271 
652 B.c.; the 22nd March being the first day of the Assyrian 
year. 
The Secretary to the Council also read the following com- 
munication from John Barton, Esq., on a remarkable pheno- 
menon observed on Lough Erne :— 
“*Clonelly, 23rd October, 1855. 
«¢ My pear Sir,—l beg to call your attention to a phe- 
nomenon on Lough Erne, which is universally known to the 
inhabitants of its shores, particularly on the broad part of the 
lake,—viz. the working of the lake previous to a change of 
weather, either from wet to dry, or the reverse. 
‘As I am aware you know the principal names in the lower 
lake, I will take Lusties Islands as the centre, and I think 
the best part for an observer that had any idea of studying 
the matter to station himself. 
‘* When the lake roars (as the phrase here is) on the east 
shores, it is a sign of wet; when the noise is on the west, of 
fine weather. On a calm day the noise of the lake is equal to 
a waterfall, and the swell comes like a ground swell of the 
sea, lashing each shore, as the case may be, either from the 
west for wet, or east for dry weather. 
“<I have been on the lake on a very fine day,—the lake as 
smooth as possible,—when all of a sudden a strong ground 
swell came on, apparently without a cause. In about an hour 
or so after, it rained very hard, still continuing calm. On the 
wide part, of course, the waves are larger; but inside the Bow 
Island an observer can notice this, but in a much smaller degree. 
From my notice having been attracted to this, I can perceive 
the same, in a smaller degree, in all small lakes. And I am 
of opinion, that in a smaller degree every body of water must 
be subject to the same agitation, although in small bodies the 
harder to perceive. 
‘«¢ A ground swell on the sea may be accounted for by agi- 
tation from any distance, though it may be doubtful. But 
