Ferguson — On the Transcription of Ogham Legends. 37 



ployed was thick violet blotting, supplied by Messrs. Cowan, D'Olier- 

 street. 5 



Having by these means secured moulds of many of the inscribed 

 stones of the district, it was considered advisable, before offering the 

 collection to the Academy, to test the feasibility of reproducing a mould 

 in metal. With this view the mould first taken from the cast of the 

 Newton Stone was put into the hands of Mr. Carnegie, an ingenious 

 workman of Messrs. Ross and Murray, who returned it with a perfect 

 reproduction in white metal. Although the mould underwent no pre- 

 liminary process of hardening, it yielded its metal duplicate without 

 losing its sharpness, and quite satisfied me that the moulds taken 

 in the country were strong enough, however slight in appearance, 

 to be converted without risk into permanent matrixes. 



Being so assured, I addressed to the Secretary of Council the follow- 

 ing letter : — 



"20, North Great George' 's-street, 



Dublin, 28th October, 1870. 



" Deae. Sir, — Eeferring to the Report of the Committee of Polite 

 Literature of the 29th of May, 1869, and to the consequent resolution 

 of Council, of the 7th June, 1869, as to the formation of a museum of 

 casts from Ogham-inscribed monuments, I beg to state that being- 

 obliged to spend the vacation of that year out of Ireland, I was un- 

 able to take any step towards the object proposed during the session of 

 1869-70. 



" Being free from the necessity of going abroad during the present 

 year, and continuing to entertain the belief that, for the profitable study 

 of at least Ogham legends, it is essential that a large number of examples 

 should be brought together — while confirmed by extended obser- 

 vations in my conviction, that the authenticity of such examples cannot 

 be secured by any means short of an exact reproduction of the 

 originals — I have occupied myself during this autumn in procuring 

 moulds of a considerable number of inscribed monuments, chiefly of 

 the Ogham class. 



"These moulds have been taken in paper, by a process which, 

 as applied to such objects, is I believe substantially new. They are 

 capable of being reproduced in plaster of Paris or in metal, from which 

 an unlimited number of duplicates can be had ; and will even yield 

 a few impressions in paper, direct, but not without ultimate injury to 

 themselves. 



" The method of taking these paper moulds is in principle the same 

 which was adopted in verifying the Croghan inscription in I860, 6 and 

 is a modification of the ' less troublesome and expensive process' re- 



5 The Academy is indebted to the liberality of one of its members, Andrew 

 Armstrong, Esq., for a large donation of moulding paper, specially prepared since 

 thj process was first described. 



fi Proceedings Royal Irish Academy, vol. ix. p. 161. 



K. I. A. PROC. — VOL. II., SER. II., POL. LIT. AND ANTIQ. G 





