i62 The Irish Naturalist. [June, 



SOME RECENT NATURAI. HISTORY PAPERS. 



The last-issued part of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, (3) vol. 

 iii., No. 4, December, 1895, contains several natural history papers of 

 considerable interest. Prof. Sollas writes "On the Crystalline form of 

 Riebeckite," the blue hornblende characteristic of the "micro-granite" 

 of Ailsa Craig, pebbles of which have been found in Irish glacial drifts 

 from Greenore to Greystones. A pebble from Portrane contained cavities 

 large enough for well-formed crystals of riebeckite, whose angles Prof. 

 Sollas was able to measure. The results were slightly but obviously 

 abnormal, and the author suggests in explanation, that "the crystals 

 are far from simple, and may best be regarded as crystal complexes, 

 simulating and making a close approximation to a simple crystal 

 form." 



Mr. G. H. Kinahan contributes a paper on " Quartz, Ouartz-rock, and 

 Ouartzite." His views on the origin of these rocks have been laid before 

 the readers of the h-ish Nattci-alist (yo\. I., pp. 162, 184.) At the end of the 

 paper is the reference to Mr. W. W. Watts' examination of sinter from 

 Iceland which led to some correspondence from that gentleman published 

 in our last volume (p. 340.) 



The third of the local surveys undertaken by the Dublin Anthropo- 

 metric Committee is described by Dr. C. R. Browne in his important 

 paper on " The Ethnography of the Mullet, Inishkea Islands, and 

 Portacloy, Co. Mayo." After describing the physiography of the 

 districts which are most isolated, Dr. Browne deals with the 

 anthropography, sociology, folk-lore, archaeology, and history of the 

 inhabitants. It is needless to say that the information on these subjects 

 is of the greatest interest, the people preserving many curious primitive 

 customs. The original inhabitants seem never to have been driven out, 

 though often conquered, but one or tw^o recent immigrations are known 

 to have taken place. The people of Inishkea differ in many respects 

 from their neighbours of the mainland, and are probably the most 

 unmixed representatives of the original population. 



Mr. W. J. Knowles' " Third Report of the Pre-historic Remains from 

 the Sandhills of the Coast of Ireland" is of interest to naturalists for its 

 reference to the abundance of bones of the Great Atik, referred to by Mr. 

 Barrett-Hamilton in his paper in our last month's issue. 



Mr. John Hood, of Dundee, has communicated through the Flora and 

 Fauna Committee an important paper " On the Rotifera of Co. Mayo," 

 enumerating 220 species of those highly interesting microscopic animals. 

 There are excellent figures of some of the rarer forms. Two species, 

 Ptervdina bidentata, TG.rrn.iz, SinCi Eo5j)hora elongata, Ehrb., are recorded as 

 new to the British Isles. On account of the number of lakes and vast 

 tracts of unreclaimed land, Mr. Hood considers that Ireland should fur- 

 nish a rich harvest to the rotifer-collector. He gives a list of all the 

 species found in Ireland by Miss Glascott and himself, amounting 

 together to about 275, and suggests, in some cases, the identity of 

 species described as new by Miss Glascott with forms described by 

 previous authors. 



