Notes 1 1 c 



G K O I, O ( ; V . 



Supposed Animal Footprints In Oia Red Sandstone Rocks. 



—A paragraph in the Tiiam Herald o{ 3r(l l"el)ruarv, si-cins to <U-m.iii.l 

 attention. It states that "on the old road ])ct\veeii Molraniiy" (Mala- 

 ranny of the one-inch Ordnance INIap) "and the village of Honnvglan " 

 (Bolinglanna of the map ?), "and within a mil.; of the latter (jM 'mining 

 station, there are imprinted on the solid rock footjjHnts of huge animals." 

 These places are on the mainland, east of .\chill island, and at the foot 

 of Currann Achill. The Geological vSurvey have here ma])i)ed and de- 

 scribed (sheet 74, and memoir to sheets 63 and 74) a tract of Old Red 

 Sandstone lying on the schists and quart/.ites, the latter being possibly 

 Precambrian. If there are genuine footprints in this rock, the fact would 

 be of great importance, though there would be no reason to ascribe them 

 to a mammal, as is hinted by the writer in the 7^i(ani Herald. This writer, 

 however, is clearly familiar w'ith geological terminology, and it becomes 

 imperative for some one to set the question of these alleged footprints at 

 rest. They may be footprints of a "quadruped " with its "calf" running 

 beside it, as suggested by the WTiter in the Herald, or rain-])ittings, 

 gradually enlarged; or the hollows from which a number of concretions 

 have fallen away. If there is any likelihood of their being footprints, 

 such as occur in the Triassic sandstones of England, it is to be hoped 

 that some one will be able at once to photograph them, to measure them 

 and the distances between them, to draw them accurately in plan, 

 and even to take plaster impressions from them. Any investigation 

 of them will be awaited with interest by the readers of The Irish 

 Naturalist. If the w^riter in the Tua?ii Herald is recording what he himself 

 has seen, it becomes his scientific duty to prove his stateinent at the 

 earliest opportunity; since the occurrence of true footprints in this sand- 

 stone may give us evidence of the existence of amphibians in the lowest 

 Carboniferous of Ireland, or even in the upper Devonian series. This is, 

 perhaps, too much to hope for.— Grenvii.i.E A. J. C01.E, Dublin. 



PROCEEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIETIES. 



RoYAi, Zooi^oGiCAiv Society. 



Recent donations comprise a Japanese Deer from Sir Douglas Brooke ; 

 a pair of Bramble-Finches from Miss Roberts ; four Wild Ducks from 

 J. H. Sutton, Esq. ; and a monkey from C. G. Fitzgerald, Ksq. 



4,300 persons visited the gardens in February. 



At the Annual Meeting on January 31st, Dr. S. Gordon was e ecte.l 

 President, and Dr. A. Traill, Rev. Dr. S. Haughton, Mr W. Pindlater, 

 Prof. Haddon, and Mr. S. U. Roberts, Vice-Presidents for 1S93. Rev 

 Dr C W. Benson, so w^ell known for his ornithological work, was elected 

 an Honorary Member of the Society. The Report for 1S92 states that 

 the year has been a very successful one, the number of visitors having ■ 

 increased, and a sum of ^264 being balance to the credit of the Society. 

 An outdoor aviary will shortly be commenced and should prove an 

 attractive feature. Two very fine lion cubs (male and fema e) were born 

 in the gardens during 1892. It is possible that hybrids between a tiger 

 and a lioness mav be produced during the present year : an ^"teres ing 

 account of the former production of such hybrids is given in an append x 

 by the Secretarv, Dr. V. Ball, C.B., who has since the publication of the 

 Report obtained new information on the subject. 



Dubinin Microscopicai. Ci.ub. 

 FEBRUARY I'^th -The Club met at :Mr. A. Andrews. Specimcm of 

 Epf^aa^^plpu'^^^^^^^ were shown by Mr. GrEENW^ood Pim. 1 his fungus 



