5:63 IRISH INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION. fl853 



porphyry, from Lambay IskinU, and red conglomerate, from the tentiou of our manufacturers) engaged in working those imported 



same place, both the property of Lord Talbot de Malahide; a from England, Scotland, and Italy. The inferior ni;mtel-pieces, 



handsome doorway of Cork marble, two chimney-pieces, some &c., are genoi'ally of Irish marbles ; but those upon which the 



pedestals, busts, panels, and slabs of X'arious sizes, illustrate the artist lavishes all his art are for the most part of foreign materials, 



marbles of the difi'ei'ent counties in Ireland. often very iulerior to those that abound close at hand. 



The marbles of Connemara are ^vell represented. They consist .We sincerely trust the display of specimens from native quarries 

 of three hinds — the hard white, the black, and the green. The '"''" '"^ad to the formation, among- a few spirited capitalists, of a 

 green varies very much in colour : sometimes it is almost white ; company like the Serpentine Company, determined to force a 

 again, pale yellow; at other times, bright yellow, or dark green, thriving trade in Irish manufactured marble by the only practi- 

 a! most black. The most valuable specimens are generally of a cable means — excellence in the material, cheapness in the pro- 

 bright green, almost as bi'ight in its colour as malachite. We are chiction, and skill and elegance in the execution, 

 convinced, if this marble existed only in the ruins of some Italian j.x,ax and its products, 

 temple, it would not be less valued than the celebrated Verd- tit- t , ■ i ^ , ' , ,• i 

 antique, than which it is not inferior in beauty. This marble -Inland is peculiarly suited tor the growth of flax. The light 

 exists in abundance in the Connemara mountains,' near Ballyna- ^^'■^ **^''"'® ^^''' ^^'^ softness of the climate, and the fresh breezes of 

 liinch and Clifden ; and it works very well, and will bear turnino- ^^^ Atlantic that fan the island, tempering the heat of the summer 

 in the lathe : it is, consequently, applied to many purposes. TwS ^""' ^'^ conduce to the health and perfection of that delicate plant, 

 very handsome tables of Connemara marble— the slabs of green, '^^ ^^''^ '^° interesting, betore we enter into an account of the manu- 

 and the pedestals of black— attest the size and perfection in which ^'°*"''<^ °* Z'''^'' '« "o'^'^^ biiefly the progress of the growth of the 

 slabs may be procured. These tables will be found in the com- -"'^^^ material. 



pirtment wehave alluded to. They areexhibited byMr.Lambert, The Royal Flax Improvement Society was organised in 1841, 



of Cong Abbey. at which period the Irish flax crop averaged about 80,000 acres 



■Ri,„i. 11 •.. ill 1^1- 1 •! annually. In two years afterwards (1843), it had increased to 



Jilaek marbles exist in great abundance, but not in ffreat purity, noAAn. i- toaa ^ io.iaaa /-i ■ i ^.i t •* 



• T,.j„„i rri i- ^ i • ii "j.. T--11 112,000: and in 1844, to 122,000. Owiuir to the sreat scarcity 



in Ireland, l he most important quarries are those ot lulkenny „f '„i • -i i i * °i a ^^ .•/. 



o„ 1 p.,i,„„,r 'PI Tr-ii 11 1 1- /■ ii 1 1 1 ot seed, some xinprmcipled merchants passed ott a Jarire quantity 



ami (jalway. ihe Kilkenny marble when cutis perfectly black; t ■ i ^i rli • i '^ i 



K„f oft„.. „ „i , I. *• ii 1 1 /? ■ 1. ii ot spurious seed upon the growers, ihis seed was several years 



but after a short time the whole surface, in consequence ot the „, , i , • •, ^,i =" j? , • , , , • , 



„„f- „ „r tu„ i; Wit 1 V. i 1 1 1 -.1 ii old, and, to give it the appearance of beiDo- new, had been mixed, 



action ot the hgat and atmosphere, becomes studded with the „ ' y; -^ vi j i ^ ■ • v t ^ ■ ■! 



t.i,,Uo„.,,i „ • 1 Til J- -1 • i • 1 11 1 ■ V over a nre, in pans, with some deleterious nio-redieuts, to o-ive it 



shells and or2,-anic remnants of the fossd insects imbedded in its „ r i i / ' • . *i m ■ i n ■ „ 



o„K.f„„„„ 'n 11 • • 1 1- 1 ^ iresu, glazed appearance — lust as the Chinese s'laze their green 



substance, iliese are varied, and as -curious as mteresting, and +„ rni ■ e i i -^ i t i i i i ti,« 



,-„ (1.,^ ,,r„„ „f „ 1 -t 11 111 11 1 i ii * 1 tea- inis, ot course, rendered it completely valueless, and the 



in the eyes ot a geologist would, probably, add much to the value e a- 1 1 -i i, ^i q • * i - • i * i 



