1899O Proceedings of Irish Societies, 67 



Votes of thanks were unanimously passed to the Royal Irish Academy 

 for the use of the house for the meetings of the Club, to Lord Powers- 

 court, K.P., Lord Annesley, Lord Howth, and others, for permission to 

 explore their demesnes, and to the Dublin Press, on the motion of 

 H. G. Cuthbert, seconded by J. E. Palmer, Vice-President. The follow- 

 ing were elected members:— J. Curran, B. Edwards, G. Fay, Miss Foddy, 

 Miss Massy, and one candidate for membership was proposed. A new 

 rule as to subscriptions was adopted, on the proposal of H. K. G. Cuth- 

 bert, seconded by Prof. Cole, F.G.S. 



At the close of the formal business, Mr. G. Coffey, M.R.I. A., read a 

 most interesting paper, entitled " Some neglected Fields in Irish Natural 

 History work." He referred more particularly to the Palaeolithic and 

 Neolithic remains found in French and English cave-deposits and river 

 gravels, along with bones of the cave bear, sabre-toothed tiger, and 

 woolly rhinoceros, and dwelt on the possibility of similar discoveries in 

 Irish caves, pointing out the vast field of work that lay open to Irish 

 naturalists in this neglected field of research. Lantern slides of the bone 

 and ivory carvings and flint instruments, found in caves, accompanied 

 the paper. 



February 14— The President, R. LI- Praeger, B.A., B.E.— later, Mr. 

 Greenwood Pim, M.A., in the chair. Fifty to sixty members and their 

 friends were present. After the signing of the minutes of the last meet- 

 ing, Mr. H. K. G. CuTHBERT read a letter from a continental expert 

 bearing on Mr. Coffey's paper on the investigation of Irish caves, in 

 which the writer, for reasons given, expressed the opinion that 

 Palaeolithic man could never have existed in Ireland. Mr. Praeger 

 contributed a paper entitled " A Botanist in the Central Plain," which 

 will appear in our next issue. The paper was fully illustrated by 

 specimens collected by the author, and several geological maps and 

 sections lent by Professor Cole, from the Royal College of Science, who, 

 with Mr. Greenwood Pim, discussed the paper. Dr. T. Johnson ex- 

 pressed the belief, that in a few years time, such was the importance now 

 being attached to the introduction of science into the schools, Mr. 

 Praeger would find correspondents in every direction prepared and able 

 to help him in his topographical botany work. 



Dr. T. Johnson, F.L-S. (Hon. Sec), next gave an account of "The 

 Highland type plants of the new Cybele Hibemica." The paper was illus- 

 trated by specimens and lantern slides^ An account of the characters of 

 alpine plants, and of the explanations of their presence in the mountains 

 of Ireland, was given. It was stated that the set of plants shown, and 

 others of other types of Irish plants, were being prepared for exhibition 

 in the Botanical rooms of the Science and Art Museum, and would be 

 very useful to teachers of botany and their classes. 



Mr. Pim then showed a fine series of lantern slides of various natural 

 history objects; Mr. Henry J. Seymour, B. A., showed several geological 

 maps, and stated that new " Solid Geology" and drift maps would shortly 

 be published by the Geological Survey. Miss A. Marks was elected a 

 member. 



