13 



the debris of a geological catastrophe into a scene of matchless 

 order and the rarest beauty. Hurrying down the precipice at 

 the risk of broken necks or sprained limbs, the party once more 

 took a car for a straight run to Larne. The day's work was now 

 finished, and time was afforded to reflect on the scenes passed 

 through, the geologists being thoroughly pleased with the 

 great variety of geological features exhibited along the route, 

 the numerous sections of fossiliferous beds, the grand physical 

 features of the coast line, and the stupenduous erosions, con- 

 tortions, and landslips indicating the vast disturbances of past 

 geological ages. Nor were the botanists less interested. With 

 better opportunities of collecting specimens, they returned 

 laden with spoil, and those who, on this occasion, were in quest 

 of such, did not fail to enrich their herbaria by the addition of 

 many rareties. The rocky cliffs afford most suitable habitats 

 for the interesting, though difficult, family known as the 

 Hawk weeds. Specimens were obtained of three species not of 

 common occurrence, namely — 1/ieracium Murorum, H. Vul- 

 gatum, and H. Anglicum. The heathy mountain slopes and 

 rocky escarpments which all along the route limit the domain 

 of Neptune were decorated and rendered still more pictu- 

 resque by many of our maritime and rupestral wild plants, 

 the bright blue of the sheep's scabious contrasting with 

 the abundant white flowers of the sea campion rendered 

 gay many a jutting point on the coast ; while more shady 

 rocks were festooned by the trailing stems of the wood- 

 vetch, bearing in profusion those racemes of elegant blos- 

 soms which distinguished this species. On the beach at 

 Red Bay were collected the sea holly {Eryngium maritimum), 

 with its low tufts of rigid and spiny leaves. Adjacent spots 

 were enlivened by the bright yellow heads of Trifolium 

 procumbeus. Here, associated with the rest harrow (Ononis 

 arvensis), on the mai'gin of a small stream hard by, the botanical 

 collectors rejoiced to find Senecio saracenicus, a plant not 

 hitherto recorded in our local floras. 



Glen dun and Glenariff are so situated as to afford natural 

 habitats for sub-Alpine and marsh plants, and during the 

 brief exploration on this occasion yielded many such, some of 



