300 



these bits were manufactured, iron was a cheaper metal than 

 bronze, it being used to save so much of that metal. It might, 

 however, have been used for the purpose of chilling the bronze 

 which composed the lateral rings, when their material in the 

 molten state flowed through the openings in the mouth-pieces 

 and formed these rings, which would otherwise have adhered 

 to the mouth-pieces. In the Museum are many specimens of 

 bronze castings, united by a process of this kind, yet there 

 is no example of hard soldering, which appears to be a more 

 modern invention. 



The principle of covering iron with bronze, in the fluid 

 state, is exhibited in the fabrication of the folded or lapped 

 iron bells in the Museum, which are, in several instances, 

 covered with bronze or brass, perfectly adhering to the iron 

 surface. The bronze fills up the folds and joints, thus pre- 

 venting any false vibration, and the bell sounds as if it were 

 composed of one piece of metal. 



He also directed the attention of the Meeting to the 

 resemblance between the patterns on some curious antique 

 plates in the Museum, and the details of a certain ornament 

 very common in the initial letters in the manuscript Books of 

 Kells, in the College Library, and the Book of Armagh, now 

 deposited in the Museum of the Academy. He was disposed 

 to infer, that these plates were of the same time as the MSS., 

 or even earlier; for Mr.Westwood, who was the first to notice 

 the resemblance, considered the pattern on them to be the 

 type or original of the designs in the illuminations. This 

 would support the conjecture that these plates were intended 

 for Christian purposes, as pattens, or communion plates, pro- 

 bably ; though the designs differ so very much from those of 

 a later period. 



The size and materials of these plates are the same as 

 those of the Mias Tighernain, which may have been used as a 

 patten also. This is rendered probable by the fact, commu- 

 nicated by the Rev. Dr. Kelly of Maynooth, that he had seen 



