there for regarding a bulb on a flake as a sign of its artificial origin? Well, I would answer that the bulb is nct a necessary accompaniment of the natural fracture of flint. If a flint stone, after long exposure to the weather, splits naturally, it will be found that it breaks up like any other rock into pieces of irregular form without bulbs, while any smooth-grained rock as well as flint will show a bulb if the fracture is caused by a blow. The reason of this is that a blow sets up a series of waves in the stone, radiating from the point of impact, and when the fracture takes place it has the circular form of the waves. Even stones of a pretty coarse texture show a bulb at the place where a hammer struck. But it may be said that man is not the only agent which can produce a blow. A stone dropping from a high cliff has been given asan example. It might fall on another stone and fracture it, producing a bulb, or the waves of the sea may dash one stone against another, and produce a flake with a bulb. I think we may dismiss the cliff theory as not likely to produce a very large supply, and if anyone makes careful observation round our shores where flint stones are abundant, he will, I believe, find very few fresh flakes knocked off by the agency of the waves. Even after a storm, I question if he could produce one newly-formed flake after the most diligent search, though that some are knocked off I am perfectly aware, as I have some stones which show the marks where small flakes or chips have been separated. But these are very few, the tendency of the waves of the sea being not to knock off large chips, but very minute ones, and, by rolling the stones against each other, round them into somewhat globular forms. It may be remarked that the rudeness of the objects I have exhibited is against their artificial character, but I have seen many undoubted artificial flakes and cores as rude as these. It must also be remembered that the palzolithic implement, which is generally recognised as man’s earliest handiwork, is an object 1891-92. | 413 of very perfect workmanship, and evidently could not be the first implement produced by man. I believe that, if we wish to find the rude tools of which the palzolithic implements show the developed products, we must go very far back indeed. I _ cannot therefore on any grounds see that further search will be a useless labour, and I would urge on the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club to let the examination of the Ballyrudder gravels be part of their programme for the ensuing year. After some remarks from Mr. Mann Harbison, in which he spoke of the interesting geological and archzological questions raised by Mr. Knowles. Mr. F. W. Lockwood said he had always had an open mind on the subject of the occurrence of human traces in the Boulder Clay and other Glacial and post-glacial deposits in our district. At the same time, he thought the Club would require some further information and further evidence before they would be satisfied that flint implements were found in the Ballyrudder gravels. If that bed could be proved to be of inter-glacial origin, he considered there was more likelihood of articles of human workmanship occurring in it. He wished further information regarding the nature and geological position of the gravel bed in question, and the number and position in the bed of the flints which were now exhibited by Mr. Knowles, and which for his part he could not consider very satisfactory specimens. Mr. S. A. Stewart, in reply to a call from the Chair, said, in his opinion the flints found by Mr. Knowles in these gravels, and which he had just examined, did not show any undoubted evidence of human workmanship. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger agreed with Mr. Stewart that the specimens were not satisfactory. At the same time, the question raised was one of high interest to local geologists, and should be thoroughly investigated. The meeting was, he was sure, much indebted to Mr. Knowles for having placed the matter before them in such a lucid manner. As regarded the contention that the beds were of inter-glacial origin, he held that this could not be sustained. The gravels yielded a somewhat extensive fauna of marine shells, which had been investigated by a number of geologists, chiefly members of the Field Club. This fauna was of a more rigidly Arctic character than that of any other post-tertiary deposit in Ireland, and yielded a larger number of species which are characteristic of high northern seas than even the Boulder Clay itself, 35 per cent. of the shells of the gravels being species which are not now to be found in Britain, but inhabit the Arctic and sub- Arctic Seas. By no stretch of imagination could a deposit which contained such a fauna be called inter-glacial, which term implied a cessation, temporary at least, of Glacial conditions. After some remarks on the flint specimens which Mr. Knowles had brought to illustrate his paper, Mr. Praeger said the gravels were well worth further investigation, and he heartily backed up Mr. Knowles’s suggestion that the Club should undertake researches in this direction. Even if no result as regards the existence of man could be arrived at, the extension of our knowledge of the fauna of this interesting bed would alone be a sufficient plea for a systematic examination. On the motion of the President, the meeting sent forward a recommendation to the Committee that a further search should be organised, and that members should be afforded an opportunity during the coming summer of examining that important deposit. Mr. Knowles having replied to the points raised by the various speakers, Mr. Francis Joseph Bigger, junior secretary, next exhibited and described a curious and ancient jar. He said that the curious vessel or amphora now exhibited was lately brought to Belfast by his friend Mr. James Young, of the steamship Horn Head, having been purchased by him for a few dollars from sponge divers who were carrying on their operations in the Bay of Ekanjik, about forty miles from the Island of Rhodes, in Asia Minor. ‘The sponge diving was being performed by the divers at distance of about three miles from the shore, in the centre 1891-92.) 415 of the bay, in a depth of twenty fathoms of water. Thesponges were plentiful at the spot, and he exhibited a few specimens of them just as they were brought to the surface by the divers, and attached to rocky substances in their natural position. No person was more surprised than the poor Mussulman diver in his unexpected find of this curious vessel at such a depth of water, and entirely apart from any other evidence of civilisation. Its total height is three feet ten inches, and its circumference at its widest part is twenty-two inches. Its shape is extremely graceful, and much more beautiful than either of the two amphore in this Museum, which are both clumsy compared to it, yet one of them was found in the ruins of Pompeii and the other came from Italy. This leads to the conclusion that the present exhibit is Grecian, and probably of considerable antiquity. The Bay of Ekanjik, where it was found, lies quite in the track of vessels passing between Greece and Rhodes or the Holy Land, or even Ephesus, and it is quite likely that it was thrown over (with other things) to lighten the ship, as St. Paul so graphically describes on a certain memorable occasion ; or it may have been lost in a general shipwreck. The two handles are firmly fixed to the sides, and are grooved by way of ornament. ‘The body is so covered by marine growths that it cannot be ascertained whether the same is ornamented or inscribed. The base tapers to a point in a truly Eastern manner, which rendered a stand necessary for holding the vessel, or else, as was sometimes the case, the base was dropped heavily into the soft ground. The composition is a red clay or terra-cotta finely ground, and differs very little from a modern well-burnt flower-pot. The uses of these amphore in ancient times were manifold. Being cool, they were principally used for keeping water in, or wine, and in the latter case were covered tightly over with parchment, and a label of the same material attached, upon which was endorsed the full particulars of the contents. It will be observed that the amphora itself is entirely concealed from view by the curious and beautiful marine incrustations which completely cover its surface. These may have been the work of only a few years, 41 6 [ Proc, B.N.F.C., or, as is more probably the case, the work of centuries. The animal remains which encrust the surface include two species of corals (Astroides and Caryophyllia), several sponges, and a variety of Serfule, Folyzoa, and nullipores. Mr. Bigger wished now to publicly thank Mr. Young for his kindness in sending down these exhibits and allowing him to describe them to the Field Club. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A., senior secretary, then drew attention to a skull of the Irish elk (Cervus giganteus) which he exhibited. It was found in December last by the workmen engaged in excavating for the east wall of the new branch floating dock which opens off Spencer Basin, in the centre of a bed of peat 3 feet thick, and at a depth of 34 feet below ordinary high-water mark. Above the peat was a deposit some 30 feet deep of blue marine clay. The skull is broken across at the orbits, the lower front portion being absent ; the fracture is evidently an old one. Both antlers are broken off at the base, one of the fractures, however, being recent. ‘The skull is of large dimensions. In spite of diligent search, no other remains were found in the vicinity, nor were the missing portions of the skull discovered. Mr. Praeger then briefly drew attention to the series of strata occurring underneath the lower portions of Belfast, and the changes of conditions which they speak of. The peat represents an old land surface. It extends under a considerable portion of the city; at Sydenham, Holywood, Bangor, and Kilroot its level is higher, and it may be seen on the shore between tide-marks. It is full of remains of Scotch firs, hazel, willows, and marsh plants. At Alexandra Dock bones of the red deer and wild boar were found in it. At the time of its formation the land must have stood from Io to 40 feet higher than at present. Resting on the peat is a bed of clay fuli of shells which live on muddy shores between tides, showing a subsidence of the land and the breaking in of the sea over the former surface. Above this littoral clay is a deposit of very fine blue clay containing numbers of shells which live in from five to ten fathoms of water. This bed furnishes proof of 1891=92.] 417 a much greater subsidence, which submerged the former land surface and the present site of Belfast to a depth of at least 50 and perhaps 70 or 80 feet. Subsequently an era of elevation set in, which gradually raised the sea-bottom to its present condition of dry land. Considering the extremely slow rate at which geographical elevation or depression is known to take place, some idea may be formed of the immense period which has elapsed since this bed was formed, and which is nevertheless but a brief moment in the centuries of geological time. After some discussion, the election of several new members brought the meeting to a close, and the audience gathered round the table to examine the various interesting objects which were on exhibition. The sixth meeting of the Winter Session was held on March 15th, the President in the chair. The evening was devoted to microscopical work, and the receiving of the first annual report of the Microscopical Section of the Club, which was formed just a year ago. There was a crowded attendance of members and visitors. The President, in taking the chair, expressed his pleasure at the success of this new section of the Club, which was started only a year ago, as evinced by the large turn-out of members, and by the excellent and varied display of microsco- pical objects and apparatus. Size, he said, is not the primary essential element of the great and the sublime. Such terms are but relative. How small is our world compared to the im- mensity of the universe ; can we draw the line where greatness begins and littleness ends? The dog is small compared to the ox, but how gigantic is he compared to the little field mouse? A poet wag has told us— E’en little fleas have smaller fleas Upon their backs to bite ’em, And smaller fleas have lesser fleas, And so ad infinitum, When Alexander sighed for other worlds to conquer he over- 418 [Proc. B.N.F.C., looked one-half of the earth, and left to later times the discovery of countries greater and more important than any his conquering footsteps had ever reached. Africa has been rediscovered, and its immense territory now forms the subject of contention between great nations. The enterprise of explorers and scientists has been directed to investigate its unknown heart, its climate, the course of its mountain chains and rivers, and its limitless plains. To these pioneers of our ever-increasing race, the fauna and flora of a primitive country must be a source of exceeding interest. To us here at home there are still left great unknown worlds to explore, worlds within worlds, with their myriad forms of life, which the microscope reveals to our gaze. Here we see forms more strange and wonderful than those of fabled antiquity, creatures whose forms and functions upset all our preconceived ideas of animal existence. Poets never feigned anything so wonderful, so curious, so beautiful, creatures so grotesquely hideous, so remorselessly savage, as some of those we can bring within the field of our observation. But it is not alone in the study of minute animal life that the microscope reveals its marvellous power. In the examination of the structures of vegetable and animal life, and for a multitude of other purposes now indispensable, it is the great instrument of observation in investigating nature, for as Linnzeus truly says, “ Matura maxima est in minima”—nature is greatest in her smallest works. He would now call on Mr. Alexander Tate, C.E., Chairman of the Microscopical Section, for the annual report of the Section. Mr. Tate, in some suitable remarks, spoke of the success that had attended the formation by the Naturalists’ Field Club of a Section devoted to microscopical work only, and of the great field of research that lay before them. He then called on Mr. H. M‘Cleery, secretary of the Section, to read the annual report, which was as follows :—‘‘ The Microscopical Committee have much pleasure in submitting their first annual report, especially as they have every reason to believe that the forma- tion of this Section has filled what has beena want in the Club 1891-92. ] 419 The special excursions were interesting and instructive, and the meetings held during the winter have been well attended. The membership of the Section now numbers 58, it having risen almost double since the first meeting, and it is a matter of con- gratulation that many new members of the Club have joined in order to become members of this Section. There were two excursions held during the summer; the first was to the Lagan, and the second to Donaghadee. They were both held on Satur- day afternoons, and both were productive of many interesting specimens. The lagoons beside the Lagan produced a number of species of the lower forms both of animal and vegetable life ; while from Donaghadee material for making many interesting slides was obtained. One beautiful minute specimen of Asterina gibbosa, measuring about ‘oSin., was obtained, as well as a number of larger specimens. The brittle stars (Op/zocoma) were also laid under contribution, as well as the palates of different molluscs, many sponges, a number of barnacles, and a quantity of Horaminifera. The first of the winter meetings, on - October 28th, was taken up with a discussion on the merits of the different microscopes exhibited and explained by members, followed by a demonstration of mounting by Messrs. Gray and Firth. At the second meeting, held on December gth, Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., gave a most interesting account of ‘ Foraminifera ; what they are, and where to get and how to prepare them for microscopical slides, and illustrated his remarks by beautiful diagrams and splendidly-mounted slides, and, with the assistance of Messrs. Donaldson and Welch, showed how they were selected and mounted. Mr. William Hanna, B.A., was to the front at the third meeting, held on Wednesday, ard February, giving a most interesting account of the way to stain and section animal tissues, practically illustrated. After all these meetings there was a show of slides in illustration of the different subjects brought forward.” On the motion of Mr. William Swanston, F.G.S., seconded by Mr. John Brown, the report of the Section was adopted. After some announcements by the secretaries, the President ~ 420 [Proc. B.N.F.C., declared the meeting open, and the members were not slow in gathering round the microscopes, which, to the number of some five-and-twenty, stood ready at the tables. The exhibits repre- sented a systematic survey of the animal kingdom, the exhibi- tion being designed to be an illustration of the course of lectures on zoology which is being at present delivered by Professor A. C. Haddon, M.A., under the auspices of the Society for the Extension of University Teaching. At the head of the first table Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., illustrated with his usual success the subject of Moraminifera. Mr. Alexander Tate, C.E., exhibited fine specimens of the slipper animalcule, Paramecium, which were much admired. Other primitive forms, such as Stentor and Vorticella, were shown by Miss Boyd and Mr. P. F. Gulbransen. Mr. