1896.J Geological Studies i7i the North. 49 



by no means " driven to the Hebridean islands " ^ for their source ; there 

 seems no reason why higher Liassic beds shouhl not have existed in Co. 

 Antrim, and even, with a capping of Cretaceous strata, in Co. DubHn. 

 We often lose sight of the fact that every fragment of detrital material 

 found in one spot means that so much has vanished away from another 

 spot ; occasionally, as in the case of the Inch conglomerate near Dingle 

 and the diamonds of Golconda. it is only the detritus that remains. 



On Easter Tuesday, the geological section visited Tardree, and this 

 interesting rhyolitic area has been subsequently attacked several times. 

 Mr. J . J. Phillips's photographs of the quarries vie with the best successes 

 of Mr. Welch as scientific works of art. Miss Thompson, in her paper, 

 reviewed the controversy as to the relative ages of the rhyolites and the 

 basalts. On Oct. 26th, an expedition was made to Templepatrick quarry, 

 to follow out the observations of Mr, M'Henry,^ and a number of photo- 

 graphs were taken. Miss M. K. Andrews securing a series of four, illus- 

 trating the whole north face. Changes at the east end were noted, due to 

 quarrying since the date (1888) ofMr.M'Henry's drawing. Miss Thompson 

 showed how the surface of the Chalk falls northward, and allows the 

 overlying rhyolite to thicken in that direction. The well to which she 

 referred is, however, west, not north of the quarry, and the fact that the 

 rhyolite is intrusive — in part, at any rate — may give it a very variable 

 lower boundary with the Chalk. Miss Thompson was able, in perfect 

 fairness, to communicate the analysis of the rhyolite of Cloughwater, 

 near Ballymena, made by Mr. A. P. Hoskins, F.I.C., as one of the out- 

 comes of the geological activity of the Belfast Field Club. From the 

 determination of species of fossil foraminifera to original chemical 

 work, it is clear that the geological section will soon be competent to 

 form a "bureau " for the survey of the county. It is not often that 

 government offices, for special purposes, are so well equipped with 

 specialists. 



Another excursion described was that to Coalpit Bay, near Donagha- 

 dee, where Mr. Swanston worked in the earlier days of field-club enter- 

 prise. Graptolites fortunately rewarded the expedition. The beautiful 

 little sections in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks at Woodburn, where the 

 Greensand is so green that the term can be no longer scoffed at, occupied 

 another good May day. On June 8th, the glacial beds near Ballycastle 

 were examined; on the 22nd, Liassic fossils were being unearthed at 

 Island Magee ; and the week spent in the north of Ireland by the 

 Geologists' Association owed much of its organisation and success to the 

 experience of the geological section. The dykes of the Mourne coast 

 were visited on August 31st, and Miss Thompson made some interesting 

 notes on intrusive rocks at Castlewellan. 



Now that so much experience as to general geological features has been 

 obtained, may I suggest, as an addition to the winter work, the collect- 

 ing and, where necessary, the abstracting, of all papers relating to or 

 bearing closely on the geology of Co. Antrim, so that this literature may 



1 Irish Naturalist, Dec, 1895, p. 328. 2 Geological Magazine, June, 1895, 



