June 26. 18S5.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



rockj-, and extend for abont 250 miles, \ycstw-ard Cork 

 is separated from Kerry by a great range of Silurian clay- 

 slate, attaining a height of over 2,000 ft.. and greatly add- 

 ing to the romantic character of the western portion of the 

 county. Numerous islands fringe the coast, among which 

 is that knoNvn as Cape Clear, which is not, however, the 

 most southerly point of Ireland in reality, as about four 

 miles south there is a rock which geographers have neg- 

 lected to individualise with a name. I-ike all the western 

 counties of Ireland, Cork is very rich in antiquities. 

 There are here many of those mysterious stone circles on 

 the Druidic plan, round towers, r<il/is (i.e., circular works), 

 and other remains of great arch:vological and historic inte- 

 rest Waterford has a rocky coast, very dangerous for 

 shipping. The surface is mostly mountainous, and there 

 are some very remarkable caverns. !Marble here abounds, 

 and Celtic and Danish antiquities are numerous. The 

 coast of Wexford presents, for the most part, a succession 

 of baj-s and headlands, outlying rocks, and small islands, 

 and geologically it belongs to the eastern clay-slate tract. 

 More th.in a hundred ruined castles may be examined in 

 this county, which is rich in interesting relics of the 

 Anglo-Norman period. 



Wicklow, the remaining maritime county completing our 

 rapid tour of the Irish coast, has a shore-line -stretching for 

 about forty miles, and in .some parts presenting that jire- 

 cipitous face to the sea which is the great characteristic of 

 the shores of Ireland. Sand-banks, too, are numerous, and 

 render it a perilous place for ships. The Wicklow moun- 

 tains form the gi-eat natural feature and beauty of the 

 county, and in Lugnaquilla rise to an elevation over the 

 sea-level of 3,039 ft. The glens lying between the different 

 ridges are extraordinarily picturesque, more especially is 

 this so with Glendalough, Glendaline, the Glen of the 

 Downs, and Avoca, the river of that name reaching the sea 

 at Arklow. The Vale of Avoca is, as everybody knows, the 

 scene of Moore's melody, " The Meeting of the Waters," and 

 it is, indeed, a place of wild, and yet soft and enchanting, 

 beauty — or rather loveliness, for that is the fitter word. 

 The great mountain groiip which gives such character to 

 Wicklow is a mass of granite protruding through mica and 

 clay slate, and is generally allowed to be one of the most 

 pronounced and best-defined in the kingdom. It is almost 

 needless to add, remembering the position of Wicklow, that 

 it abounds in all kinds of historic interest and remains, and 

 is, inter alia, remarkable as exhibiting specimens of all 

 phases of Irish ecclesiastical architecture. 



Thus far I have striven in a slight but still faithful 

 manner to give a connected sketch itinerary of Irish coasts, 

 and I think it will be readily allowed that, viewed as a 

 whole, these shores really present many strong attractions 

 for the many among us who, above all things, desire in 

 their recreative endeavours to find something entirely 

 strange and new. No doubt in visiting the western coasts 

 of Ireland the tourist must to some extent make up his 

 mind to resign certain luxuries, and even, perhaps, com- 

 forts, to which he has become familiarised, and possibly 

 the traveller may in a material sense be more agreeably 

 located in many parts of the remote Orient, than in some 

 of the unfrequented bays of the far Irish West. But then, 

 per contra, nowhere will he behold grander scenery than 

 some of the mountainous clifis that front and beat back 

 the Atlantic. And inland but a little way. in striking and 

 tender antithesis, are some of the loveliest dells in the 

 kingdom ; and that is saying much, as Great Britain has 

 probably more really beautiful valleys than any other 

 country, of anything like the same area, iu all the world. The 

 discomfort incurred will soon be forgotten by the true 

 lover of nature in these wild and romantic regions, the 



extreme western confines of the Old World, a)iil mw and 

 delightful impressions will be borne away, which may fcrvo 

 in future to make Englishmen more patient, and even sym- 

 pathetic, when listening to what once a]ipeared to some of 

 them the absurd and baseless rhapsodies that fire most true 

 Irishmen when expatiating on the natural beauties of the 

 sister kingdom. 



THE YOUNG ELECTRICIAN. 



By W. Slixgo. 

 (Continued from p. 496.) 



A FEW more simple experiments may be performed, 

 illustrating the production of electricity by friction. 

 Ex. LXXVIII. — The attraction of an electrified rod for 

 liquids may be easily and prettily shown. In a " watch- 

 glass " (obtainable for a penny at chemical apparatus 

 makers') pour a quantity of oil so as to fill the glass, 

 G, Fis. 43. The dass should be raised some distance 



Fig. 43. 



from the table, an object w-hich may be accomplished by 

 fixing a 12-in. wooden rod. A, half an-ineh thick, in a base- 

 board three or four inches square, and surmounting it by 

 another piece of wood. B, smaller than the watch-glass. 

 On B the glass may be placed, and when the rod, B, is 

 brought towards the oil it will be attracted and drawn up 

 iu the manner indicated in the illustration. 



Ex. LXXIX. — All these experiments performed with 

 the ebonite, shellac, sulphur, or sealing-wax rod, rubbed 

 with flannel or fur, may be repeated by a glass tube, 2 fc. 

 long, thoroughly dried — made quite hot, in fact — before a 

 bright fire, and rubbed with a piece of old, dry, warm silk. A 

 more copious charge of electricity may he produced by 

 coating the rubbing surface of the silk with a thin layer 

 of an amalgam, made by melting together in a crucible 

 an ounce of tin with an ounce of zinc cut into small pieces 

 and added gradually, stirring continuously with a piece of 

 iron rod. When thoroughly mixed, add two oimces of hot 

 mercury, and repeat the stirring. When these constituents 

 are well mixed, pour the mixture into a warm, clean mortar, 

 and grind with a pestle till cold. Keep the mixture 

 dry. To apply it to the silk apply thereto a very thin 

 layer of the best and clearest lard, rubbing the amalgam 

 over it. The glass tube should, to get the best result, be 

 fused at one end. This, however, is not essential, and is a 

 point upon which occasion to speak will present itself later 

 on. 



Ex. LXXX.— With gla.s.? the great trouble is the strong 

 tendency it lias to condense moisture upon its surface. 

 Now, this moisture is the most plaguish thing we shall 

 have to contend with, owing to the fact that it is a 