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A., undertook the demonstration of the beauties and wonders of the group of sponges. Mr. James Murdock exhibited the Hydra, or fresh water polyp, an old favourite of microscopical workers, and the movements of which as revealed by the microscope were watched with interest, as well as the more active, not to say lively, motions of many of the animals mentioned above and subse- quently. The fixed marine Folyzoa, such as Sertularia and Flustra, were under the superintendence of Mr. Wm. Swanston, F.G.S. Messrs. James Stelfox and W. S. M'‘Kee showed a number of beautiful living objects, including fresh water Folyzoa and rotifers. The perhaps unpopular but highly important and interesting group of worms was illustrated by Mr. W. D. Donnan. Miss S. M. Thompson showed spines and other portions of sea-urchins, brittle-stars, &c., representing the great group of the Achinodermata. Mr.1. W. Ward exhibited the dental apparatus of limpets, snails, &c. ‘The interesting class of spiders was undertaken by Mr. John Donaldson. The insects were well represented, beetles being shown by Mr. G. W. Ferguson ; flies, by Mr. John Jacques ; butterflies and moths, by Miss Clara Patterson ; and bees and wasps, by Mr. W.D. M‘Murtry. Among the vertebrate animals, the beauties of fish scales and reptile skins were demonstrated by Mr. S. Cunningham. 1891-92. | 421 At nine o’clock the President procured attention while a little necessary formal business was transacted. On his calling for nomination of new members of the Club, nine names were submitted to the meeting and duly elected. The secretaries having made some announcements, the meeting again became general, and it was only at a late hour that the members dispersed. ANNUAL MEETING. The twenty-ninth Annual Meeting of the Club was held on Wednesday evening, April 27th, in the Belfast Museum —the President (Mr. John Vinycomb, F.R.S.A.) in the chair. The Chairman, after some introductory remarks, called on the senior secretary (Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A.) for the annual report, and subsequently on the treasurer (Mr. W. H. Phillips, F.R.H.S.) for the statement of accounts. These will be found in full in the earlier pages of the present report. Mr. Wm. Swanston, F.G.S., in moving the adoption of the report and statement of accounts, considered they were both of a highly satisfactory nature. The income and the membership of the Society had both materially increased, and were larger this year than they had ever previously been since the founda- tion of the Club. The attendance of members at both summer and winter meetings also showed a large increase. There could be no doubt that the Club was not only prospering, but pushing rapidly forward in its appointed course. Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously. The election of office-bearers for the coming year was then taken up. Mr. F. W. Lockwood moved, and Mr. C. W. Watts, F.LC., seconded a resolution that Mr. J. Vinycomb, F.R.S.A., be re- elected President. The motion was carried by acclamation. On the motion of Mr. John Donaldson, seconded by Mr. John Hamilton, Mr. W. Swanston. F.G.S., was re-elected Vice- 422 [ Proc. B.N.F.C., President. The Treasurer (Mr. W. H. Phillips) and the Secre- taries (Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger and Mr. Francis Joseph Bigger) also resumed office. One vacancy occurred cn the Committee, and the selection of a lady member to fill the vacant place, for the first time in the history of the Club, was greeted with loud applause. | Discussion followed on the suggestion to amend the rule (Rule IV.) relating to the qualifications of Honorary Members, by the omission of the clause requiring that the usual residence of such should be at least 20 miles from Belfast. The point arose out of the fact that at the election of an Honorary Mem- ber at a meeting of the Club held on December 15th, this clause had been accidentally overlooked. Mr. Praeger having introduced the subject, considerable discussion ensued, in which Messrs. R. Welch, W. Gray, M.R.I.A.; F. W. Lockwood, Joseph Wright, F.G.S.; J. Hamilton, and Francis J. Bigger took part. Ultimately it was decided, by a large majority, that the rule as at present in force should remain. The junior secretary (Mr. Francis Joseph Bigger) brought under the notice of the Club some archzological subjects that had been engaging the attention of the Secretaries. Repeated efforts had been made to get together the various portions of the town cross of Downpatrick, but on account of the unfor- tunate refusal of one landowner to hand over a portion which was in his possession, the proposed restoration of the cross has had to be temporarily abandoned. A vote of thanks was passed to Major Maxwell, D.L., on the motion of Mr. W. Swanston, seconded by Mr. W. Gray, for his exertions in con- serving the beautiful ruins of Inch Abbey, near Downpatrick, as advocated by the Club during the past year. It was also reported that the Belfast and County Down Railway Company would undertake the conservation of the interesting souterrain at Artole, near Ardglass, owing to the efforts of members of the Club, and that it was in contemplation to do some restora- tive work at the ancient church of Raholp. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger then drew attention to a number of 1891-92. | 423 bones belonging to the Irish elk which were on exhibition. They were found in the excavations for the wall of the new branch floating dock opening off Spencer Basin, Belfast, in a bed of gravel and sand immediately underlying a stratum of peat, at a depth of some thirty-six feet below high water mark. The spot was close to where the skull was found which he had recently had the pleasure of exhibiting to the Club, but these bones all belonged to an older horizon, being just below the peat in which the skull was embedded, and being ap- parently washed fragments. A right and left cannon-bone were shown, which evidently belonged to two different animals ; also a number of fragments of antlers. It was very satisfactory that the efforts of the Harbour Commissioners’ and contractors’ employés had led to the preservation of these interesting remains. Mr. John Hamilton exhibited cocoons of the fox moth (Bombyx rubz), of which he had received larve from Scotland last autumn. He also exhibited some beetles and locusts, showing the under-wing. Suggestions were then received as to localities to be visited during the summer session, and the election of five new mem- bers, and an examination of the prize collections, brought the proceedings to a close. OBPituarp Notice of the fate REV. CANON JOHN GRAINGER, D.D., M-R.LA. EX-PRESIDENT. By THE SECRETARIES. HE eldest of a family of nine, John Grainger was born at Queen Street, Belfast, on 19th March, 1830. His father was David Grainger, a ship- owner, and a member of the Belfast Corporation. His mother’s maiden name was Maria Belinda Parke; she was a daughter of Lieut. James Parke, of the Desertcreight Yeomanry, in Co. Tyrone, whose sword and gorget are still pre- served in the Canon’s collection. The Graingers came to Belfast from Lisburn, in which district they had been long established, the name of one of the family appearing as churchwarden in Jeremy Taylor’s episcopate in 1667. Shortly after John’s birth, the family removed to Vine Lodge, in Henry Street, where they lived for some 16 years. When the boy was nine years old, the reading of Peter Parley’s Wonders of Earth, Sea, and Sky, with descriptions of strange fossils found embedded in the earth, aroused his juvenile enthusiasm, and armed with a spade he sallied forth into the garden to discover some of these marvels. <0 ——_ WE have again to thank the Council of Queen’s College, Belfast, for granting access to the records kept at that Institution, from which the following summary is compiled. The station at which the records are made is situated in the Lagan Valley, at an elevation of about sixty feet above mean sea-level. The Belfast Hills, which attain a maximum elevation of 1,567 feet, lie to the west and north, stretching in a N.E. and S.W. line, and passing within three miles of the Observa- tory. Southward and eastward stretch the low undulating lands of Co. Down. Lough Neagh is situated some 4 miles to the westward. Belfast Lough approaches to within two miles on the N.E., and the open sea lies some 16 miles east of the observing station. [Proc. 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A. Stewart, F.B.S. Edin., and'T. H. Corry, M. A. ,F.LS , &c. Cambridge ; MacMillan and Bowes... snk ie oe SYSTEMATIC LISTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE FLORA, FAUNA, PALAONTOLOGY, AND ARCH HOLOGY OF THE NORTH OF IRE- LAND; Vol. I.. consisting of the Appendices from 1870 to 1885 i inclusive, 27 Plates ; in paper in boards GUIDE TO BELFAST AND ADJOINING COUN- TIES ; containing chapters on Geology, Botany, Zoo- logy, Topography, Historical Antiquities, Agriculture, Trade, and Excursions, with numerous Plates. Pub- lished at 3/6 ; Reduced ‘Price (See also Back of. Cover.) 2/ — see > ANNUAL REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE fe a> Ses hy BELFAST NATURALISTS’. FIELD CLUB For the Year ending the 31st March, 1893. (THIRTIETH YEAR.) SERIES II. PART VI. VOLUME III. 1892-93. Belfast : PRINTED FOR THE CLUB BY ALEXANDER Mayne & Boyp, 2 CORPORATION STREET, PRINTERS TO QUEEN’S COLLEGE, BELFAST. 11893. yr diaeer ~~ ‘ a 7 el a Tae. ; ’ ‘ . i ra bel ns a} [ ‘se, ’ Lia! | P # : ‘ 9 hy if * 4 "y ig! ae ye ae a Linea % ee #7, +1683 theo. iy ce : as i U % ‘ ' “7 . 3 ; t- f 7. 2 . 4 “~-s s) ; , iz ee « Ss ; ¢, . & r. 7 * ; 4 - : 4 - REP OR ?. The Committee of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club have pleasure in laying before the Society their thirtieth Annual Report, which records its continued success, and an increase both of the membership, and of the work done under the Club’s auspices, The membership, which last year stood at 323, being the largest ever attained since the foundation of the Society, now numbers 404, 92 new members having been elected during the year which has just closed, while 11 names have to be struck off the list owing to death or resignation. The summer programme was the most extensive ever held in the history of the Club, embracing as it did one three-day excursion, one two-day excursion, five whole-day excursions, and two half-day excursions. The summer work also included an investigation of the gravel-beds at Ballyrudder, Co. Antrim, when members were given an opportunity for examining these interesting deposits. The only excursion on the programme which was not carried out was a half-day trip to Cave Hill, for which was substituted the whole day Gobbins excursion, which could not be held on the appointed date owing to severity of weather. The localities visited and dates of the excnrsions were as follow :— 1, White Park Bay bet Par a May 21st. 2. Gobbins oe e “ee ae June 8th. 3. Mourne Mountains... ae June 24th & 25th, 4. Lough Erne, Bundoran, and Sligo. want July r1th, 12th, & 13th, 5. Benevenagh .. of July 30th. 6. Drumbo and Giant’s Ring oes nee August 13th. 7, Lagan Canal one re August 27th, 8, Knockagh ... ioe aes “Ae September 10th. g. Ardglass = September 17th, The attendance of members asi visitors at these excursions was large, the average attendance being 54, the largest being 120 at Lagan Canal, the smallest 11 at Mourne Mountains. The excursion to the Sligo district, when a party of 50 members spent three days of perfect summer weather in exploring the natural beauties and the fauna, flora, and antiquities of Lower 460 [Proc. B.N.F.C., Lough Erne, Bundoran, Ben Bulben, Sligo, and Lough Gill, was voted by those present to have excelled in interest any ex- cursion previously held under the Club’s auspices; while the few members who took part in the two-day mountain-climbing trip to the Mourne Mountains brought back with them, in addition to many geological and natural history specimens of interest and rarity, a knowledge of the more inaccessible part of the Mourne Range, and of the magnificent mountain scenery that it affords—a district which is not half as well known to, or appreciated by our naturalists and artists as it merits. In con- nection with the summer excursions, the best thanks of your Committee are due to a number of gentlemen for kind assistance rendered: to Thomas Plunkett, M.R.I.A., and several other local gentlemen, for much assistance in connection with the arrangements for the Sligo excursion; to Sir Frederick Heygate, Bart., for permission to enter his beautiful grounds at Benevenagh ; and to the Directors of the Lagan Navigation Company, for placing at the disposal of the Club their flotilla of boats, and otherwise assisting the party, on the occasion of the Lagan Canal excursion. A resolution having been passed at one of the Winter Meetings last session appointing a sub-committee to investigate and report on the Glacial gravels of Ballyrudder, Co. Antrim, with special reference to the suggested occurrence in them of worked flints; this investigation was carried out early in the month of July, and the report of the sub-committee will be found in full in the Proceedings for the year now completed, which will shortly be in the hands of members. The Winter Session was opened with a Social Meeting ir the Exhibition Hall, Botanic Avenue, on October 28th. On the occasion of the last Social Meeting the accommodation at the Belfast Museum proved, for the first time in the history of the Club, inadequate for the company who assembled, and the engagement of more commodious premises on the present occasion was fully justified, as the fine hall at the Botanic Gardens was filled to overflowing, the attendance numbering close upon 600 members and visitors. The dates of the winter 1892-93.]. 461 business meetings, and the subjects brought forward, are as follow :— 22nd Nov. 1. Presidential Address. 2. Report of the Sub-Committee appointed to investigate the Glacial gravels of Ballyrudder, County Antrim.—R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.1I.A., hon. secretary. 3. Report of the Club’s Delegate to the Meeting of the British Associa- tion, 1892.—William Gray, M.R.1.A., delegate. 4. ‘Rare Foraminifera obtained on the Club’s last Dredging Excursion.”’ —Joseph Wright, F.G.S. zoth Dec. 1. “ Notes on New Zealand Geology.’”?—Edward M‘Connell (communi- cated Bas see at Cultra, County Down,.’’—Miss Mary K. Andrews (communicated). 3. Local Botanical Notes, 1891 and 1892.—R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.LA., hon. secretary. 17th Jan. 1. “ The Aran Islands: a Study in Irish Ethnography.’’—Prof. Alfred C. Haddon, M.A., M.R.I.A. 21st Feb. 1. ‘ Some Local Folk-Lore.’’—Francis Joseph Bigger, hon. secretary. 2. “ Worked Flints, Ancient and Modern.”—William Gray, M.R.1.A. 21st March . Microscopical Evening. 11th April Irish Folk-Lore. 1. “ Pishogues from Tipperary.’’— Miss Lily S. Mollan (communicated). 2. “A Notice of Irish Fairies.’”,—-W. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A. . “Notes from County Down.”—Mrs, Blair (communicated). 26th April Annual Meeting. The average attendance at the winter meetings was I01, the largest being 300 at Professor Haddon’s lecture on January 17th, the smallest 60 at December meeting. On January 18th, Professor Haddon kindly continued his lecture on Irish Ethno- graphy, and explained the steps now being taken by the British Association for the carrying out of an ethnographical survey of the United Kingdom. A local committee, of which W. