i897-] Standen. — Fauna of Rathliji I sla7id and Bally castle, 177 



Everywhere the wondrous profusion of Primroses evoked 

 general admiration. At Whitepark there were acres of them, 

 interspersed with the Purple Orchis, Wild Hyacinth, and 

 Scentless Violet; and the shady hedge-banks were one 

 long line of starry blossoms. The Gorse, too, was a grand 

 sight; the dense yellow masses on the hill-sides, and the golden 

 bars stretching across country in every direction became at 

 times perfectly dazzling to the eye as we drove along, relieved, 

 however, at intervals by snow-white expanses of fields of 

 Daisies. The Hawthorn was not in bloom, but gave ample 

 promise of ere long adding variety to the flowery landscape. 

 About Glendun the Holly grows luxuriantly, and on one bush 

 the unusual sight of bright coral-red berries, presumably from 

 a late autumnal flowering, side by side with spikes of flowers 

 springing from the same branch was specially noticeable. 

 The Hay-scented Fern {Nephrodmm cermUum) grows in great 

 tufts amongst the dense Hazel thickets at Glendun, along with 

 many other species. At Cushendun the cliffs of conglomerate 

 are studded with tufts of Asplcnium marhium, and near the 

 castle the Sea-holly {Eryngitcm) grows abundantly. In several 

 places, and particularly at Armoy, we were struck with the 

 number of fine double-flowered Carda77ime pratensis, the 

 beautiful flower-spikes of which stood above the short grass, 

 and, as seen from the car, were at first sight taken to be an 

 orchid. 



The many striking and varied geological features, as pointed 

 out and explained by Mr. R. Welch, aroused the attention and 

 interest of the most indifferent amongst us, and his knowledge 

 of the archaeology and folk-lore of the district made the 

 various places visited most interesting. Standing on the high 

 cliffs near Rue Point, Rathlin Island, itself an outlying area 

 of the Antrim basaltic plateau, he pointed out the main 

 geological features of North Antrim which can be seen from 

 that point, on the long range of rugged coast-line that stretches 

 from the headlands of the Giant's Causeway on the west to the 

 ancient schists of Tor Head and Crochan Point to the east. 

 First we have the great mass of the Causeway basalts faulted 

 down against the Cretaceous cliffs of Whitepark Bay at Port 

 Braddan, these cliff's slipping over the soft underlying I^ias 

 clays which show on the banks of a small stream, and are well 



