1 88 The Irish Naturalist. 



At five o'clock the waggonettes were then once more mounted, and 

 the party drove off, passing on the wa}-, close to Mountstewart, a vast 

 erratic of basalt resting on Triassic sands and marls. Mr, Welch has 

 taken a capital photo, of this amazing sample of the power of ice in the 

 great ice age. Belfast was reached at eight o'clock, where the members 

 dispersed. The botanists of the part}' found nothing rare, but Sediini 

 telcphiiiDi and Anchiisa senipervircns, which were in great quantity. In one 

 spot the double variety of the Lesser Celandine and an extremely large 

 variety of the Wild Hyacinth were growing in abundance. The 

 geologists only spent a few minutes at a small section of boulder clay, 

 from which, however, a good specimen of a striated block was extracted. 



May 25th. — The geological section visited the Woodburn district, 

 seventeen members being present. It is satisfactory to find that 

 Professor Cole's recent lectures have greatly increased the interest in 

 field geology, as evidenced by the large attendance at this excursion. 

 The first halt was made outside the beautifvil and well-kept glen of the 

 Water Commissioners. A cliff of Lower Greensand yielded brachyolites, 

 ventriculites, Vermicularia, pectens, and other fossils. Passing up the 

 glen, where the waterfalls were in perfection, the party crossed meadows 

 gay with orchis, bugle, rattle, and Water Avens, obtaining the Adder's 

 Tongue, and plunged into the nortli glen, where the dark green glan- 

 conitic sands were reached after a good deal of scrambling. Many 

 Exogyrce and lercbraiuhc were gathered, whilst the glacialists secured 

 some boulder cla}' from about 400 feet above the sea. Passing down 

 stream some blocks of Lias yielded fish teeth and scales, and eventually 

 the party returned to Troopers Lane. 



June ist. — The second Excursion of the Club took place to Glj'nn and 

 Gleno. A part}^ of about 100 left Belfast by the 2.15 express to Larne, 

 which was kindly stopped at Glynn station by Mr. Cotton to allow the 

 members to alight. This Excursion was rendered especially interesting 

 owing to the presence of Professor Johnson and Mr. S. A. vStewart, two 

 well-known botanists, who gave good assistance to those members 

 taking up this study. On leaving the station a halt was made at the 

 churchyard, where the ruins of the old church were examined. The 

 Secretaries then announced that a prize would be given for the collection 

 containing the largest number of species of flowering plants gathered 

 during the afternoon. Mr. Stewart headed the party who wished to go 

 on to Gleno, whilst the remainder stayed in the glen. A walk of about 

 two-and-a-half miles brought the former to the quaint little village of 

 Gleno. At the waterfall the botanists searched carefully for mosses, 

 liverworts, and algie ; although nothing very rare was found, Fontinalis 

 Jitiviatilis among the mosses, and Leutanca among the algae are worth 

 noticing. Mr. Stewari obtained a specimen of Zygodon Stirtoni, which is 

 found onl}' at Killarney and one or two places in the North. The large 

 limestone quarry alongside the stj-eam yielded few fossils, but there were 

 quite a number of the little Atiiorphospon^ia globularis weathered out on 

 the surface in one part. The usual Ananchyics ovatus, Belemniklla imuronata, 

 and Terebratula carnca were seen. A few photographs having been taken 

 the party made for Glynn, where by the kindness of Mrs. Johnson the 

 local arrangements had been made, and tea was provided in the school- 

 house by Messrs. Inglis and Co. This was followed by the judging of 

 the nine collections of the competitors for the botanical prize, but it was 

 only as the train neared Belfast that Professor Johnson and Mr. Stewart 

 were able to say that Mr. Richard Hanna had taken the prize with ninety 

 species ; Miss Vinycomb was next with seventy-one, and the lowest was 

 about sixty, so the competition was keen. The only plant of note was 

 Dog's Mercury (^Mcrcurialis perennis), which was in some quantity, and is 

 locallv rare. 