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A., was elected secretary, was appointed to carry out the work in Ulster, under direction of the central committee in Dublin, and your Committee trust that all mem- bers and others willing to assist the work of this committee by studying or collecting local folk-lore, physical measurements, language, or antiquities will communicate with Mr. Patterson ; the work offers a field of wide and varied interest, and is of very high scientific importance. In order to increase the social usefulness of the Club, and for the convenience of members residing at a distance, your Com- mittee have during the Winter Session, with the valuable assistance of two lady members, Mrs. Coulter and Mrs. Leslie, 462 [Proc, B.N.F.C., provided tea before each meeting at the Museum, the moderate charge of sixpence being made in order to meet expenses. This institution has proved a decided success, to judge from the number of members who have availed themselves of it, and the Committee place considerable importance on the opportunity thus afforded to members for the exchange of views on matters in which they are interested, and the examination of specimens, and answering of enquiries on scientific points. | The Microscopical Section continues its labours, but its operations during the present session have been considerably hampered owing to a vacancy in the post of secretary, Mr. H. M‘Cleery having reluctantly been compelled to resign owing to a press of other engagements. No member has as yet accepted the duties of secretary to this section of the Club. The Photographic Committee continues to receive valuable instalments of antiquarian and geological photographs from members; these are being properly classified and mounted in suitable albums, and already form a collection of high interest, nnmbering over 200 views. It is hoped that members will continue to carry on this very important branch of the Club’s work, and will favour the secretaries with platinotype prints of any photographs of objects of antiquarian, biological, or geological interest that they may have an opportunity of securing. The following are the reports of the judges appointed by your Committee to examine the collections sent in by members in competition for the Club's and special prizes :— _ “Prize II. In competition for this prize Miss Jeanie Rea has sent in a collection amounting to 152 plants. These are well- selected, characteristic specimens, mounted and displayed in the very best manner. They are correctly named, and localities stated, as required, and we have much pleasure in adjudging the prize in question to Miss Rea. Prize XVI. For this competition W. D. Donnan sent in a very large collection of Coleoptera. The specimens forming this collection are excellent. They are mounted in the most approved manner, and properly named and localised. They 1892-93.] 463 represent much scientific work in this difficult group, and well deserve the prize which we now award to Mr. Donnan. Prizes XX. and XXI. There are two collections of micro- slides by ladies, both are of superior merit. Miss S. M. Thompson, of Macedon, submits a varied collection; and Miss Patterson, of Holywood, a very excellent series of chick embryo sections. Both are very well prepared and mounted, displaying no small amount of practical skill. Miss Thompson’s collection is a very considerable advance upon former efforts, and merits the highest commendation. It is difficult to distin- guish between the relative merits of the two collections. For- tunately it is not necessary to place them in the order of merit, as the collections were submitted for different prizes, and we award Prize XX. to Miss Patterson, and Prize XXI. to Miss Thompson.” (Signed) S. A. STEWART. WILLIAM GRay. Prize XVIII. In competition for this prize, for best collection of Fungi, Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A., reports that two series have been submitted to him by members in accordance with the conditions. That of Miss Boyd numbered 46 species, that of Mr. J. J. Andrew 54 species. Your Committee do not consider either collection sufficiently extensive to merit the prize, but trust that the members named will continue their mycological studies during the coming year with better results. Under the superintendence of P. J. O’Shea, a new member of the Club, a class has been started for the study of the Irish language. Twenty members have joined the class, and at the first meeting there was an attendance of 14. It is hoped this new effort will be successful in promoting an interest in our native tongue, and also, in a secondary sense, in increasing our general membership. In conclusion, your Committee would again return thanks to the public bodies and kindred societies who have favoured them with their publications during the past year. R. Lioyp PRAEGER, FRANCIS JOSEPH BIGGER, \ Hon. Secretaries. b OL LOlF L Sls & ie Z 003 Ae = Rist. CGas ear a 11 el bE 2" ven oF LT 05 e-. ° 0 eR" es es) ce aM OWN HH LALA TS 5 * ae Cl IF eoe eee , rewomo°ncncecie) © wa Oo ‘wodnsva4T ‘SAITIIHd “H ‘AM es ee ee = EE eS ee eee eee oouRleg SOZIIg s[eymoprouy eoueINsuy sosvysod —:'Z1A ‘SUSNTAXY IVUINTH JoppnsAT[eg 4@ WOIyesr}soAUyT “2 or “Tore ‘orOIp[ Jo sosuedxg I0JD9T[ON 0} WOISSIMAMIOH wnesny JO JUS “se ““-ginqoary 8 UOppey] sosseyorg ‘sesuedxq podey [BoIso0[0100}0 FL gloige ‘+ Sarstoapy pus ‘Suyuig ‘Arouoryeyg sSurpos001g SulyuIg Surjooyy [et00g jo sosuedsy Ag 6é cé 66 6 66 66 66 ¢ 66 «6 66 G2 OL LUIF 807 € 0 = SOE es Grr : Py. OF San: Gly SL ae GPEC Ss OT OF *"" “LUVMGALS “VS 'S68l ‘HOYVIN LSIS ONIONS YVSA SHL AOS “aD GN19 GTX SLSIIVENLVYN LSVATAG AHL HLIM LNNOOOV NI dHaNsvaAaL 1G = ss... Ea ‘4001100 puNnoy pue pejipny ese ooo e101 4 66 6c ie ssurpesvolg =“ a eee eae epmny jo saleg 66 ae "** svoy, wo org “ einjooy S,uoppeyH rossezorg ‘sjoyory, ‘* "+ Sunooyy [eloog 10; syoyory, “* nee “* suondriiosqng ‘f *** qINODDW JSC] WOIF SoUVleg Oy, ae yee ans fey te 1) Pb NCS + SUMMER SESSION. + WHITE PARK BAY. The first excursion was held on Saturday, May 21st, White Park Bay, on the north coast of Antrim, being the place visited. A party of some five-and-thirty members assembled at the terminus of the Northern Counties Railway in time to start by the 8.15 train for Ballymoney. Arrived there, the narrow- guage railway was taken, and, proceeding at lower speed through a fertile country, interspersed with extensive peat bogs, a steep descent along the picturesque slopes of Knocklayd brought the party to the little town of Ballycastle. There wagonettes were in readiness, and no time was lost in getting under weigh, and the inland road to Bushmills was taken. The road rises steadily for several miles, and presently beautiful views opened out of Ballycastle nestling among trees, with the huge dome of Knock- layd rising behind; and further off, the majestic front of Benmore or Fair Head impending over the sea, with the blue mountains of Cantire beyond. Turning northward now, the road ran through low heathery hills, blazing with gorse, and a sharp descent brought the party to White Park Bay, a broad sweep of white shining sand, backed by low Chalk cliffs, and shut in at one end by the black basaltic precipice of Bengore Head, and on the other by the fantastic rock-masses which fringe the shore near Ballintoy. The party were not slow in dismounting, and in making their descent over slopes and swards covered with bluebells and primroses to the strand, where the green foam-capped breakers were roaring in under the influence of a brisk northerly wind. The secretaries had announced that prizes would be given for the best collections 466 [ Proc. B.N.F.C., respectively of shells and of antiquarian specimens, and the members hastened to scatter themselves over the sand in the search for objects of interest. White Park Bay is well known to archeologists for the abundant pre-historic objects which it yields, and which show that it was an important settlement of the early races. The remains consist chiefly of rude flint implements, bones, fragments of pottery, and ashes ; and occur in certain definite layers which represent the ancient land sur- face, though now often buried below many feet of blown sand. The constant shifting of the sand, under the influence of the wind, exposes the old surface, and thus these traces of former habitation are found on the surface, as was amply testified on the present occasion. The shell collectors had comparatively poor fortune. On the sand great quantities of three species of snails (HZ. aspersa, H. nemorals, H. virgata) were found, and a limited supply of a number of other species ; but the strand was almost devoid of marine shells, contrary to general ex- pectation. The extreme lateness of the season told against the botanists, but they noted the great abundance of the beautiful meadow cranesbill, locally designated the Flower of Dunluce (Geranium pratense), and also the wood vetch (Vicza sylvatica), but neither was yet in blossom. On the road from Ballycastle they had found the three-nerved sandwort (Arenarta trinervia) and the mare’s-tail (Hippurzs vulgaris), and later in the day, on the rocks at the east end of the bay, the senior secretary pointed out the sea-beet (Beta maritima), still growing in a spot where he had found it some years ago. Beetle-hunting and seaweed- collecting meanwhile engaged the attention of other members of the party. The best beetles found were Broscus cephalotes at Ballintoy; and Calathus fuscus, Bradycellus verbasci, Philonthus laurinatus, P. succicola, digialia arenaria, Otior- rhynchus atroapterus, O. ligneus, and f hilopedon gemminatus at White Park Bay. An interesting find of another kind was the nest, or rather the eggs, of the ringed plover (4 gialitis hiaticula), four pale brown eggs, specked with black, laid ina slight hollow on the bare sand, The party was now joined by » 1892-93.] 467 Father Malcahy, P.P., and by Mr. Dickson, one of the local gentry, and by several members who had come to Ballycastle overnight, and had had a busy forenoon’s photographing of the choicest bits of scenery of this lovely spot. Passing below cliffs of white Chalk, the curious arched rocks at the east end of the bay were visited, and a return made to Ballintoy, where the machines were in waiting, and brought the party by the picturesque but very hilly old road back to Ballycastle, where an excellent tea was ready, supplied by Mr. Hunter, and to which the members did full justice. At the conclusion of the repast, the President of the Club (Mr. John Vinycomb, F.R.S.A.) congratulated the members on having had their usual good fortune in regard to weather. He appointed Mr. William Gray, M.R.LA., judge of the archzological collections, and Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A., judge for the shell prize. He referred in suitable terms to the recent death of Professor James Thompson, of Glasgow, an ex-President of the Club. Mr. William Gray moved, and Mr. J. J. Andrew seconded, a resolution of sympathy with the relatives of Professor Thomp- son, which was carried in silence. The election of new mem- bers was then proceeded with, and the following ladies and gentlemen were declared duly elected :—Miss Gamble, Mrs. Logan, Mrs. M‘Coll, Miss M'‘Coll, Messrs. J. Dunville Coates, Jas. Maxton, M.I.M.E., R. S. M‘Dade. The judging of the collections then took place. Mr. F. J. Bigger carried off the archeology prize, his collection including some large fragments of a cinerary urn and a number of bones and flint implements. The shell prize fell to Mrs. Leslie; a second prize was awarded to Miss Turtle, a juvenile member of the party, who wasa good second. Road was then taken for the railway station, and Belfast was reached at nine o’clock. THE GOBBINS AND ISLANDMAGEE. The second summer excursion was held on Saturday, June 468 [Proc, B.N.F.C., 18th, the Gobbins and Islandmagee being the locality visited. A party of nearly fifty members and friends assembled at the Northern Counties terminus in time to start for Ballycarry by the 9.25 train. Arrived there, cars were mounted, anda pleasant drive through a fertile country was followed by a walk along a rough country lane, which brought the party to the summit of a grassy hill, where a beautiful prospect opened out. Below lay the sea, stirred by a brisk northerly breeze, and chafing on a picturesque shore, strewn with blocks of chalk and _ basalt. Southward stretched the low shores of County Down and the Copeland Isles ; further eastward, seen dimly through summer haze, the hills of the Isle of Man. Right opposite lay the Mull of Galloway and the Ayrshire coast ; then Ailsa Craig, towering high out of the water ; and further northward the mountains of Arran and Cantire. Before the party made the steep descent to the sea, the secre- taries announced that a prize would be given for the best collection of flowering plants made during the day. Baskets, handkerchiefs, and umbrellas were promptly converted into botanical collecting cases, and a vigorous search for wild flowers began, the ladies of the party being conspicuous by their energy and perseverance in the search for rarities. While the majority of the party spent an hour in exploring the steep slopes and rocky sea-shore, a section started southward, and visited the outcrop of Chalk and Greensand which occurs on the coast at» that point. A few fossils were obtained, and also some photo- graphs of geological subjects, which will go presently to enrich the Club’s photographic collection. When the party had reunited, a start was made northward, along the summit of the cliffs towards Port Muck. The rocks and banks were gay with wild flowers, among which the bladder campion, milkwort, seapink, lady’s fingers, and burnet rose were conspicuous. The botanists noticed the great abundance of Venus’ comb (Scandix pecten-veneris) in the cultivated fields, and the pretty wood vetch (Vicza sylvatica) festooning the rocks, The steep cliffs, which descend sheer into the water for 1892-93.] 469 several hundred feet, were tenanted by large colonies of herring gulls, all now busy administering to the wants of their young, which could be seen perched on the ledges of the cliffs, like little balls of brown and grey down. Presently a fine peregrine falcon, darting with a shriek from the cliffs, betrayed the whereabouts of its eyrie, which was detected securely placed beneath an overhanging ledge of rock, and further search discovered two of the young falcons, now nearly fledged, perched on a grassy ledge further down the cliff. The wreck of the luckless s.s. Black Diamond was next passed, her bows wedged among the rocks at the base of the cliff, with the foremast still standing, and her sunken hull plainly visible through the clear blue water. Still wending their way northward, the party passed along a less precipitous coast, where the great willow-herb (Zfz/obium angustijolium) was observed growing on a steep slope, an addi- tion to the flora of the Gobbins. The photographers mean- while tried their skill in securing photographs of the nest of a lark and a meadow pipit—the first built among the short grass on the summit of a cliff, the second in a recess in a grassy bank. Presently Port Muck, with its shelving beach, ancient castle, and whitewashed coastguard station, was reached, and the party was charmed with the extreme picturesqueness of the spot, and the rocky islet that rose out of the water to the eastward. No time could be spared to secure sketches or photographs here, though several hours might have been so spent with advantage, and the shortest way was taken for Larne. Surmounting a high hill, new beauties opened out to the northward, where stretched the Antrim Coast—Ballygalley Head, Garron Point, and Runabay Head standing out in bold succession, with heathery hills rising behind them. The road now dropped down into Brown’s Bay, where the well-known rocking-stone was seen at the eastern end, but time did not permit of a visit. The flower collectors picked up the fool’s parsley (4thusa cynapium), greater celandine (Cheldonium majus), and black horehound (Badlota fetida) on roadsides as they passed along. 470 [ Proc. B.N.F.C.. A walk along the firm sands of Ferris’ Bay brought the party to the ferry, and they were quickly transported across the deep and narrow entrance of the lough to Larne Harbour, where wagonettes were in waiting, and a few minutes later the party was busy discussing an excellent tea at the King’s Arms Hotel. A hurried, business meeting was held, the chair being taken by Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A., in the absence of the President, and Messrs. John M‘Kee, George M‘Lean, and S. M. Reid were elected members of the Club. Those of the party who wished to catch the early train to Belfast were then driven to the railway station, and returned to town by the 6.5 train, while a large section elected to remain in Larne for a couple of hours longer. The judging of the collections of flowers made during the day was undertaken by Mr. S. A. Stewart, F.B.S.E. Six collections were submitted in competition, and when they had been examined, the secretaries announced the result as follows :—Miss Rea, 111 species; Mrs. Wise, 88; Mrs. Ferguson, 69; Mrs. Blair, 50; Mrs. Greer, 49; Mr. M‘Lean, 40. Miss Rea was therefore declared the winner, amid applause. The party then scattered for a stroll around the environs of Larne, and returned to Belfast by the 8.20 train. THE MOURNE MOUNTAINS. On Friday and Saturday, June 24th and 25th, a special mountain-climbing excursion to the Mourne Mountains took place. The Field Club party assembled at the County Down Railway at 7.30, in time to take the first train for Newcastle, under the leadership of their senior secretary. Belfast was left in a torrent of rain, but pocket aneroids showed but an inappre- ciable depression, so the spirits of the naturalists were by no means damped ; and fortune indeed favoured them, for, while heavy rain fell in the city during a great portion of the day, among the mountains the weather was magnificent. The time occupied by the railway journey was turned to good account. 