100 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



a gritty character. The walling of the Round Tower at Kilcullen 

 is of the slate rock of the locality, the doorway being of granite. 

 In the upper portion of the Round Tower at Kildare slate rock is 

 used indiscriminately with granite, sandstone, and limestone. 



KILKENNY. 



Extending across the south portion of this county, from 

 Tipperary into Wexford, there is an area of slate rocks. They 

 principally belong to the Ordovicians, only a few occurring in the 

 Lower Carboniferous. They are good for walling, and are found 

 in many of the ancient buildings, sandstone (sometimes Caen (?) ), 

 having been used in the dressings. 



In the north of the county the Coal-measure shales yield bad 

 building stones. Some of the shales, raised when the coals were 

 being worked, after they had disintegrated or " melted," were 

 found to be an excellent top-dressing for the land, while others 

 were injurious, burning off the herbage. The bad qualities of the 

 latter seem to have died out in time by exposure, as all the stacks 

 of them that existed a quarter of a century ago have been appa- 

 rently used up. Good roofing slate can be procured, as mentioned, 

 ante p. 85. 



KING'S COUNTY. 



Slate rocks occur only on the south-east, in the small portion of 

 Slievebloom that extends into this county. They are very little 

 used. 



LEITRIM. 



Schists, slates, and shales occur in the metamorphic rocks and the 

 Coal-measures, and some of them are locally employed for walling 

 purposes. 



LIMERICK. 



In the exposures of Ordovicians, in their marginal tracts of Lower 

 Carboniferous rocks, and also in the Coal-measures, slates and shales 

 occur. Here and there some of these are extensively quarried for 

 general building purposes. Near Grlin there is a hard, compact 

 Coal-measure shale, very suitable for walling. 



