40 The Irish Nat7cralist. February, 1911. 



personally, but I think the identifications were correct. Mr. John 

 M'Connell, of Burt, reported to me that he had noticed the Whinchat 

 ^^Pratincola nibctra L'nn.) at Inch last autumn about the same place that 

 Mr. Gibson found a nest in 1892. Mr. Samuel M'Candlas reported to 

 me that he had seen a Flamingo shot at Inch about 12th November last. 

 When I asked for a detailed description and a sketch, he described 

 accurately, and drew the bill of a Spoonbill {Platalca leticorodia Linn). 

 Unfortunately the bird was destroyed, but I have no doubt of the species. 



Londonderry, D. C. Campbell. 



GEOLOGY. 



The Gortmore Cave. 

 Last September Mr. J. W. Puttrell of the Derbyshire Pennine Club, 

 who was accompanied by Mr. J. W. Percival and the writer, took the 

 temperature of the Vanishing Pool (see I.N., xix., p. 151.) It was 50" (or 

 3° higher than the temperature of the water in Desmond's Cave). As 

 the Blackwater sho.vcd a temperature of 60°, there is obviously no 

 connecting siphon. The heavy rains of August apparently evaporated 

 from the surface, as the pool contained less water than it did when first 

 visited in June, but more than it contained on the second visit in that 

 month. Two openings near the western extremity of the cliffs led to a 

 large cavern containing rectangular chambers, one of which measured 

 100 feet square. This was apparently enlarged by falls from the roof, 

 and contained very few stalactites. A clay slope led to a series of lower 

 tunnels containing water and banks of silt. The cliffs show large traces 

 of iron in places. In one spot the beds are considerably contorted and 



crushed into thin shale. 



R. W. Evans. 

 Doneraile. 



Alleged Meteorite from Co. Down. 



Mr. L. J. Spencer, A.R.C.Sc.I., of the British Museum (Natural 

 History), informs me that the Bath Museum possesses a cut fragment of 

 an iron meteorite, which came from the collection of Mr. Frederick 

 Field. Mr. Field's note on the label is as follows : — " The accompanying 

 specimen was bought by me of Patrick Doran, the celebrated Irish Mineral 

 Collector. It was reported by the coastguard men that in August, 1834, 

 a mass was seen to fall from the sky into the sea near Newcastle, Co. 

 Down, Ireland. Some years afterwards Doran and his son took boat and 

 coasted the neighbourhood for some miles — they found the mass on a 

 ledge of rock, and my specimen was a piece taken from it." 



The occurrence of this specimen would have been undoubtedly 

 discussed by the late Dr. V. Ball in his paper on " Examples of meteoric 

 falls in the Museums of Dublin," had he been aware of it, since he paid 

 special attention to all records of Irish meteorites. The authority for 

 its genuineness may not be so good as Mr. Field believed ; but it would 

 be very interesting to learn if similar fragments are^ found in other 



collections. 



Grenville A. J. Cole. 

 Dublin. 



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