189293.) 471 Maps were exhibited of the Mourne district, showing the route to be traversed by the party. Geological maps were also pro- duced, and the construction and age of the mountains discussed, and the relation of the Mourne Mountain granites to the dolerites, syenites, and porphyries of the Carlingford hills and the granites of the adjoining highlands of Slieve Croob. Speci- mens of some of the rarer plants of the district were passed round also, that they might be the more easily recognised if met with by any of the party. Newcastle was reached at 9.20, and here a view of the mountains was obtained which alone would have been a recompense for the journey. Slieve Donard towered up, its lofty summit swathed in great broken patches of snow-white vapour. Below all was clear, but half way down, encircling the huge mountain as with a girdle, was a narrow horizontal belt of grey cloud, stretching far out over the sea on the one hand, and on the other merging into the masses of dazzling cloud which were rolling over the inland mountains. Breakfast next occupied the attention of the party, and, after an excellent meal at Mr. Lawrence’s comfortable rooms, the party drove off rapidly. The pretty village of Bryansford was soon passed, and then the road skirted the rich woods of Tollymore Park. Rising above them, grand views of the mountains opened out, and now the destination of the party—Slieve Bearnagh— became visible, rising steeply at the head of the deep valley of the Trassey Burn, and crowned with huge masses of bare rugged granite. At Trassey Bridge the coach halted, and the day’s work began ; and, taking with them only such zmpedimenta as were required in the pursuit of their scientific bents and for the preservation of specimens, the party proceeded up a rough turf road which led up the valley and into the mountains. On one side rose Slieve-na-Glough, on the other towered Slieve Meel- more, its eastern shoulder terminating in a huge cliff called the Spellick, which overhangs the glen. A steep ascent now brought the party to the Hare’s Gap, where an entomologist pointed out that the granite boulders were dotted over with a pretty little moth (Aufzthecta pumilata), which so closely 472 [Proc, B.N.F.C., resembled the colour of the rocks as to be almost indiscernible except to the experienced eye. A short climb along the southern slope of Slieve-na-Glough brought the party to the Diamond Rocks, where the geologists, who were well represented, were entirely in their element. The granite at this place is full of cavities, often several inches in diameter, which by infiltra- tion during the gradual cooling of the molten rock-mass, and by slow crystallisation, have become lined with beautiful crystals of smoky quartz, felspar, mica, and, more rarely, topaz, beryl, and other precious stones. This remote place was now in possession of several quarrymen, who had tramped across the mountains with their tools from Annalong in the early morning to make things ready for the visit of the Field Club, and had by this time a number of holes bored inthe hard rock. The secretary’s harmless-looking botanical case turned out to be full of blasting powder and fuse, with which the holes were charged, and when the party had retired to a safe distance they were fired off, pro- ducing fine echoes among the surrounding mountains. Sledges and smaller hammers were then brought to bear on the spoil, and a number of excellent specimens of the various minerals were obtained, the brown and black hexagonal pyramids of the quartz crystals being especially admired. A return was then made down the mountain to the Hare’s Gap, and the ascent of Slieve Bearnagh—the pzece de resistance of the day—commenced. The botanists now came to the front, and announced the dis- covery of a rare and minute orchid, the lesser twayblade (Listera cordata). ‘The juniper (funiperus nana) was observed in some quantity, and near the summit of the mountain abundance of the alpine club-moss (Lycopodium alpinum) and its congener, the fir club-moss (Z. se/ago). After a stiff climb the summit of the mountain (2,394 feet) was reached, and the whole party, ladies included, scrambled up to the top of the huge masses of weather-worn granite that crown the highest peak, to gaze on the magnificent panorama of mountain, sea, and plain that opened out on every hand. To the westward stretched a sea of mountains, ridge on ridge, to where rose Slieve Gullion in 1892-93.] 473 Armagh, and Carlingford Mountain in Louth. Eastward towered the higher peaks of the Mourne range, with the huge cone of Slieve Donard dominating them all. Southward the broad blue expanse of the Irish Sea, and the low shores of Louth and Meath. Northward the whole fertile plain of County ~ Down, with the Antrim hills and Lough Neagh, behind which lay the dim hills of Londonderry and Tyrone. Luncheon next engaged the attention of the members, and a regal banquet was made of sandwiches, washed down by draughts of cool water from rock-pools in the granite. The botanists noted, flourishing among the topmost crags, the dwarf willow (Salx herbacea), crowberry (Hmpetrum nigrum), and cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-tdea), the last named having its pretty pink bells in full blossom. ‘Then, after taking another look at the magnificent and varied prospect, the descent of the western face of the mountain was effected, and, traversing a very steep decline of a thousand feet, the saddle between Bearnagh and Meelmore was crossed, a pause being made to note the great ice-worn slopes of bare granite which characterise the western base of Slieve Bearnagh. Another steep climb was next undertaken, which brought the party toa spot near the summit of Slieve Meelmore, where there is an interesting vein of amethyst, undescribed in the memoirs of the Geological Survey, and known only toa few local geologists. With the aid of hammers, good examples of the bright purple mineral were secured, and the party then pushed on along the rough, boulder-strewn side of Slieve Meelbeg, till Lough Shannagh came full in view, embosomed in brown heather, and backed by steep hills. After a pause here to rest and to admire the splendid mountain view, way was made for the gap north of Carn Mountain, for the afternoon was flying fast, and the lengthening shadows and thoughts of dinner both inspired the members to renewed exertions. On the boggy flat behind Ott Mountain the lesser twayblade was again observed in quantity. A descent was then made into the Deer’s Meadow, down the edge of the Bann River, here a mere trickling streamlet. On the mountain road the coach was 474 [Proc. B.N.F.C., waiting at the place appointed, and a rapid and most enjoyable drive past the cliffs of Pigeon Rock and the rugged slopes of Slieve Muck, and away down the southern slopes of the moun- tains, brought the party to Kilkeel at eight o’clock, where they were hospitably received at the Kilmorey Arms Hotel. An evening stroll down to the harbour brought to a close a highly successful and enjoyable day, and resulted in some additions to the botanists’ collections, and the capture of two somewhat rare moths— Acidalia margine-punctata and Eupithecta constrictata. Another rarity, Mixodta Schulziana, had been captured on the mountains earlier in the day ; and of beetles, Carabus catenu- fatus was taken at Hare’s Gap, and C. arvensis near the summit of Slieve Bearnagh. Next morning a number of the members turned out at 6.30 for a bathe, and at eight o’clock all were assembled at break- fast. The early morning was beautifully fine, but the sky rapidly clouded over, and ere a start was made at nine o'clock it was raining. However, the barometer had fallen but little, so, hoping for the best and prepared as far as possible for the worst, the party started for Slieve Bingian. A five-mile drive brought them to Colligan Bridge, at the foot of the mountain. The wind and rain had steadily increased, and the hills were completely enshrouded in driving mist, and the prospect was as bleak and cheerless as possible. A council of war was held, at which it was decided to send the coach on to Newcastle with those of the party who did not care to face a bad day among the mountains, it being arranged that they should ascend the valley of the Annalong River and meet the rest of the party, should the weather clear in time. Only three volunteers were found for the mountain walk, who started off into the rain and mist, while the rest turned and drove towards Newcastle. The mountaineers traversed a rough turf road for some distance, and then, crossing a high bank of gravel and sand—the terminal moraine of the glacier that once filled the glen—found them- selves in the Happy Valley, the most beautiful of the mountain glens of the district. Before them stretched a narrow, level, 1892-93.] ; 475 alluvial tract, extending into the mountains for several miles. On the right Slieve Bingian rose two thousand feet in one steep slope, its summit buried in mist. On the left the cliffs of Slieve-na-glogh could be seen now and then through a rift in the clouds, and straight in front Bencrom, wreathed in ‘cloud, reared its rugged form at the head of the valley. Walking here was easy, for the wind was blowing right up the glen, but the rain still increased, and now came down in torrents. But naturalists are generally philosophically inclined, so a halt was made at some pools under Slieve Bingian, where several rare plants were known to grow, and specimens were leisurely secured of the long-leaved sundew (Drosera inter- media), water lobelia (Lobelia Dortmanna), and Rhynchospora alba. ‘The party then pushed on up the glen till opposite the cliffs of Bencrom, where they turned to the right up the slope, and a steep climb brought them to the gap between Slieve Lamagan and Slieve Bingian. On the ascent some butterflies were obtained in spite of the storm, three species of Eupithecia — BE. pumilata, E. minutata, and E. satyrata var. callunarta— and the larva of Oparabia filigrammaria. Some large speci- mens of felspar were also obtained. The weather had become still worse, and it was now blowing a gale, with torrents of rain, and so thick that it was impossible to see more than twenty yards ahead, so the majority of the party decided to push down the valley to Annalong, the secretary alone expressing his intention of carrying out the programme by ascending Slieve Bingian, remarking that it would be impossible to get any wetter. So two members started down the slope for the valley, while the third turned southward up the mountain. A climb up a boulder-strewn slope brought him to the summit of the cliffs which overlook the Blue Lough, and here the lesser twayblade was found growing in Juxuriance. Battling on against the storm and rain, the northern peak of the mountain was reached, where the dwarf willow was growing in great quantity in the fissures of the crags of granite. A steep climb of half a mile more and the summit was attained. Here the full force of the 476 (Proc. B.N.F.C., gale made itself felt, and when a gust came roaring up the slope it was necessary to cling to the granite rocks for support, while the rain stung as if charged with gravel or sand. Under the shelter of the huge crags that form the highest point of the mountain (2,449 feet) there was comparative shelter, but the roar of the wind and rain was such that a shout could not have been heard a few yards away. Here again grew the dwarf willow and the cowberry and crowberry. The descent of the mountain was more difficult than the ascent, for the mist was so thick as to obscure everything beyond a few yards’ distance, and care had to be taken to avoid several dangerous cliff-ranges in the vicinity ; but, steering by compass, Lough Bingian was soon passed, and a steep descent by the side of a roaring torrent brought the solitary representative of the Field Club into a calmer atmosphere below the cliffs. Here he fell in with one of the greatest botanical rarities of the Mourne Mountains—the parsley fern (Cryptogramme crispa), growing in a sheltered nook, where he had observed it just ten years ago. A short visit was then paid to the Blue Lough, and the water lobelia and curious quill-wort (/soetes dacustris) were found in quan- tity, washed ashore by the force of the storm. A rapid descent of the valley was then made, and the eleven miles to Newcastle were covered in good time ; and as Newcastle was approached the clouds broke, and the sun shone out gloriously, giving beautiful effects of light and shade on the mountains. Presently the whole party was reunited, none the worse for their thorough soaking, and a pleasant afternoon was spent in the woods of Donard Lodge. A number of mountain plants were collected, and, among lepidoptera, the bordered white moth (Sufalus piniartus) was observed in large numbers among the fir trees. One specimen was obtained of the rare Scodioniza Belgiaria, which is the second record for this species in our district ; and the barred red, Allopia fasciaria, was also found. Some beetles were also obtained, of which the best were Dasczllus cervinus, Telephorus pellucidus, and Rhagium inquisitor. A final hour was devoted to the sandhills, which yielded a large number of 1892-93.] 477 local maritime plants, and then the party returned to the rail- way refreshment rooms, where a sumptuous tea was provided by Mr. Lawrence. Subsequently a short meeting was held, at which a little formal business was transacted, and Dr. J. St. Clair Boyd elected a member of the Club, after which the evening express brought the members quickly back to town, well pleased with their trip, which, in spite of the rain of the second day, was voted to have been highly successful and enjoyable. LOUGH ERNE AND SLIGO. The annual long excursion took place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, July 11th, 12th, and 13th, when a party of fifty members spent three delightful days in exploring Lough Erne, Bundoran, Ben Bulben, Sligo, and Lough Gill. The Field Club party left Belfast at 8 o’clock on Monday morning, in a carriage specially reserved for the party, and which, by the arrangements of the obliging manager of the Great Northern Railway, accompanied them throughout their various railway journeys both going and returning. Enniskillen was reached at 11-45, where the party was met by Mr. Thomas Plunkett, MR.I.A., chairman Enniskillen Town Commis- sioners, and Mr. Humphreys, manager of the Sligo and Leitrim Railway. No time was lost in dismounting, and a half-mile walk through the neat streets of the thriving island town, crowded with country folk who were busily engaged in the many duties pertaining to a monthly fair day, brought the Belfast visitors to the river bank, where the steamer “‘ Belturbet ” lay in readiness, and in a few minutes her shrill whistle sounded a farewell to Enniskillen as she glided out on the broad, calm river, past the loop-holed barrack-walls, and left behind the ancient four-turretted castle-gateway of the Maguires, and the tall spire of the parish church, and the lofty column of Cole’s monument on the Fort Hill, The wooded narrows of Portora 478 [Proc, B.N.F.C., were soon passed, with Portora castle frowning in picturesque decay at their entrance. Next, Devenish Island came in view, surmounted by its interesting abbey ruins, behind which rose the lofty form of the finest round tower in Ireland. This spot, celebrated in archzological literature, was fully inspected by the Club on their visit to Lough Erne last year, so no halt was now made, and the steamer sped onwards among the thickly- wooded islands around Ely Lodge. The secretaries pointed out on one of the islands, the site of their camp, beneath a group of tall Scotch firs close to the lake shore, where the arrangements for the present expedition had been made a fortnight before. Inishmacsaint next appeared in view, with its ancient church and cross, and then, when the fine ruin of Tully Castle was passed, the broad expanse of the lower portion of the lake opened out. The course lay close along the southern shore, where limestone hills lowered over the lake in long cliff-ranges toa height of over a thousand feet, while on the distant northern shore the low Fermanagh meadows were backed by the dim blue hills of Donegal. Gradually the lake narrowed again, till it once more assumed a river-like aspect, and at length the steamer’s shrill whistle warned the peaceful inhabitants of Belleek to prepare for an invasion of the Northerners. Regret was expressed that time did not permit of .a® visit to° the celebrated pottery, >but ‘the tram shad already waited for the party fifteen minutes beyond its usual time. A glimpse was obtained of the river Erne, foaming amid rocks on its rapid descent to the sea, and soon Ballyshannon was passed, and the sandhills of Bundoran rose into view ; and a short walk through the whitewashed village street brought the party to Sweeny’s Hotel, where dinner was served in excel- lent style. This important pact of the day’s work completed, the party started off to explore the neighbourhood. The tide was unfortunately just full, and the strand and rockpools con- sequently covered, which prevented search being made for the interesting sea-urchin Achinus fwidus, or the extremely rare 1892-93.] 