Mr. J. L. Drummond on a new Oscillatona. 3 



skimming as cream is skimmed off milk, or by straining the 

 water through a fine cloth. 



Masses similar to those I found in the ditch are often seen 

 floating at the sides of the lake, or cast ashore in large quan- 

 tities ; but I could not ascertain with precision from the ac- 

 counts I received, whether this took place especially at some 

 seasons, or whether at all times after a continuance of calm 

 weather. I am disposed to conjecture that the latter is the 

 case; but on this head I could determine little from my own 

 observation, as during the greater part of my visit the weather 

 was wet and blustery, and calms of very short duration. The 

 lake too was said to exhibit much less of the green tinge than 

 is often observable. That the agglutinated masses alluded to 

 are much more copious in the lake at some times than at 

 others, is illustrated by a remark used by the inhabitants of 

 its neighbourhood on their appearance, viz. that " the lake is 

 purging itself." 



In the hope of detecting the stratum, if indeed there be any 

 such, from which the floating filaments in the lake might have 

 their origin, I attempted in a boat, in company with my friend 

 the Rev. Mr. Smith of Glaslough, to bring up some debris 

 from the bottom. Our instrument for dredging was indeed 

 very imperfect, being only a fagot of branches with a weight 

 attached. We tried various depths from forty-five feet (which 

 seems to be the deepest part) to three or four, but the experiment 

 was altogether fruitless, our instrument coming up as clean in 

 general as it went down, and without any trace of the object 

 of our search. 



Some years ago the late Colonel Leslie put a number of 

 swans upon the lake, one only of which now remains, and it 

 was observed that while they continued on it the peculiar pro- 

 perties of the place were lost. This however can only, I pre- 

 sume, refer to the disappearance of the glutinous masses, which 

 the birds had devoured as fast as they were formed. 



Another observation which I have to make is, that although 

 the County Monaghan abounds in lakes, the phaenomena now 

 mentioned are peculiar to this alone, at least such was the 

 confident assertion of every one with whom I conversed on the 

 subject; and there is a beautiful little sheet of water called Kel- 



b 2 