,^ft),o,„.,,.i !„ 'Bi ■ r? 1 11 ■ .1-1 .-i- larmerssuftered heavily; but the Society, having wisely prosecuted 



ot the mai-ble. i his Ualway marble is exported in large quantities n -i, •■ w- ii i ^ » ^u xt 



f<^ Mow v.. .!-•„., 1 T^ 1 -Di 1 11 1 !• J i the guilty parties, obtained heavy damages against them. Never- 



to JNew lork and London. Black marbles are also found at ^i, ,=' r ^ , ' i i •,• ? . '' ^ i i / i - 



nu,„.^ut ,„ „ 1 n -1 • ii 1 /■ /I 1 1 • 1 theless, it produced so much disappointment and loss (and m 



Ohurchtown an 1 Douraile, m the county of Cork; and in several „, ' '■ , \ .i . • .i f,i - ,i i j.i 



T,,^..t,-^„o „* ti -,„,*•„ i- T • • 1 T»- /ni 1 rn- some cases insolvency), that, in the lollowing year, the breadth 



portions ot the counties of Limerick, Kerry, Clare, and Tipperary. , w n^/nn m e-,o<n f 



' ■" ' i-i- J sown decreased to 93,000 acres. The crop of 1846 was one of 



The Ai-magh and Churchtown marbles are also well represented, the worst that had ever been known in Ireland or on the Continent. 



They present a mottled surface of red, brown, and yellow, some- Tl'c result of both these causes combined was, that in 1847, the 



times tinted with purple. They take a high polish, and are much sowing fed to 48,000 acres; and, in consequence of the general 



admired. A handsome doorway, completely made of these disti-essed state of the trade and commercial panic, in which the 



marbles, and two mantel-pieces, will not fail to impress the visitor ymen trade participated, prices fell so much, that farmers were 



with admiration for this very beautiful variety of native marble, discouraged, and only 53,000 acres of flax were sown in 1848. 



11 J.T 1 As trade recovered from its depression, prices improved, and the 



The other marbles of Ireland are— the ash grey, with a very fine breadth of the flax sown in 1849 had increased to 00,000. In 



gram, in the counties of Cork and Limerick; near Shannon liar- 1350 it amounted to 70,000, and would have far exceeded that, 



hour, fine sienna and dove-coloured marble; near Dunkerron, had seed been procurable— every available bushel having been 



county of Kerry, in small quantities, a purple marble, veined with sown ; and the quantity of flax grown last year is estimated at 



dark green, and resembling bloodstone. In addition to these not less than 130,000 acres. Of this, no more than 12,000 



marbles, which generally are mentioned as .specimens of great acres were grown in the provinces of Leinster, Munstei-, and 



and inexhaustible quarries, Ireland possesses a number of veins Connaught, and the remainder in the northern province of 



of \-ery beautdul marbles, and ]5orphyries, and agates, amethysts, Ulster. 



•fee, a collection of the latter being exhibited by the Lord Chan- nu ' ■ 1 ,. • 1 ■ 1 -i. 1 



eellor of Ireland. The f^iinous Irish diamond's, or crystals, also ^'^° importance of this branch of national industry will be 



abound in various parts of the country, and they are now exten- ^'^ °"'^'^ ^°°"- ''■'^'^® ^''^'"'^ °^ ^"^'^ ^^^ ^'"^ generally ranged 



eively used to ornament the bracelets, broo.dies, &:., manufactured ^''°™ '^^^ ^^ ^^P P*^'" *°"' according to the quality, season, de- 



of the bo"--oak, mand, &c. This had been the general average tor the last 15 



^j . . ., years; but sometimes the prices have ranged so high as £120, 



In the Irish inarbles the articles exhibited, with few exceptions, and oven, upon one occasion, £180 per ton. The importation 



arc either contributed from the Dublin Society, or the Museum of fVom abroad amounted to : 



Irish Industry — both institutions wholly or in part supported by „ „ 



Government grants. We see also here and there a table (anil lears. Ions. 



«ome of them very beautiful) inlaid with native marbles and other 1840., — „'. 



articles, showing great ingenuity; but we fail to fiud extensive -^^^^ - -0/,36S 



manufactories where Irish marbles are produced, not as curiosities, '^^ -- 5o,713 



l)ut to meet a fair demand in the homo or English market. A ■'^^'^ rn'oo? 



visit to the principal marble yards in Dublin will surpr'so us still ^^^'^ 91,097 



more; for here we find the artist (in a country abounding in tli>) It would be difiicult to come to any conclusion as to whethe 



beautiful marbles to which we lia\o eiidea\oui-ed to direct the at- Ireland will soon be able to supply all the raw flax to the nianu 



