1896.] Procccdifigs of Irish Societies. 21 



from the results of such exploration as this to form, perhaps, some idea 

 of the ancient coast-lines, and whether or not the main continental out- 

 lines have ever been mvicli as they are now. The next point considered 

 was archaeology, including ethnography and the Celtic department, and 

 Mr. Lockwood suggested lines of work on the palaeolithic remains and 

 the ancient races of inhabitants of Ireland. Mr. Ivockwood concluded 

 by saying that he trusted he had said enough to show that there was 

 plenty of work to do still, and that all the branches of the Club were 

 mutually interdependent. 



Mr. Wright, F.G.S., in response to Mr. Lockwood, described his 

 early experiences in searching for foraminifera, and concluded by criti- 

 cising some of the arrangements with the Irish Field Club Union. 



Mr. Wm. Gray, M.R.I.A., gave a report on the meeting of the British 

 Association at Ipswich, to which he went as a delegate from the Club. 

 Mr. Gray described the mode of arrangement of the various sections, and 

 pointed out the value of minute and detailed work in all subjects, even 

 temperatures, rainfalls, floods, and tides, also such work as the Club 

 is now busily engaged in, in tracking down the erratic blocks in the 

 boulder clay. He then spoke strongly against the all too prevalent 

 custom of digging up rare plants, and thus destroying them, and 

 especially entreated everyone not to buy the ferns offered for sale by the 

 peasantry. Mr. Gray then referred to the excursions made to the 

 deposits of the Red Crag at Ipswich, with its extraordinarily numerous 

 fossils, of which a considerable number were on view, including the 

 peculiar left-handed spiral so rare now, and apparently so common then 

 in Ftisus, and also the modern flint works at Brandon, from which Mr. 

 Gray had brought a number of very beautiful copies of old axes, celts, 

 spear-heads, and flakes made by the quarrymen. 



Mr. Lockwood briefly described some of his experiences in the Red 

 Crag district, pointing out the layer of rolled fossils found below it, con- 

 taining very numerous mammalian remains, and also the curious cutting 

 down into the Crag by a recent stream, the bed of which is sometimes 

 refilled with recent alluvium, forming a deceptive deposit unless care- 

 fully noticed. 



December nth. — The Geological Section met, when Mr. F. W. 

 Lockwood contributed some notes on the Tarns of the Mourne 

 Mountains. He first described the action of running water in canons 

 and deep gorges, and then the modification caused by the action of frost 

 on the sides of valleys. Running water and frost are the cutting instru- 

 ments of nature, ice in the mass is a planing and smoothing instrument. 

 Before the Glacial Epoch the hills were more rugged and the valleys 

 deeper than at present. Four out of the five lakelets of the Mourne 

 district are extremely small and shallow, the fifth, Lough Shannagh, is 

 the only one of importance, but it also is small. They all lie upon 

 ledges or shelves of rock a great height above the general level of the 

 valleys, and have steep cliflis above them. There is no clear indication 

 that they are true rock basins such as most of the tarns in Cumberland 



