210 



rived at by Ivory, (a circumstance to which Dr. Apjohn 

 has alluded in his first paper on the Dew-point, without, 

 however, having been at the time aware that Ivory's result and 

 his own were perfectly identical,) and the same is probably 

 true of Dr. August of Berlin, as may be collected from the 

 following passage of Dr. Suerman's Thesis, p. 69 : — 



" Formulam psychrometricam ex theoria mixtionum aeris 

 ac vaporis, anno 1834 deduxerat D. Apjohn, iisdem innisus 

 principiis quibus Gay-Lussac de aere sicco, August et Ivory 

 de humido, problema solverant, non tamen hos auctores 

 secutus." 



The Rev. Caesar Otway read a paper " on the Ruined 

 Abbeys in the Province of Connaught." 



His object was to shew, in the first instance, the differ- 

 ence between the ancient Irish monastic establishments, and 

 those subsequent to the Anglo-Norman conquest. He then 

 called the attention of the Academy to the rapid demolition 

 of these interesting religious structures by the people, who 

 make them places of common and much prized sepulture, and 

 (desiring to mark the places where their friends are buried) 

 recklessly tear down the quoins, corbells, capitals of pillars, 

 and all the elaborate ornaments they can lay their hands 

 on, in order to answer the purpose of head stones. 



Mr. Otway suggested the possibility of appointing per- 

 sons who would act as conservators of these ancient edifices, 

 and expressed his hope that the clergy might be made instru- 

 mental in putting a stop to the dilapidations he complained 

 of. Mr. Otway alluded to the well known Fresco paintings 

 on the walls of the choir of the Abbey of Knockmoy ; and 

 having stated that a rapid decay is in progress, whereby 

 there is a likelihood of these interesting representations be- 

 ing speedily obliterated, he suggested that some artist (one 

 who combined the execution of a good draughtsman with 

 the taste and enterprize of an antiquarian) should be em- 



