5 od 
486 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 
The presence of so much floating timber in the waters of the 
flood must have greatly enhanced its destructive power. One of 
the largest of these trees, a huge stump with roots 12 feet across, 
was seen lying some distance up the course of a tributary stream, 
and on the top of its overhanging bank, at a distance of two and 
a half miles from the scene of the outbreak. ) 
The erosive effects on the bed of the Ownacree are well marked. 
We observed places where it had been lowered 6 feet; e.g. at a 
spot about half a mile from Annagh-bridge; a lane, which had 
extended across this as a shallow ford, had been cut through by a 
trench, 20 feet in width and 6 feet in depth. In other places the 
stream has cut for itself a new course. 
The lamentable fate which overtook the Donelly family has 
been already alluded to. Many farmers have suffered serious loss 
by the tearing up and washing away of their potato pits, which 
were situated near the banks of the stream. ‘The filling up of the 
limestone quarry is a serious inconvenience; for, although the 
work of clearing it out has been already commenced, and it will 
ultimately be worked as before, it must remain useless for some 
time. No other quarry exists in the neighbourhood, and lime 
is the only manure in universal demand. ‘The roads can he 
cleared without much difficulty : the breaches made in them are 
not serious. The farmers will feel most seriously the loss of 
their land. On most of the holdings the best land was situated 
along the river banks; and, in the upper portions of the valley, 
this is now covered to a depth of 3 feet with a solid deposit of peat. 
At Annagh-bridge the average depth has decreased to 2 feet ; here 
the deposit is of a finer grain and more liquid. According to the 
inquiries made by the police, in the four townlands which occupy 
the east bank of the river between the scene of the outburst and a 
point a little below Annagh-bridge, close on 300 acres of land have 
been thus buried.’ The tenants being all small holders, the loss of 
their best grazing has ruined them. 
Premonitory Sounds.—Strange and contradictory rumours are 
prevalent among the peasantry as to whether any symptoms of the 
approaching catastrophe were noticed. Sergeant King, R.1.c., 
states positively that he and other officers on patrol heard rumbling 
1 Freeman's Jowrnal, January 2nd. 
