M > -? 



148 The Irish Naturalist. July, 1901. 



Breeding Habits of the Squirrel. 



As an inquiry was made some years ago in the Irish Naturalist as to the 

 time of year at which young Squirrels are born, I may mention that a 

 drey at Ballyhyland was examined this year by a boy on April 21st, and 

 proved to contain five young, very small, with eyes still unopened. 

 Last year a nest in the same tree was examined in May, and then 

 contained young of a more advanced age. In 1898 I saw a drey which 

 was freshly lined for the receipt of young on June 24th. This, according 

 to Bell and other writers, would be the usual time of birth, but I see no 

 reason to doubt the correctness of Mr. Barrett-Hamilton's conjecture 

 that Squirrels breed twice in the year both here and in England. That 

 they do so in England is indeed distinctly asserted by Mr. George Dewar, 

 who in his interesting book "Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands." p. 290, 

 says " they have two sets of young, one in April and the other in July." 



C. B. Moffat. 

 Ballyhyland, Co. Wexford. 



GEOLOGY. 



Pisolitic Iron Ore in Lough Neagh. 



When dredging in Lough Neagh, May, J900, between Sandy Bay and 

 Rani's Island, with Messrs. R. Patterson and H. L. Orr, we took in some 

 hauls of the dredge several ounces of pisolitic ore. Some of this I 

 sent to Prof. G. A. J. Cole, M.R.I.A., who states that "some of the 

 spheroids show the characteristic concentric structure when broken 

 open. A little carbonate of iron is present, but the main mass consists 

 of limonite as usual." Similar deposits are found in Sweden and in 

 sufficient quantity to be dredged and worked commercially as iron ores. 

 It would be interesting to know whether this material in Lough Neagh 

 is now forming. If so it is an interesting parallel to the Eocene pisolitic 

 lake-deposits of the Antrim basalts. These are mined for iron ore in 

 several places in the county, notably above Glenarm. There is a chance 

 of course that the material is derived from some local deposit of Eocene 

 age, but I have taken the same material in the dredge in smaller 

 quantities in the northern part of the lough also. 



R. Wei,ch. 



Belfast. 



[As Mr. Welch's record of an extremely interesting observation passes 

 through my hands before publication, I should like to ask the attention 

 of botanists to the possible relation between the ferruginous deposit and 

 any algae that may be prevalent in the same portion of Lough Neagh. 

 The granules themselves may perhaps yield algal filaments on solution. 



Grfnvii,i,£ A. J. Coi,E. 

 Dublin. 