479 shell Zrochus Duminyi, but as regards the former, scientific enterprise triumphed over natural difficulties, as will appear subsequently. The members therefore strolled along the head- lands in the direction of the extensive sand-dunes that stretch northward to the mouth of the Erne. The Carboniferous Lime- _ stone of which the rocks are composed, teeming with many species of fossils, offered irresistible attractions to the geologists, who were soon busy with hammer and chisel extracting encrinites, corals, and brachiopods, and it is to be feared that the loose stone walls of the enterprising Bundoran Beach Com- mittee were not altogether safe from the ravages of the scientists. Arrived at the sandhills, the party scattered, the various members indulging in their favourite pursuits. They presently met again at tea, when notes were compared. The botanists reported a very poor flora on the sandhills, Auphorbza port- landica being the only noteworthy plant collected. The entomologists likewise had poor luck, but obtained A/elanippe galiata, Flutilla annulatella, and some good species of micro- lepidoptera, and a few beetles. Another member secured a quantity of flood-rubbish near the mouth of the Erne, very rich in small land-shells, and reported having observed a flock of a dozen fine Sheldrake (Z7adorna cornuta) swimming inside the bar ; the marine shells collected offered nothing of special interest. An ornithologist of the party exhibited a specimen in the flesh of the Storm Petrel, which had been cast up dead on the shore the day before. Tea was served at nine o'clock, and shortly after ten an enterprising member of the party pro- posed that a search should now be made for the Achznus lividus, which is so characteristic of the Bundoran rockpools, as the tide would by this time be low. The idea was warmly taken up, and a party of a dozen of the younger members started off for the shore, armed with a supply of candles. They safely reached the base of the cliffs south of the village, and with the aid of lights the sea-urchins was found lining the pretty rock- pools in profusion, and a large number of excellent specimens were Obtained, as well as examples of the local shell Zvochus _ 480 [Proc. B.N.F.C., lineatus. Meanwhile others of the party had discovered an extensive sea-cave which they explored, occasionally drawing forth the echoes of the vaulted cavern with wild whoops—it is to be hoped that no solitary wayfarer of a superstitious turn of mind, wending his way home towards midnight, saw the mysterious dancing lights on the water’s edge, or heard the muffled shrieks that disturbed the calm night air. The party was early astir next morning, and while a large section of the male members had a pleasant bathe in the strong Atlantic water, others found in sketching and photography a more congenial occupation. An eight o’clock breakfast was immediately followed by a start on cars for Ben Bulben and Sligo. The morning was as the previous day had been—hazy, but quite fine—allowing dim views of the precipitous range of mountains that face the ocean. The party rattled through the streets of Bundoran, and out into the country, between hedges fragrant with wild rosesand honeysuckle. The botanists noted tthe great abundance of three plants which are rare in the Belfast district—a thistle (Carduus pratensts), a willow (Salix pentan- dra), and a rush (funcus glaucus). A halt was made at Bun- droose to inspect and photograph the old cross by the roadside ; two uncommon plants, the dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus) and a grass (7risetum flavescens), were found at this place. The route then lay through Cliffony and Grange to the base of Ben Bulben, whose huge limestone cliffs towered up to a height of over 1700 feet. A contingent from Sligo having joined the party, and lunch having been disposed of, the ascent of the mountain was commenced. The party passed over a boggy stretch of land, then up a talus of stony debris, past the northern extremity of the cliffs, and then right up the extremely steep slope of the mountain. The ascent was accomplished in good time, some of the ladies of the party proving themselves most expert mountaineers. A number of rare plants were collected, including the cushion pink (Sz/ene acaulzs), mountain sorrel (Oxyria rentformis), yellow saxifrage (Saxifraga atzoides), green spleenwort (Asflenium viride), and others. On the top of 1892-93.] 481 the mountain the force of the wind was very great, and the haze unfortunately obscured the more distant portions of the glorious panorama of sea and land that spread out on all sides, so that the descent of the southern side was commenced. Near the base of the mountain the botanists obtained the pretty grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) and the water figwort (Scrophularia aquatica). The party all collected at Drumcliff, where stands a round tower, now sadly the worse for the ravages of time, and two ancient crosses. These were duly honoured by the photographers, after which a rapid drive brought the party to Sligo, where the appearance of a procession of eleven machines, coming on the eve of a parliamentary election, produced no little sensation. Dinner was in readiness at the Imperial Hotel, and the members subsequently dispersed for a stroll through the streets, where they gathered a favourable impression of Sligo, which is a neat and flourishing town, with handsome public buildings which may well vie with any town of its size in the north-east, and shows no sign of the stagnation and decay that one sometimes hears of as characterising the western Irish towns. The beautiful ruins of the Dominican Abbey of the Holy Cross were especially the centre of attraction to the Club members, and darkness had set in ere the last of them returned to the hotel. Several members had elected to take a more extended walk than was offered by Ben Bulben alone, and were enthusiastic over the beauties of Glencar, while a member who visited the King’s Mountain returned with a good supply of the extremely rare plant Avenarza ciliata, which he described as plentiful there. i The third morning dawned even finer than the two preceding. Probably the earliest party astir were anumber of young mem- bers, who, failing to get accommodation at the Imperial Hotel, elected to sleep in a tent kindly lent by Mr. Plunkett, which was pitched in a grassy field above the town. They were off at five o’clock to visit the celebrated stone monuments of Carrowmore, three miles south-west of Sligo, whence they returned, having seen as many cromleacs and stone circles in an 482 . [Proc, B,N.F.C., hour spent at this extraordinary place as any of them had seen in all the previous part of their lives; and bringing away, as souvenirs, abundance of two fine orchids, the pyramidal (O. pyramidals) and sweet-scented (Gymnadenia conopsea), which grew plentifully in the meadows around. At the hotel the members had been early astir also, and the old abbey had been photographed from all points of view, and visits paid to the handsome Roman Catholic cathedral. All did full justice to the sumptuous breakfast that Mr. O’Donnell provided at eight o'clock, and then the party embarked in five boats to row up the river and across Lough Gill. The sun shone brightly, while a fresh easterly breeze kept the air deliciously cool, and a more perfect day for the lake could not be imagined. The row up the Garravogue is beautiful in the extreme. The banks are wooded thickly, and above the luxuriant foliage the blue moun- tains stand out, and every turn brings fresh beauties to view. A halt was made to gather white and yellow water-lilies, which grew abundantly in the calm water. Further on a great crested grebe was seen paddling up the river ina state of great con- sternation with her brood of young behind her. Then a narrow passage was passed, and the whole lake came into view, studded with islands, and enclosed among rugged hills, wooded on their lower slopes, a sight that drew from every one’s lips expressions of admiration and delight. A course was shaped for Church Island, and a landing was duly effected at the eastern end of the island. The ruined church, now conserved by the Board of Works, was inspected, and subsequently lunch engaged attention for a short time. ‘Then, after a short stroll through the woods of the island, the secretary's whistle sounded the advance, and, re-embarkation being safely completed, the boats proceeded across the lake to the mouth of the Bonet River, which was admitted by all to be one of the loveliest spots visited on the trip, offering a charming combination of lake and river, low meadows bright with the pink flowers of the valerian, woods of larch and fir, high ivy covered rocks, and beyond the lake the high limestone mountains, The boats ascended the 1892-93.) 483 river’s numerous windings, past the fragmentary ruin of O’Rouarke’s Castle to Drumahaire Quay, where the party landed and walked to the railway station, visiting on their way the fine old banqueting hall of the O’Rouarkes, and regretting that time did not permit of a visit to the extensive abbey ruins _ on the opposite side of the stream. The botanists were pleased to find at Drumahaire quantities of the scale fern or scaly harts- tongue (Ceterach officinarum) of which plenty of roots were obtained. A member, who had visited the wooded hills of Rockwood on foot in preference to the lake trip, brought speci- mens of the broom-rape (Orobanche Hedere), and reported the occurence of the following lepidoptera :—fenonympha Davus, Argynnis Paphia, Melanippe hastata, Emmalesia tentata, and Lupithecta debitiata. At the station a special train was standing in readiness, and it moved off amid hearty cheers for the manager of the line (Mr. Humphreys), for Mr. Plunkett of Enniskillen, and Mr. MacArthur and Mr. White, of Sligo, all of whom had been untiring in their care and attention to the members during the trip. At Enniskillen the special carriage was hitched on to the 4.15 train, and the party proceeded to Clones, where a wait of an hour was taken advantage of to have tea, which was provided by Mrs. Robinson in good style. At the conclusion of the repast a short business meeting was held, the President in the chair, and Messrs. Alfred M‘Kisack and James Doherty were elected members of the Club. Then the journey was resumed, and the train sped rapidly towards Belfast. Two prizes had been offered the previous morning for the best collection of plants made on Ben Bulben and _ neighbour- hood. The senior secretary now at length found time to examine the plants sent in, and he declared Mr. W. D. Donnan and Miss Stelfox to be the winners of the first and second prizes respectively. Mr. Donnan’s set were as follows :—7halicirum minus, Draba incana, Silene acaulis, Sedum Rhodiola, Saxt- Fraga azordes, S. hypnoides, Scrophularia aquatica, Gymna- denia conopsea, Trisetum flavescens, Cystopteris fragilis, As- plenium viride. Belfast was once more reached at nine o’clock, 484 [Proc. B.N.F.C., where tlie members dispersed, taking away with them the most pleasant of impressions of their trip through Fermanagh and Sligo, and of the genuine Irish hospitality and kindness which they met with on every hand. BENEVENAGH. The fourth regular excursion was held on Saturday, July 3oth, when the members visited the fine basaltic mountain of Benevenagh, near Limavady. Rising abruptly from the fertile alluvial plain that lies behind the sands of Magilligan Point, this mountain towers up to a height of over 1,200 feet, its lower slopes clothed in pine woods, above which the high cliffs rise in serried ranges to the lofty summit. The Field Club party left Belfast by the 8.15 train in a saloon carriage which the manager, with his usual and well-known courtesy, had specially reserved. At Ballymena the English mails, which had come by the narrow-guage railway from Larne, were taken aboard. Coleraine and the Bann were soon left behind, and the express flew through the tunnels of Downhill and under the magnificent range of cliffs that faces the Atlantic, and by the kindness of the manager of the line was specially stopped at Bellarena Station to allow the party to alight. A short walk brought the members to the foot of the mountain, and by the permission of the owner, Sir Frederick W. Heygate, his estate was thrown open to them, and an easy ascent was made by a broad avenue through woods of fir, with a dense undergrowth of ferns and grasses. Here the botanists made the first record, a number of specimens of the curious bird’s-nest orchid (Lzstera nidus-avis) being obtained. A short halt was called while the announcement was made that two prizes would be offered for competition during the day— one for the largest collection of flowering plants, the other for the rarest twelve flowering plants obtained. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A., made a few remarks on the botany of the 1892-93.] 485 mountain, and exhibited dried specimens of the very rare group of plants that have long been known to grow on the basaltic cliffs of Benevenagh. He pointed out that these plants are all northern species, and that the Benevenagh flora is a lingering vestige of an arctic vegetation that long ago flourished in the -country—probably during the glacial epoch. The pine woods were soon left behind, and heathy hillocks bright with purple heather succeeded, and beyond them the dark cliffs towered up for several hundred feet. An easy ascent was made at the western end of the range, and a walk over the short turf brought the party to the summit, whence they viewed the broad fertile plain of Magilligan, chequered like patchwork with fields of all shades of green, and fringed with sand dunes and the long yellow sweep of beach. Yonder lay Lough Foyle, Which a sturm was whipping, Covering with mist Lake and shores and shipping. So wrote Thackeray some forty years ago, but on the present occasion the description did not apply, for, though a light mountain shower had just passed, the lough lay blue and calm, with the blue hills of Donegal stretching in picturesque undula- tions from the white lighthouse of Innishowen on the east to Londonderry on the west ; while further westward the winding River Roe lay close by, and far beyond it the cloud-tipped domes of the Sperrin Mountains. However, a short time sufficed for viewing the varied prospect, for competition for the two prizes was keen and eager, and the dangerous edges of the cliffs were closely examined for the botanical rarities that here find a congenial home. The cushion pink (Sz/ene acaulis) was found in abundance along the cliffs; the pretty mountain avens (Dryas octopetala) occurred more sparingly. The minute dwarf willow (Salx herbacea) was also gathered, and two members obtained specimens of the rare Draba incana, and of the extremely rare large-flowered milkwort (Polygala vulgaris var. grandifiora). Other interesting plants noted were the 486 [ Proc, B.N.F.C., storksbill (EHrodium cicutarium), a seaside plant, which was found at several spots at the base and on the summit of the cliffs ; the juniper ( Funzperus nana) in several spots ; the wall ‘rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria) growing on trap-rock; and abundance of the mossy saxifrage (S. ypnordes). The main portion of the members walked along the cliffs to the eastern extremity, and returned along the base. On the descent the field gentian (G. campestris) and an orchid (Hadbenaria viridis) were obtained. The whole party reassembled at Sir F. W. Heygate’s pretty summerhouse on the hill at four o’clock, when tea was provided by Messrs. Inglis & Co. Mr. William Gray, M.R.I.A., was then called to the chair, and in afew happy remarks expressed the pleasure which all had derived from the present excursion. He also said a few words extending a welcome to a member of a kindred society in Scotland who was present. Mr. John Howatt, member of the Geological Society of Glasgow, acknowledged the chair- man’s remarks, and spoke of the pleasure with which he always looked forward to attending the meetings of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club. On the motion of Mr. B. D. Wise, M.I.C.E., seconded by Mr. Charles Bulla, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Sir F. W. Heygate for his kindness to the Club. The election of two new members (Messrs. Lancelot Shaw and J.C. C. Payne), and the appointment of Mr. S. A. Stewart, F.B.S.E., as judge of the botanical collections, brought the formal business to a close, and the members, on their return to the railway, scattered through the woods to complete their collections. Near the railway station a rare thistle (Carduus acanthotdes) was collected ; also two of the cudweeds (Guapha- lium sylvaticum and Filago germanica). At 6.10 the train was taken for Belfast, and the saloon carriage was temporarily converted into a floral arbour by the large collections of flowers that were spread out for: examination by the judge. At Ballymena the result of the competition was announced as follows :—For the largest collection of flowering 1892-93.] 487 plants—Mr. J. J Andrew, 190 species ; Miss N. Coulson, 128 ; Mr. R Hanna, 127; Mrs. Wise, to4 ; Miss Knowles, 102; and Mr. H. Malcolmson, 77. For the rarest twelve plants—1, Mr. Praeger; 2, Miss M. Knowles; 3, Mr. Bigger. The winner retired from the competition, as he had assisted in the judging of the collections. His set were :—Dradba tncana, Sisymbrium thalianam, Polygala grandifiora, Silene acauls, Hrodium cicutarium (fromsummit), Dryas octopela, Carduus acanthordes, Flieracium anglicum, Salix herbacea, Funiperus nana, Listera nidus-avis, Agrostis pumila. Miss Knowles was accordingly declared winner, and Miss Coulson was awarded the prize in the first competition, as Mr. Andrew retired in her favour. An entomologist of the party noted the following butterflies on the mountain :—Black rustic (Agrestis. lucernea), antler moth (Chareas gramints), and Crambus tristillus. Belfast was reached shortly after nine o’clock, and the mem- bers separated, well satisfied with their visit to Benevenagh. DRUMBO AND GIANT’S RING. A half-day excursion to Drumbo and Giant’s Ring was held on Saturday, 3rd August. A party of over 60 left Donegall Square at 2.30 on wagonettes and cars, and during the afternoon the Club’s usual good luck was dominant, no rain falling on the members, although heavy thunder showers were observed around Belfast. The pretty cottages of Newtownbreda, covered with purple Clematis Fackmant, and yellow Tropeolum canariensts, were much admired, whilst the over-arching trees on the road to Purdysburn afforded a pleasing shade from the bright sunshine. After passing Ballylesson and approaching Drumbo magnifi- cent views were obtained—the Lagan Valley in one direction and Belfast in the other, Cave Hill and Black Mountain standing out most distinct and clear, whilst the shadows of the heavy thunder-clouds chased each other across the vista. 488 [Proe, B.N.F.C., A halt was made at Drumbo church to inspect the ancient clochteac in the graveyard. Mr. Lockwood, C.E., gave an interesting sketch of this very early round tower. Drumbo— meaning in Irish “ The Ridge of the Cow ’’—was a religious settlement early in the sixth century, and had for abbot St. Mochumma, brother of St. Domangart, after whom Slieve Donard gets its name. The round tower now measures about 32 feet 6 inches in height, 50 feet in circumference, and 8 feet 6 inches in the interior diameter. This remnant has been well conserved at the expense of Mr. Robert Young, C.E., a former President of the Club. Miss Stokes, in her ‘ Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Ireland,” places this bell tower amongst the very earliest erected in the country—probably the eighth century saw it built with the rude field stones dug out by the toilers of an early Christian settlement. The flat-arched doorway faces east, and is some distance from the ground ; it is 5 feet 6 inches high, 22 inches wide at the base, and 19 inches at the top. Whilst the photographers were busy with the bell tower, others of the party viewed the neat church adjoining, and the in- teresting old clock in the vestry. A‘ter a short walk down the hill, vehicles were mounted, and way made towards the Giant’s Ring. The fine cromleac is in the centre of a huge lis 193 yards in diameter, whose enclosing rath of considerable height is about 80 feet wide at the base. The whole is enclosed by a modern wall, and at the gate the following inscription is cut :—“ This wall for the protection of the Giant’s Ring was erected A.D. 18:2 by Arthur, third Vis- count of Dungannon, on whose estate this singular relique of antiquity is situated, and who earnestly recommends it to the care of his successors.” The tomb of Viscount Dungannon is in the old churchyard at Belvoir Park. Mr. Lockwood again made a few remarks, clearly explaining the historic facts con- nected with these evidences of the past. He considered these cyclopean remains to be the places of burial of important per- sonages, and in nowise connected with druids or druid wor- ship; he gave instances and facts to support this theory, 1892-93.) 489 Much adverse comment was made on the tradesman who has vulgarly printed his advertisement upon the monument, and it was thought steps should be taken to make him remove the same. A short business meeting was held, at which Miss Emma Boyd was elected a member of the Club, after which a pleasant drive by Shaw’s Bridge brought the party to the city. LAGAN CANAL. The valley of the Lagan was the place chosen for the fifth excursion for the season, and well pleased indeed was the large party that assembled with the route selected. Over one hundred members and friends assembled at the Great Northern Railway on Saturday morning, 27th August, where, through the usual courtesy of the management, special carriages were reserved, and a start was made for Moira. On arrival there the numerous boats in the adjoining canal, that had been kindly put at the service of the Club by the Lagan Navigation Company, including their fine inspection boat, were soon filled with an enthusiastic gathering of ladies and gentlemen, bent upon the examination and study of natural life in its every phase. Some considerable ingenuity was required on the part of the secre- taries in stowing away so many in the flotilla at their disposal, but after a short interval all was successfully accomplished, and, the tow-boys having mounted horse,and the helmsmen being duly cautioned, the aquatic procession floated gaily down the canal. The steerers at first strove to keep the centre, but this was not at all pleasing to the botanists, who were only satisfied when the boats hugged the bank, or even stuck in the reeds, for the worse the steering the greater their pleasure, as thus ample opportunities were afforded to gather into the boats all sorts of water plants. The unusual spectacle of such a large water-party wending its way between luxuriant meadows and rich corn-lands was watched with interest by little clusters of 490 [Proc. B.N.F.C., the peasantry at all the vantage points, and many pleasantries passed between the visitors and the visited. Atnoon thesk y was clouded for a short time, but soon the weather became glorious, when the views of the distant hills were most beautiful. The contour of the White Mountain, Collin, Black Mountain, and Divis to the left was much admired, whilst the cultivated rising ground to the right lent an air of comfort and quiet pastoral beauty that readily pleased the fancy. The towers of the different churches enhanced the scene and acted as landmarks in denoting the different parishes passed through. The first stoppage was made at the Union Locks. Here the secretaries announced that a prize would be given for the best collection of aquatic plants made on the excursion. A number of good specimens were obtained during the day in the waters of the canal and the pools and ditches adjoining. The sweet sedge (Acorus calamus) was noticed growing along the canal banks all the way from Moira to Lambeg, attaining a maximum profusion a little above Lisburn. This curious plant is not an original native, but was introduced by Sir John Rawdon into his gardens at Moira over a century ago, whence it has spread through the waters of the district. The pretty flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus) grew in profusion all along the canal, and in less quantity the arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia). The water-radish (Armoracia amphibium), gipsy-wort (Lyco- pus europeus), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) were abundant on the damp margins, and below the water, which was, unfortunately for the collectors, rather high, flourished numerous pond-weeds, among which the fennel-leaved (f. pectinatus) was conspicuous. Above Lisburn a single large plant of the horse-bane (Cicuta virosa) was observed. Al- though most of the party preferred the pleasant towing in the boats, yet a goodly number took advantage of the walk along the banks, the different stoppages at the locks giving them ample time to botanise along the edges of the water and the marshes adjoining. ‘lhe town of Lisburn having been passed, the banks of the river became more deeply wooded, but as time 1892-93.] 491 was pressing regret was expressed that a visit could not be paid to the only spot in the district where the lesser burnet ( Potertum Sanguisorba) was lately discovered by a member Mr. J. H. Davies, of Glenmore, who joined the party at that point, having assisted some of the members to gather another rare plant, the bitter cress (Cardamine amara). The square- stalked St. John’s-wort (Hypericum dubtum) was also found at Glenmore. A few more windings between the banks brought the members to Drum Bridge and tea. Rarely if ever was tea more heartily enjoyed or more pleasantly arranged than on this occasion. On a bank in a meadow, between the two waters, surrounded by charming scenery, under the shadow of the cross on Drum church, a plentiful repast was spread, to which ample justice was done by the wearied naturalists. Advantage was taken of the picturesque group in the evening shadows by the photographers present, and many records were made for albums and friends. A short formal meeting was then held, when, after a few pleasant remarks from the President, Mr. John Vinycomb, F.R.S.A., Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger was appointed to judge speci- mens collected in competition for the prize, which was awarded to Mr. R. Hanna. The following new members were elected:— Mrs. M‘Kean, Mrs. Proctor Smythe, Miss Crawley, Rev. John E. Armstrong, Messrs. George Allibon, W. T. Clements, W. Costi- gan, Gardner Hardy, Wm. M‘Candless, and W. G. MacKenzie, M.D. After a short time spent in inspecting the beautiful church of Drum, and photographing the handsome lytch gate, which makes such a pretty picture when crossing the double bridge, boats were again boarded and the journey towards home resumed. The evening light, with the rising moon, will leave pictures of the valley of the Lagan in the minds of those who were present that will not be readily effaced, and will add more to the list of those who, since the days of Ptolemy, in the beginning of the second century, have known the beauties of the Logia or Lagan River. Shaw’s Bridge, Edenderry, and Belvoir Park, each rivalling the other in interest and beauty, were 492 [Proc. B.N.F.C., quickly passed, and the collecting of specimens had ceased save at Edenderry, where the find of the day was made by Mr. Praeger in the Dutch rush (Aguwsetum hyemale), which was discovered growing plentifully on the Down side. Such a pleasant and profitable day spent in our own district must endear our land and its associations to all of us, and lead us to say— Oh! the green land, the old land, Far dearer than the gold land, With all its landscape glory, and unchanging summer skies ; Let others seek their pleasures In the chase of golden treasures, Be mine a dream of Erin where the pleasant Lagan lies. THE KNOCKAGH. On Saturday afternoon, September roth, a party of about 26 left Belfast by the 2.30 train for Carrick Junction. On arrival there the party at once proceeded up the bluffs of the Knockagh, tarrying here and there on the upward way to survey the fine views of Belfast, and the Lough spread out below, studded with the white sails of pleasure boats. On arrival at the base of the cliffs a halt was called, whilst Mr. Mann Harbison gave a lucid descriptive sketch of the geological formation of the district, pointing out the distinctive basaltic nature of the hill. After- wards the party broke up into groups and scattered themselves over the different portions of the hill, some traversing the base of the cliffs on botanical pursuits, whilst others wandered along the brow of the hill seeking for picturesque effects, and others again crossed the summit and walked to the verge of the reser- voirs of the Belfast Water Commissicners. Although it was late in the season, the botanists of the party collected some in- teresting plants, among which were fine specimens of the stone bramble (Aeubus saxatilis) with clusters of ripe bright-red fruit. A brief formal meeting was held, at which Mr. James 1892-93. | 493 MacDonald was elected a member of the Club. After a pleasant afternoon the party assembled again at 6.30 at the Junction Station, and returned to Belfast. KILLOUGH AND ARDGLASS. The tenth and last excursion took place on Saturday, 17th September, when the interesting neighbourhood of Ardglass, recently opened up by the enterprise of the County,Down Railway Company, was visited. A party of seventy-five, which swelled to ninety ere their destination was reached, assembled at the railway shcrtly after ten o’clock, and were soon speeding through the golden harvest fields of County Down, the journey being agreeably varied by the inspection of numerous photos. taken by members on former excursions. Leaving Downpatrick, the new portion of the line was entered upon, and a steep gradient of I in 50 brought the train to the summit level, when Bright Castle was seen perched high on a hilltop, and near by, on a lower eminence, a fine earthen rath or fort. An equally steep descent followed, then a mile or two of level, and the train _drew up at its destination, and the party lost no time in getting under weigh. Kiilough Bay was first visited, and its eastern shores explored. Here, in spite of the lateness of the season, the botanists of the party found ample scope for investigation. Several fields were observed gay with the brilliant flowers of the common red poppy (Papaver rheas), a plant which, though abundant further southward, is extremely rare in the North-East. On a gravelly bank the pretty rest-harrow (Ononis arvensis) was obtained, and in fields adjoining abundance of the field convolvulus (C. arvensis) and two dead nettles (Lamium intermedium and L. amplexicaule). ‘The best finds, however, fell to Mr. Praeger, who obtained the round prickly-headed poppy (P. ybridum) on a roadside, and on walls by the sea the rigid fescue-grass (Yestuca rigida), both ‘of these plants being of extreme rarity in the North of Ireland. 494 [Proc. B.N.F.C., On the shore several other good plants were obtained—a rare drop-wort (Cinanthe lachenaliz), the sea-beet (Beta marttima), the brookweed (Samolus valerandi), and a sedge (Carex distans). Presently a high projecting bank of Boulder Clay was reached, and the party were called together while the senior secretary drew attention to several interesting geological pheno- mena in the immediate neighbourhood. These consisted of vertically uptilted Silurian rocks, beautifully rounded, grooved, and polished by glacial action ; overlying them a bed of bluish Boulder Clay, capped by thirty or forty feet of Post-glacial gravelly beds, the lower layers of which have, by the infiltration of some cementing material, become consolidated into a hard conglomerate. When these geological features had been thoroughly examined the party again proceeded, and made their way along the picturesque shore towards Ardglass, where glorious views of the Mourne Mountains were obtained to the south. On the downs the rest-harrow was found growing in several large patches, and specimens of the centaury (27ythrea centaurium) with white flowers were obtained. Upon reaching Ardglass the picturesque ruins of Margaret’s Castle and Catherine’s Castle were examined with interest, and speculation was rife as to their origin : whether they were intended as the strongholds for some of the marauding followers of John de Courcy, or whether they were simply fortified trading stores the same as numerous others in the vicinity of Dublin; for Ard- glass, we are told, was in the olden times second only in im- portance to Carrickfergus as a trading centre, Belfast not being even mentioned at that time. It is quite probable that the new railway will restore Ardglass to its ancient prestige. Jordan’s Castle was, however, the chief rallying point, and nearly all the party ascended up its winding stairs to the breeze-swept turrets that afford such a magnificent prospect of the beautiful harbour and surrounding district. Much admiration was expended on the still perfect columbarium that occupies one angular tower of the castle, and which must have afforded ample breeding space for the pigeons used for the Baron’s table, or perhaps in 1892-93.] 495 those times the ‘‘ homer” was taken advantage of, as their ser- vices would be very useful in the time of war. This castle was conferred by Henry III. on Jordan de Sankville in the year 1217. After the photographers had made careful records of the different subjects of interest, the Castle of Ardglass, the former residence of the Beauclercs, was inspected. The site and sur- roundings are very beautiful, but the castle, which is modern; is poor and dilapidated. The broken remains of a rather fine sculpture representing the Virgin and Child lie close to the yard gate, and are worthy of a better fate. Something should be done for the permanent preservation of this interesting statue. After a short visit to the modern King’s Castle, where the party were agreeably received by Mrs. Russell, the present owner, the party adjourned to the Castle Hotel, where an excellent tea was provided by Mr. Moore. After tea the business meeting of the Club was held, Mr. W. H. Phillips, F.R.H.S., in the chair. The following were elected members of the Club :—Mrs. J. C. C. Payne, Rev. E. A. Cooper, Messrs. George Fullerton, J. S. Mitchell, and Pakenham Stewart. The secretary took advan- tage of this the closing excursion to makea few remarks relative to the season’s work, pointing out the unusually large average of attendance at the various excursions. A short walk was then taken round by the pier to the ruins of Ardtole Church, the ancient parish church of Ardglass, which was used as such till the woodkern of Macartan’s country came down and slew the inhabitants whilst attending mass there. The ruin is picturesque, and the view through the east window is very beautiful. In the field to the west is a fine souterrain 100 feet long, now unfortunately closed. About Ardglass some good plants were collected ; the rigid fescue-grass was again found, growing in some quantity on walls by the sea, in com- pany with another uncommon species (Schlerochloa loliacea). The black horehound (Ballota alba), white mustard (Sznapzs alba), and a sedge (Carex vulfina) were obtained close to the town. Some commotion was caused amongst the botanists by the discovery of a vase full of another rare plant, the musky 496 [Proc. B.N.F.C., storksbill (Hvodium moschatum), in a shop in the town, and exhaustive enquiries and search after its habitat were made without result ; at the last moment it was stated that the plant grew ina garden about a mile from the town. At half-past six the return journey was commenced. A momentary stoppage at Ballyknowe enabled the botanists to note two more plants, the toad-flax (Zinaria vulgaris) and a rather rare spurge (Euphorbia exigua). At Downpatrick the Club’s carriages were hitched on the main line train, and Belfast was duly reached at 8.30. | 1892-93. | 497 WINTER SESSION. Notz.—The authors of the various Papers, of which abstracts are here appended, are alone responsible for the views expressed in them. SOCIAL MERTING. Pr HE Winter Session was opened on 28th October with a Social Meeting in the Exhibition Hall, Botanic Avenue. Qn the occasion of the Social Meeting last year, the accommodation at the Belfast Museum in College Square proved, for the first time in the Club’s history, inadequate for the large attendance of members and their friends, and on the present occasion the spacious hall in Botanic Avenue was filled to overflowing, the numbers far exceeding those of any meeting since the foundation of the society. From seven to eight o'clock tea was dispensed by an active body of lady mem- bers. Immediately after tea, the chair was taken by the President, who, in his opening remarks, drew attention to the steady progress and growth of the Club,:and to its present very satisfactory condition, as shown by the large attendance of members and visitors, and the valuable and interesting collec- tions, mainly the work of members, that were on view. After some announcements by the secretaries, the meeting became general, and the company spent a busy and profitable time in examining the works of nature and art that crowded the tables and walls. The specialité of the evening was an extensive collection illustrating the past condition and history of the City of Belfast and district. On a centre screen was arranged one of the best collections of maps ever shown in Belfast illustrative of local and general 498 [Proc. B.N.F.C. Irish subjects, kindly exhibited by Mr. Lavens M. Ewart, J.P., M.R.L.A., who also exhibited many other views of Belfast and neighbourhood. Mrs. Moore lent several very clever sketches by her late husband, Dr. James Moore, representing old corners and entries of Belfast long since removed. The President was well represented in two panoramic views, one of Belfast from Castle- reagh, the other of Larne Harbour; also in the historical painting of the fight between the Clan Savage and the MacGilmoreon Ben- Madighan. Several paintings by the late A. Nicholl, R.H.A., were shown by his kinsman, Mr. Wm. Nicholl. A unique view of the old paper mill was shown by Mr. John Kane, LL.D., also a view of Castleton. A very clever and comprehensive series of the old entries of Belfast was shown by Mr. Ernest Hanford. The well- known sea-fight between the ‘‘ Paul Jones” and H.M.S. Ranger in Belfast Lough wascleverly painted and shown by Mr. Joseph Carey. Two very fine old engravings illustrating the sea-fight between Francois Thurot and the English, and the subsequent defeat of the former in 1760, were lent by Mr. Francis Joseph Bigger, together with some other views of local interest. Miss Carruthers lent some clever sketches of old houses, particularly of the now removed Castle of Ormeau. Mr. S. Ramsey’s sketches in oils of views now passed away from our city were very interesting ; the premier place, however, was given to Mr. Clarke’s Old High Street in 1791. A fine view of Donegall Quay from Queen’s Bridge was shown by Mr. Lyttle ; whilst perhaps the finest set of modern views of the city ever brought together were shown by Marcus Ward & Co., Limited. Mr. Robert Young, C.E., lent the original of a very clever drawing by George Peirie of the Long Bridge, and also some other valuable pictures. Mr. William Harper’s picture of “A Fair Client,” representing a young widow and the late Attorney Joy, was much admired, as was also his general view of Belfast. Mr. William Swanston, F.G.S., exhibited a set of fine maps and engravings, some modern and some old. The other exhibitors were Messrs. James Magill, J. Douglas, Wm. Gray, M.R.LA. ; J. J. Phillips, J. Malcolm, J. Simms, E. W. White, Miss Clarke, 1892-93.] 499 and the Belfast Water Commissioners. One of the most interesting and valuable exhibits was a sketch-book of the late A. Nicholl, R.H.A., lent by Mrs. Andrews, which was quite a treasure-house of local scenes. Mr. J. Simms’ list of old Belfast merchants, dated 1803, who formed our first Insurance Com- pany, attracted considerable attention, as did also his plan of the Volunteer Review held in the Bog Meadows about 1782. A most valuable and representative collection of Belfast-printed books was displayed by Mr. Ewart; whilst Mr. Swanston and Mr. Malcolm showed the manuscript records of the Belfast Yeomanry Corps. The Club’s new albums, containing over three hundred platinotype photographs of local antiquities and geological subjects, were much admired, their arrangement by the secretaries having been just completed in time for the meeting. The walls were also enhanced by the fine geological prize set of sketches by Miss S. M. Thompson, the geological prize photos. of Miss Tate, and photos. of the Ballyrudder gravels by Mr. George Donaldson. Some fine photos. of rude stone monu- ments near Warrenpoint were shown by Dr. Douglas ; whilst the Club’s photographic benefactor, Mr. R. Welch, con- tributed a series of views, taken on excursions, unsurpassable for beauty and excellence of workmanship, and at the same time presented a set of his Sligo antiquities to the Club’s albums, to augment his previous gifts made on the starting of these local records. In the section devoted to Natural History a number of highly interesting exhibits were on view. Conspicuous among these were two handsome cases illustrative of native wild life, the work of Mr. J. Sheals, taxidermist, Belfast, and deserving of high praise from both a zoological and an artistic point of view. The one consisted of a pair of corn-crakes (Crex pratensis), with their infant brood, seeking for food amid the congenial shelter of tall grass; the other ofa pine marten (Martes abtetinum), which is very cleverly set up as standing on a large branch, holding in its teeth a squirrel which it has just captured : both 500 [Proc. B.N.P.C., of these handsome groups have been obtained for the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society through the exer- tions of the Ulster Fauna Committee, the former having been presented to the Society by Mr. James Thompson, J.P., Macedon, and the latter by Major Percival Maxwell, D.L., Finnebrogue, Downpatrick, on whose estate the marten was captured. There were also on exhibition an excellent set of beetles from County Armagh, for which the Rev. W. F. John- son, M.A., obtained a Club’s prize last year ; a fine set of local lepidoptera, exhibited by Mr. Isaac Waugh; and a number of aquaria, and glass jars containing various strange live animals, which were under the superintendence of Mr. John Hamilton. There were shown the well-known but seldom seen chameleon, the curious little green tree-frog, the large American bull-frog, and a beautiful green lizard; while the glass jars swarmed with newts, water-scorpions, water-beetles, cray-fish, and many smaller forms of aquatic life. Inthe department of botany, Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I.A., showed a series of very rare plants from County Armagh, the result of a few weeks botanising in that neighbourhood ; several of these have not been previously found in Ireland, and none of them are recorded from the north-central district of Ireland. The same exhibitor showed a series of plants illustrating the additions to the flora of the North-east of Ireland since the publication of Messrs. Stewart and Corry’s work on the subject, and also a number of the rarest plants obtained on the Club’s excursions of the past season. A beautiful stand of exotic ferns and foliage plants, artistically grouped, were shown by Mr. Charles M‘Kimm, cura- tor of the Belfast Botanic Gardens ; this collection included over sixty different varieties of the maiden-hair fern (Addzantum). At the lower end of the room a magnificent series of dried and mounted specimens of species and varieties of British ferns were exhibited by an “old hand”’ at this subject, Mr. W. H. Phillips, F.R.H.S. ; the same gentleman, in company with Mr. Praeger, was responsible for a collection of several hundreds of fresh- cut fronds of choice varieties of British ferns, which were 1892-93.] Sor placed at the disposal of the company at the close of the evening, who eagerly availed themselves of the permission to select such as they fancied, with the result that the table was soon com- pletely cleared. The science of geology was represented by some fine coloured photographs of Swiss glaciers, kindly lent by Mr. Robert Brownlie ; interesting specimens of small basal- tic columns from a quarry at Killead, shown by Mr. W. F. M‘Kinney ; and a good series of fossils from the local Carboni- ferous beds, for which Miss S. M. Thompson gained a Club’s prize last year. On another table were an excellent series of geodes from Iowa, U.S.A., which have been recently presented to the Natural History and Philosophical Society by Mr. W. E. Praeger; these curious concretionary masses, which have the form of hollow spheres of rock filled with a variety of beau- tiful crystals, are found in the State of Iowa in a bed of impure limestone which lies at the base of the Carboniferous formation. A large suspended label, ‘‘ Microscopical Section,” showed where a number of adepts were displaying the wonders of that unseen world, teeming with animal and vegetable life in the myriad different forms that pervade the air and water, and, indeed, every object around us. The exhibitors were Messrs. James Stelfox, W. S. M‘Kee, W. D. Donnan, Joseph Wright, F.G.S.; Wm. Hanna, B.A.; W. Gray, M.R.LA.; E. M‘Connell, S. Cunningham, and H. M'‘Cleery. Among the subjects illus- trated were pond life, living organisms, Foraminifera, phos- phorescent animalcule, and potato-disease fungus. Other exhibits which were on view were flint implements from various foreign countries, showing their likeness and unlikeness to Irish forms, by Mr. S. F. Milligan, M.R.I.A.; while fine stereoscopes with glacier and other views were lent by Mr. James Wilson, M.E., and Mr. James O'Neill, M.A. At nine o’clock silence was called, while the senior secretary read the nominations of new members which had been handed in; they were as follow :—Miss E. Bruce, Mrs. Isaac Green, Mrs. White-Spunner, Messrs. Samuel E. Acheson, S. D. Bell, Hamilton Carse, Henry Cosgrove, George G. Crymble, Adam 502 [ Proc. B.N.F.C., Dufhn, Alexander Hamilton, James A. Hanna, Robert Hill, Samuel F. Keith, John A. Kirkwood, Joseph Lewis, John C. M‘Cullough, Hugh M‘Williams, F. H. O'Flaherty, J. Finlay Peddie, C.E.; John C. W. Reid, Fred. W. Rew, James Ritchie, Samuel Robinson, E. C. Stacke, M.D.; David Steel, Robert J. Steel, and William Watson. The names were formally submitted to the meeting, and the new members declared duly elected. A half-hour’s display with the oxy-hydrogen lantern was then given by Mr. William Nicholl, the subjects illustrated being principally views taken on the Club’s last year’s excur- sions, the three-day trip to the beautiful Sligo district being especially conspicuous. Aquatic life was also shown by means of a narrow trough of water, filled with various forms of animal life, used as a slide ; and ants and spiders were shown in the same manner. The conversazione was then resumed, and the company did not separate until a late hour. The first business meeting of the Winter Session was held on Tuesday evening, November 22nd, the President (Mr. John Vinycomb, M.R.I.A.) in the chair. The first business was to receive the President's opening address, which consisted of a discourse on the subject of the origin and significance of our national emblems. The President said that on the first night of meeting of the Winter Session last year it had been his privilege to give some discursive remarks upon the subject of ‘ Symbolism,” and the important part it has played in the history of our race. ‘Lhis night he proposed to be more special, and devote the time at his disposal to placing before them some information bearing upon our national emblems, remarking upon their history, their meanings, and the changes that have taken place from time to time in the armorial ensigns of our country owing to wars, changes of dynasty, &c. Every nation of ancient or modern times seems to have found it necessary to possess some distin- guishing mark or marks by which the national existence is 1892-93.| 503 symbolised and its authority represented. The uses of national insignia are, however, as imperative to-day as at any previous period. The national insignia of the United Kingdom possess a most interesting story, of which it is the epitome, the changes that have taken place from time to time serving as links in the chain of momentous events in our national history. These changes which have taken place on the Royal Shield, from William the Conqueror to the present time, too tedious to describe in detail, he had for greater clearness represented in a series of diagrams. THE ROYAL ARMS." In describing the national insignia, the Royal achievement is the first and most important thing to consider. It is a com- bination of the armorial devices or honourable emblems borne by the three sister kingdoms. Under the term “ Royal Arms” is embraced :— (a) The Arms of ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, and IRELAND, quartered upon one shield. (6) Crest—upon a Royal Crown a lion statant, guardant, or, imperially crowned. (c) Supporters—a gold lion and a silver unicorn. (2) The Motto—Diev et Mon Droit, adopted as a cri de guerre by our Plantagenet kings in their expeditions into France. 504 [Proc. B.N.F.C., (e) The ribbon and motto of the most noble Order of the Garter encircling the shield; and, as symbolic and decorative adjuncts, the helmet of the sovereign with its appropriate mantling surmount the shield, while underneath, the floral emblems of the three countries are displayed. NATIONAL FLAGS—-THE ROYAL STANDARD AND THE UNION JACK. The Royal Standard is a banner of large dimensions, the quartered arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland occupying the entire field. While the Royal Arms and the Royal Standard are the special emblems of Imperial sovereignty, and indicate the Royal presence or deputed authority, the national ensign of the country is the Union Jack, the second in rank of the flag family. THE QUARTERINGS ON THE ROYAL SHIELD. 1st and 4th Quarterings— Gules three lions passant guardant, tn pale, or,” for England. It is remarkable that, with the exception of the eagle, the lion is the only living creature figured in the early coats of arms. Lions are said to have been so borne by the sovereigns of England from the time of the Norman William. Planche, who fully discusses the subject in his ‘‘ Pursuivant of Arms,” says that the earliest intimation we receive of anything like a heraldic decoration in England is in the time of Henry I., a.p. 1127; and that the earliest undoubted representation ofa Royal achievement occurs on the seal of Prince John, afterwards King of England, on which he is represented bearing a shield with two lions upon it. Writers seem to be agreed that the Royal Arms of England were two lions from the time of the Conquest till the marriage of Henry II. with Eleanor of Aquitaine, when the lion borne in the arms of that province 1892-93.] 505 was added to the English shield, completing the number still seen in the Royal achievement ; be this as it may, Richard _Cceur-de-Leon, during the lifetime of his father, certainly bore two lions (as seen on his first great seal), which may be blazoned as ‘wo lions combattant. On the great seal of Richard, after his return from the Holy Land and his captivity in Ger- many, A.D. 1194, we have the first representation of the three lions, or leopards as they were at this time sometimes designated. Lions were depicted only in the act of combat (that is, rampant) ; in a walking position they were heraldically leopards, a practice which has continued as late as the fifteenth century, and which has given rise to many mistakes in the description of the English shield. ‘Lion Leopards” was a term afterwards applied to all lions not rampant. It is a remarkable fact that all these lions are the insignia of territories which have long been separated from the crown of Eng- land; the first is said to denote Normandy, the second Poictou, and the third, as stated, Aquitaine. About the same period (that is, during the eleventh century), the monarchs of Eng- land, the kings of Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Leon, Bohemia, Hungary, the native Princes of Wales, the Dukes of Normandy, the Counts of Flanders, Holland, Hainault, &c., appear as with one accord to have adopted the lion as a device or heraldic bearing, illustrating in a remarkable manner the popularity of the emblem, and the readiness of each of these heroes to ‘assume a virtue if they had it not.” It may be mentioned here that Dickens commits a curious anachronism in placing three lions upon the Norman standard at the Battle of Hastings. The following passage from “The Child’s History ” is one in which it is attempted to be shown that some of the great novelist’s prose writings are virtually blank verse :— Soldiers with torches going to and fro Sought the corpse of Harold ’mongst the dead. The warrior, worked with stones and golden thread, Lay low, all torn and soiled with English blood, And the three lions kept watch o’er the field. 506 [Proc. B.N.F.C., THE LION IN HERALDRY. The lion plays such an important part in our national insignia that a few words must here be devoted to his majesty. “ Chiefest of all terrestrial animals,’’ according to old Guillam, the lion occupies the foremost place in the heraldry of every land that has beheld his majestic form and heard the sound of his mighty voice. It may be interesting to enquire in what light he has been represented in past times by his contemporary—man. From the earliest times the lion appears to have been a favourite allegorical device. By universal consent he has been assigned the dignity of the “‘ king of beasts,” and endowed by tradition with powerful physical and also mental qualities, such as courage and generosity, and made almost equal to man himself. His whole appearance, with his noble human-like expression, has in it something truly magnificent, and seems to be almost a too powerful adversary of man, and however far back we trace the history of mankind we find him represented on the monuments of every epoch. In Egypt, Africa, Persia, and Greece we have abundant traces of the terror inspired by his name. A golden lion was the emblem of the tribe of Judah, a silver lion was the badge of the Macedonian conqueror. Lions, not tigers, were, we are told in Pocock’s “ India in Greece,” the insignia of many early Indian dynasties. ‘ The head of the lion,’’ says Maurice (Oriental Trinities, p. 232), ‘‘ both in Persia and Tartary was in a peculiar manner sacred to the solar light: the superior strength, nobility, and grandeur of that animal, and from his being a distinguishing constellation of the Zodiac, the sun shining forth in his greatest splendour from that sign, rendered him a proper type of the sun. In their allegorical fancy the majestic orb of his countenance, his glowing eyeballs and shaggy mane spreading in glory around like rays or clustering sparks of fire, would suggest, better than aiiy other in the animal kingdom, that luminary to the Oriental mind.” As an emblem of power and sovereignty the lion has been assigned the highest place, and we find abundant use made of 1892-93.] 507 him in this respect by early nations, both in their writings and art representations. Heroes thought it an honour to be com- pared tohim. The lion hunt was a Royal amusement. In another point of view he became the emblem of solitude. Mark, the Evangelist, opens his Gospel with the mission of John the Baptist, “ The voice of one crying in the wilderness,” hence his symbol—a lion—which like John is a denizen of the desert. He also sets forth the Royal dignity of Christ, and dwells upon his power manifested in his resurrection from the dead. The lion was accepted in ancient times as a symbol of the resur- rection because the young lion was awakened to vitality by the breath, the tongue, and the roaring of its sire. This mightiest of animals became figuratively the guardian of places held sacred by man, watching before the graves of departed heroes and the tem- ples of the gods. There are twenty-four lions around the tomb erected by Artemisia, 353 B.c., to her hero husband Mausoleus. We find the lion represented as “the watcher” over the gateway of Mycene, as they were beforethe Trojan War, fitting emblem of the courage and virtue of the patriot or of the whole nation, as in the lions on the base of Nelson’s Monument in London. The phystognomy of the lion bears an unmistakable resemblance to the human countenance in its noblest aspects ; this fact was noticed in very early times, and is alluded to in 2 Samuel xxiii. 20, and 1 Chronicles xi. 22 in the description of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who “slew two lion-like men of Moab,” from their noble leonine appearance and valiant bearing ; and men, not content to assume the likeness and high qualities of the king of beasts, have in every age called themselves by his name, as if emulous of his virtues. Leo, Leonidas, Leopold, Leon, and various other forms of the name in different languages were favourite appellations. Many of the Emperors of Constantinople adopted the cognomen on their accession to the throne of the Czesars, and of the two hundred and fifty-two popes who have guided the destinies of the Latin church, the present Sovereign Pontiff is the thirteenth who has assumed the grandly sounding name of Leo. 508 [ Proc. B.N.F.C., The symbolic use of the lion’s name is not confined to western nations. Inthe great East, warlike potentates blazon him upon their standards and armour as emblems of themselves and the valour of their people. The imperial standard of the great Mogul pictured in Tavernier Terry’s Voyage to India repre- sents the sun rising in glory behind the body of a recumbent lion ; the ensign of Persia is a lion passant guardant holding a sword, the sun in splendour rising behind—all emblems of the highest kind. A writer in ‘‘ Nature and Art,” referring to the lion in the East, says. “The present inhabitants of the Punjaub, the Sikhs, were so named trom the Hindustanee verb Sikna, to teach, and they claimed to be men of peace from being taught; but the cruelties of the Mahommedans of Northern India caused them to become men of war, and they called themselves Lions, which in their language is SiIncH. Every SIKH now calls him- self by this name; DUNLEEP SINGH is the Lion Dunleep, and his father in like manner, RUNJEET S1nGH, the Lion Runjeet.” The name of the lion in Welsh, Gaelic, and the Scandinavian dialects appears to indicate that the cognomen, and probably the idea of this animal, was from a Latin source. Through the whole course of our national literature he is represented in the noblest light; our greatest writers compared their heroes to him, his courage and magnanimity affording the highest type of these qualities. Shakespeare, in his histori- cal plays, has numberless allusions to the English lions— “ Your brother kings and monarchs of the earth Do all expect that you should rouse yourself As did the former lions of your blood.”—-(H. V., 1., 2.) ** The awless lion could not wage the fight Nor keep his princely heart from Richard’s hand.’’—(K. J., 1, 1.) Richard Coeur-de-Leon fitly embodied the medizeval conception of the valorous chief and leader capable of every daring. “The man that once did sell the lion’s skin Whilst the beast lived, was killed in hunting him.’’—(H. V., 4, 3.) The figurative personification of the lion overcoming his 1892-93.] 509 enemies (also typified by the armorial bearings) is finely intro- duced in Lord Macaulay’s “‘ Armada ”— “‘ Look how the lion of the sea lifts up his ancient crown, And underneath his deadly paws treads the gay lilies down; So stalked he when he turned to flight on that famed Picard field, Bohemia’s plume, Genoa’s bow, and Czsar’s eagle shield ; So glared he when at Agincourt in wrath he turned to bay, And crushed and torn beneath his claws the princely hunters lay.’’ The introduction of the French lilies on the English shield by Edward III. in 1340, when prosecuting his claim to the French throne, and the various changes in form and position until finally expunged in 1801 were dwelt on in detail. The successive changes in the different reigns were illustrated by a series of heraldic shields cleverly sketched out in diagram form. THE SUPPORTERS OF THE ROYAL SHIELD. Until the reign of King James I. there was no settled under- standing concerning the use of supporters, each sovereign adopting what pleased him best. We find angels, antelopes, white harts, white lions, &c. Richard III. had a lion and a boar; Henry VII., a lion and a greyhound ; his son, Henry VIIL., first of the Tudor sovereigns, a golden lion and a red dragon, the latter as indicating his descent from Owen Tudor and the Princes of Wales; Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth had the same. On legislative union with Scotland in 1603, one of the Scottish supporters, the UNIcorN, was substituted for the Welsh dragon. From this time to the present, the Lion and Unicorn have remained as sovereign emblems of power and majesty. The legendary history of the mythical unicorn must be passed over in a few words. The oldest author who describes it is Etesias (B.c. 400). Aristotle, Pliny, and other ancient writers also speak of it. It is several times referred to in Scrip- ture. During the middle ages it was a favourite emblem of Christ. Its horn was considered a certain test for poison, and rendered a poisoned chalice harmless. The one horn symbolizes the great Gospel doctrine that Christ is one with God. SIO [Proc. B.N.F.C, ~ THE SCOTTISH ARMS. and Quarter—Or, within a double-tressure flory counter flory, a lion rampant gules. On the accession of James VI. of Scotland to the English throne as James I., the Scottish arms were quartered for the first time with those of England and Ireland. Though we may not, like some Scottish antiquarians, be prepared to refer the origin of the “ ruddy lion rampant ” of Scotland to the mythical King Fergus, it can unquestionably lay claim to great antiquity. The earliest representation of it appears distinctly upon the seal of William King of Scotland, who died in 1214. It is probably from this circumstance that he received the title of “the Lion.” After describing at length the veculiar features of the Royal Shield of Scotland, with some special reference to the origin of the “ double-tressure flory counter flory,” Mr. Vinycomb added that, as a matter of fact, the double tressure first appears upon the seal of Alexander IIL, 1251—1286. Lyon King of Arms is the title of the chief herald for Scotland, and the establishment over which he presides is styled the ‘‘ Lyon Office.” Sir Walter Scott, who had the most intimate acquaintance with the gentle science of armorie and all heraldic lore, fre- quently introduces such allusions and descriptions in his writings in the happiest manner. Witness his description of the old Scottish poet, Sir David Lindsay, of the Mount, as Lyon King of Arms :— “ From his steed’s shoulder, loin, and breast Silk housings swept the ground, With Scotland’s arms, device, and crest Embroidered round and round. The double tressure might you see First by Achaius borne ; The thistle and the fleur-de-lis, And gallant unicorn. So bright the King’s armorial coat That scarce one dazzled eye could note, In living colours blazoned brave The lion which his title gave,’’ 1892-93.] 511 In a similar heroic strain Professor Ayton, in his “ Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers,” describes the raising of the standard of the Pretender :— “The noble Tullibardine stood beneath its weltering fold With the ruddy lion ramping in its field of tressur’d gold.”’ Ariosti (1510) thus refers to the Arms of Scotland :— “Yon lion placed two unicorns between, That rampant with a silver sword is seen, Is for the King of Scot!and’s banner known.”—(Hoole’s tr.) THE HERALDY OF IRELAND. 3rd Quarter—Azure, a harp or, stringed argent. It does not appear that the native Irish knew anything of the science of heraldry before the advent of the Anglo-Norman settlers. They were not sufficiently methodical, says an eminent authority, to accept it or abide by the laws of arms. Even their shields, at least such of them as remain, were of a form and structure little adapted to blazonry. Ireland never at any time possessed a native coinage, nor had any recognised national emblems. The Danish settlers, under their kings, in the South of Ireland, assumed the prerogative of issuing money stamped with their own devices. From the time of Henry II. the English-coined money was brought into use. THE HARP IN THE ARMS OF IRELAND. Three crowns in pale (found on the Irish coinage of Edward IV., Richard III., and Henry VII.) were the armorial bearings of Ireland from the time of Richard II. to that of Henry VIIL., in 1530. It has been suggested that Henry VIII., on being presented by the Pope with the harp of Brian Boru, was induced to change the arms of Ireland to a representation of the relic of her most celebrated native king. It is stated by Sir Bernard Burke that the three crowns were relinquished for the harp as the arms of Ireland by Henry VIII. from an apprehension, it is said, lest they might be taken for S512 [{ Proc. B.N.F.C. the Papal tiara, to which, from being in pale (z.e., one above the other), the resemblance was somewhat close. With the accession of James I. to the English throne, a new arrangement of the national insignia was made, and a gold harp with silver strings for Ireland was for the first time quartered in the Royal Arms. At that time Sir William Segar relates that the Earl of Northampton, then Deputy Earl Marshal, ob- served that “he had no affection for the change ; that for the adoption of the harp the best reason he could assign was that it resembled Ireland in being such an instrument that it required more cost to keep it in tune than it was worth.” Sir Arthur Chichester was re-appointed to the government ot Ireland as Lord Deputy, July, 1613; it is stated that it was at his instigation the Harp of Ireland was first marshalled with the arms of the sister kingdoms upon the Irish currency, and in one form or another it has ever since continued to be impressed upon the coin of the realm. Some of the copper coins of Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth have, it is said, the three harps for Ireland upon the shield, as if undeter- mined whether to follow the triple or single representation of the device. ) <0 MU, On