428 



examined all the bronze horns in the Earl of Rosse's collec- 

 tion, I have no hesitation in asserting that not even a single 

 one of them was united with rivets. Some of them present 

 at a distant view, to a superficial observer, the appearance of 

 having been riveted ; but, on closer examination, such ap- 

 pearance turns out to be nothing more than a mere nail-head 

 ornament running along the sides or around the wider aper- 

 ture of the horn. It is quite clear that the entire horn was, 

 with its nail-head ornaments, made at a single casting. I 

 send for inspection two specimens of this description of orna- 

 mented horn, marked N and N 2, found at Dowris, and be- 

 longing to my own collection. 



" To two of the horns in Lord Rosse's possession addi- 

 tions have been annexed, not by riveting, but by a more 

 remarkable process, that which is technically termed ' burn- 

 ing.' This mode of uniting metals is, 1 believe, reckoned 

 now of rather modern invention. It is effected by pouring 

 melting metal at a. glowing temperature upon the junction of 

 the two pieces intended to be united, and by that means fusing 

 the entire into one mass. 



"No. 12. Gold-coloured pear and spherical-shaped crotals 

 or bells. These form the subject of curious and interesting 

 study. I send a specimen of the spherical-shaped (marked O) 

 from my own collection, and would send some of the pear- 

 shaped, but 1 am aware there are some of them already in the 

 museum of the Royal Irish Academy. 



" No. 13. A variety of gold-coloured celts of different 

 sizes. Mr. Donovan, the able chemist, has kindly analysed 

 one of these celts for me. He found it composed of copper, 

 85-232; tin, 13-112; lead, 1-142; sulphur, carbon, &c., 0.150 ; 

 and loss, but partially accounted for, 0-642 in every 100. I 

 would be guilty of an injustice did I not here return thanks 

 to my scientific friend, Mr. Donovan, for the public service 

 his labours in that analysis have rendered. 



No, 14. Gold-coloured hatchets. One of these (marked S) 



