82 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



whom were from the neighbourhood, and had learned the trade 

 when children. 



The slate is very good " metal," of a darkish-grey colour, which 

 is permanent, as can be seen in the roofs of the neighbouring 

 houses. The slate seems to be durable, and as it is light, the roofs 

 require timber of but small scantling. As in other slate veins, the 

 stuff improves in quality in depth, but at the same time it is 

 remarkable what good metal can be procured close to the surface. 

 The vein, however, is crossed by numerous joints, which prevent 

 the slates being raised of large dimensions, the slate, as seen in the 

 roofs of the houses, being about 18 to 24 inches long, and from 

 4 to 12 inches wide ; but the better and larger slates were exported 

 to Glasgow, and their dimensions could not be satisfactorily ascer- 

 tained. The joints in the upper portion are said to have continued 

 down as deep as the slate was followed. Only roofing slates appear 

 to have been wrought. They were brought to a yard at the mouth 

 of the tunnel, and there sold, either for local use, or to be shipped 

 to Derry, Strabane, or Glasgow, from St. Johnstown. 



The work does not seem to have been very judiciously planned, 

 as the waste, instead of being run out of the quarry by the tunnel, 

 was run into the deep working, and when operations are resumed, 

 it will have to be lifted and removed at considerable expense. An 

 apparently advantageous method of using this quarry would be to 

 remove ail the debris of the ancient working, and any bad stuff on 

 the back of the vein, into the valley to the westward, and from the 

 brow at the west to carry a-breast eastward. This would leave the 

 vein clear, so that all that would afterwards have to be carried 

 through the tunnel would be the workable stuff, and a small per- 

 centage of waste. The removal of the back of the vein would not 

 be altogether unprofitable, on account of the good quality of some 

 of the surface-stone, which could be wrought into slates. 



DOWN. 



Prior to 1837, as mentioned by Lewis in his Topographical 

 Dictionary of Ireland, there were many trials made, or small 

 quarries opened, for roofing slate, none of which have since become 

 of importance. He states that the Co. Down slates " are inferior 



