Kinahan — On Irish Marbles and Limestones. 423 



difficult to work with tools, owing to layers of chert in it. The 

 Market-house and Railway Station are built of it. 



Newiownbutler. — Bluish-grey, semi-crystalline, compact, earthy; 

 Market-house built of it. 



During the recent works for the drainage of Lough Erne they 

 excavated into a dark compact limestone at Belleek Ford, which 

 was used in the works thereabouts ; while the new west bridge of 

 Enniskillen is built of the stone quarried while cutting away the 

 Portora Ford. 



Some of the limestones are too earthy to burn into lime, but 

 good strong lime is plentiful and cheap in the county, the best 

 stones being procured westward of the lakes. A stone at Castle 

 Caldwell gives a hydraulic lime. 



GrALWAY. 



This county produces excellent limestones, suited for all cut- 

 stone purposes, as they belong both to the older formations and 

 to the Carboniferous. In the older formations (Ordovician and 

 Cambrian) , there are stones suitable both for tool- work and marble, 

 in shades both of white and green. Those of green colours are 

 unsurpassed elsewhere as marbles ; but the whites, on account of 

 their coarseness or other peculiarities, have not a forward place in 

 the market. All these stones except the greens are more or less 

 burnt for lime, some being better than others. 



At Salrock, Derreennasliggaun, and Leenaun, in the north 

 part of the county, there are Silurian limestones. Some of those 

 at Derreennasliggaun are reddish, and have been used as a marble. 



The Carboniferous limestones occupy all the eastern portion of 

 the county, being nearly altogether either of the Calp or Burren 

 types, principally the latter. Those of the Burren type are most 

 conspicuous in the long tract that to the north enters the county 

 from Mayo at Lough Mask, and extend southwards to Gal way, 

 and from that to the barony of Burren, Co. Clare. In these crags, 

 in numerous places, superior rocks can be obtained ; and the sur- 

 face rocks in many places are worked ; but necessarily they are not 

 as easily tooled as in places where a quarry has been opened. They 

 are of different shades of grey and blue, with subordinate black 

 beds. From the latter some of the best black marbles in the 

 world have been obtained. 



