Kinahan. — On Irish Arenaceous Books. 529 



SAND AND GRAVEL. 



In a few of the older rock groups there are sands that occur 

 as rotten or disintegrated portions of beds of sandstones or other 

 rocks. These, however, are comparatively rare, as the principal 

 places in which the sand and the gravels are found are as portions 

 or beds of the Drift, Alluvium, and Diluvium. Under the latter cir- 

 cumstance they often occur in considerable quantities ; in some 

 places younger drifts being made up nearly altogether of them. 

 They have been used in the manufacture of glass, for building 

 purposes, for manure, and many of the gravels for road metal. 



The coast sands, that is, those found in the tracts and dunes of 

 JEolian sand, which occupy such long and sometimes wide tracts 

 in places round the coast-line, seem capable of being made much 

 more remunerative^ than they are at present. If no other use can 

 be found for them they ought to be planted, as has been done in 

 Grascony, and other places on the wild coast of the Bay of Biscay. 

 Their frail nature, and tendency to travel, has given them a bad 

 name ; but experience in France proves that they will grow fir 

 timber profitable for ^turpentine and pitch ; while after the woods 

 •are established, the shedding of the leaves and the roots of the 

 trees fix the sand so, that portions, if judiciously cleared, can be 

 converted into excellent and remunerative tillage-land. It should, 

 however, be mentioned, that in Ireland, in a few places, by judicious 

 management, they have been made more or less remunerative. 



Many of these .ZEolian sands, especially when Calcareous, ought 

 to be extensively used as manure. Some of them were utilized for 

 this purpose formerly ; but of late years nearly all are ignored, as 

 the artificial manures can be more easily procured, although even- 

 tually at a much greater cost. 



There are other sands, also gravels, valuable as manure ; these 

 will be mentioned in their respective counties. 



For the ancient bronze castings the mould in general seems 

 to have been cut in sandstone, as many such moulds are found in 

 the old settlements. In modern times they are generally made of 

 sand. As to where the sand used for these moulds in the different 

 foundries was procured we can give very little information. 



Adjoining the Arklow Chemical Works a barricade of upright 

 timbers was erected to prevent the mass of iEolian sand, during 



