Kinahan — On Irish Arenaceous Rocks. 541 



the shores of Loughs Graney and Coutra. The former were exten- 

 sively used for the manufacture of scythe "boards, the sands being- 

 carried for that purpose into the neighbouring counties, as boards 

 made from them were considered far superior to those made from 

 English sands. This sand is the detritus from the Lower Carboni- 

 ferous sandstone, in which there are beds that were formerly wrought 

 by hand into scythe stones. These were carried by hawkers, and sold 

 to the traders in Ennis, Limerick, Nenagh, &c, or at the different 

 markets and fairs in the neighbouring portions of Connaught, 

 Munster, and Leinster. Before the "bad times" in 1848 and 

 subsequent years, very few mowers along the Shannon and its 

 tributaries used any but " Clare stones" and " Clare boards;" but 

 during that time the making of them ceased, and English and 

 Scotch stones had to be used. A few of the makers who survived 

 the famine attempted to revive the trade, and in 1860 there were 

 a few families in Glenomera and Glendree, near Eeakle, working 

 at them. The foreign stones, however, held their own, as they 

 could be sold much cheaper ; also they suited the scythes then in 

 the market, as those imported are much softer than those previously 

 made in the country, the former wearing out much quicker than 

 the latter. Fifty years ago a mower on the Callow, along the 

 Shannon, would have a scythe to last him two or three seasons ; 

 now the imported scythes never last more than one. The cheap 

 scythes retard the work considerably, as the mowers have to stop 

 so often to whet their scythes. 



[As pointed out in the Paper on " Metal Mining " (ante, page 306), the Irish iron 

 was much superior to that now in use. There are not now, as far as I can learn, any 

 authentic records as to the quality of the steel, except the traditions of certain smiths 

 who could make a scythe that would "cut wool floating on water," or a scythe that 

 had not to be whetted for an entire day. Such legends are still to be heard in the 

 neighbourhood of the Shannon and elsewhere.] 



In the barony of Burren sand and gravel are scarce, being 

 nowhere in abundance. In the neighbourhood of Ennis there is 

 good pit-sand ; three miles from Scariff there is good river-sand ; 

 while at Lahinch and Kilrush there is good sea-sand. 



In places along the coast-line there are duns or accumulations 

 of JEolian sand, and in the estuary of the Shannon manure or shelF 

 sand, formerly extensively utilized. 



