Gahi'ay Field Club Confereyice. 231 



Sampliire and Sea Lavender, to where an islander sat fishing. By his 

 side was a basket well filled with fine Bream. He sat on the overhang' 

 ing edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the abyss, and his line descend- 

 ing vertically into the ocean some 200 feet below. Fishing of this kind 

 is carried on along the whole western side of the island. The " Worm 

 Hole " was next visited, a large square natural tank in the rock at some 

 distance from the sea, with which it is connected by a large underground 

 passage, as shown by the prompt response of its waters to the ocean 

 swell outside. Near the hamlet of Gortnacopple the Maidenhair was 

 seen in very great abundance and luxuriance, growing as usual in the 

 vertical fissures of the limestone ; it is abundantly distributed through- 

 out the island. Another well-known plant of Aran that was seen here 

 abundantly was the large leek, AU'min Babingtonii. The main road being 

 reached, the party followed the first section to Kilronan, visiting on the 

 way some of the best of the many antiquities of Aran, including the 

 ancient church of St. Kieran, and the adjoining holed stone and early 

 crosses, and viewing with interest the curious wayside monuments. The 

 geologists of the party were much interested in the extensive exposures 

 of bare jointed limestone, and its curious weathering, and in the 

 numerous erratics from Connemara scattered over its surface, while the 

 entomologists literally " left no stone unturned" in their search for 

 rarities. 



On the beach at Kilronan, INIiss Gardiner had a sumptuous tea pre- 

 pared, to which the members did ample justice"; after which, undeterred 

 by frequent showers which now began to fall, a numerous party started 

 southward to visit the primitive church of St. Eany with its many accom- 

 pan5nng antiquities, Teampul Benan, &c., and to attempt further dis- 

 coveries among the fauna and flora. The botanists were well pleased to 

 find, at the last moment, that very rare Irish grass, the Wood Rush, in 

 one of the two Aran stations given by Mr. H. C. Hart in his paper on 

 the botany of the islands; and in the fading light a hasty return was 

 made to the steamer, which left at 8 o'clock punctually, and the hotel 

 in Galway was once more reached at ii.o. 



During this day's excursion, which was in every way successful, the 

 members derived much local information and assistance from the parish 

 priest. Rev. P. Colgan, and his curate, and from Mr. P. 0'P\ Johnson, the 

 local magistrate, all of whom did their best to assist the party in every way. 



TUBISDAY, JUIvY 16TH. 



At 9 o'clock a special train conveyed the members and local friends 

 to Oughterard, where Mr. Dominick Burke had brakes and cars in 

 readiness, and an immediate start was made northward along the shores 

 of Lough Corrib, a party of geologists remaining behind for an hour 

 to examine the sections exposed in adjacent new railway cuttings 

 under the guidance of Mr. R. J. Kirwan, B.E. The route lay through 

 hilly ground, with alternating patches of bog, wood, and cultivation. 

 Eastward stretched the vast lake of Corrib, diversified with islands 

 great and small ; westward rose theMaam Turk mountains, still clothed 



