442 Mr. C. W. Hamilton on the Older Rocks in the 



however, occasional unavoidable interruptions, certainly not 

 leaving a full hour for the observations,) I observed thirty- 

 five shooting stars, fifteen of which were very brilliant; eleven 

 of the latter left luminous trains, usually visible for some se- 

 conds, and in most instances characterized by sparks. The 

 wind was at the time blowing very fresh from the south-west, 

 and the direction of the shooting stars was uniformly quite 

 contrary, that is, from between the north and east towards 

 the opposite quarter of the sky. One of the more brilliant 

 shooting stars was apparently lost behind a cloud. A faint 

 flash of reddish coloured lightning was also observed. 



On the night of the 11th, the sky was enveloped in clouds 

 until towards midnight : the clouds were remarkably luminous 

 at about eleven o'clock. At fifty minutes past eleven, the sky 

 was partially visible, and I observed a brilliant shooting star 

 of a reddish hue. At twelve the clouds were much dispersed, 

 and between that time and thirty minutes past twelve, I ob- 

 served seven shooting stars, none of which were of great bril- 

 liancy, and only one of which left aluminous train: the direc- 

 tion of the latter (which was in the constellation of Ursa Ma- 

 jor) was remarkable, being perpendicular; that of the others 

 was similar to the course of the shooting stars observed on 

 the preceding night, 



I am, Gentlemen, yours, &c. 

 R. M. Z. 

 Clapham, Surrey, Aug. 14, 1839. 



LXVI. On the Succession of the Older Stratified Rocks in the 

 Neighbourhood of Killarney and Dublin. By Charles W. 

 H.\MiLTON, Esq., F.G.S. Sf Sec. Geol. Soc. of Dublin. 

 [Witli a Plate] 

 To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal. 

 Gentlemen, 



'T'HE publication of Mr. Griffith's Map of Ireland has ex- 

 -■- cited much attention, and obtained for the author the 

 gratitude of geologists ; it stands as a measure of what is sup- 

 posed to be known of the structure of that country, and a 

 guide to tlie most interesting subjects for future inquiry. You 

 may therefore consider it as not wholly useless, if I point out 

 very briefly how far the result of my own observations leads 

 me to dissent from some of his conclusions; and even if future 

 observers shoukl convict me of incorrectness,' I shall at least 

 have pointed out an interesting field of inquiry, and helped 

 to show that a large portion of Ireland is still a fit subject for 

 geological debate. I shall confine my present letter to two 



