1873-1874.] *7 



the opinion of the member of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club 

 demonstrated to be correct. It is only to be regretted now that 

 the landlord's liberality and the boring company's most efficient 

 apparatus did not secure better results. This was the first boring 

 made by this company in Ireland, and probably the severest test 

 the apparatus was ever put to, inasmuch as it had to bore through 

 solid trap rock for the entire depth; yet it went down steadily, 

 often thirty feet per day, and brought to the surface from all 

 depths, even to 558 feet, not muddy debris, like the ordinary jumper, 

 but solid cores of the rock passed through ; so that by this wonder- 

 ful apparatus a boring can now be made in as many days as it 

 took months before, while the resulting cores give actual samples 

 of the several strata passed through, whether soft as clay or as hard 

 as granite. Having obtained specimens of the cores of trap rock 

 brought up by the borer, and expressed their regret at the failure 

 of the undertaking, the party left for Glenravel. The country 

 all around looked in its very best attire, meadows and corn-fields 

 smiling with the happy indication of abundant crops; even the 

 potato fields bloomed with their long line of variegated blossoms, 

 now in their very best condition, rivalling the choicest tints of the 

 garden, and claiming admiration as the poor man's friend. 



A halt was made at Glenravel House, the residence of E. Benn, 

 Esq., who very kindly showed the party his extensive and valuable 

 collection of Irish Antiquities; extensive, because it is the 

 accumulation of many years, and valuable, as all the specimens 

 have been found around Mr. Benn's estate. They consist of all 

 kinds of objects in pottery, stone, bronze, and iron, including a 

 great variety of cinerary urns, stone celts, hammers, arrow heads, 

 spears, &c; also bronze celts, plain and ornamented ; spearheads 

 of all patterns, enamelled fibulae, and gold ornaments, and beads 

 of pottery, stone, glass, and enamel. Mr. Benn has done good 

 service in thus securing this very fine collection, and* preventing 

 so many interesting objects from being scattered. It is to be 

 regretted that we have not in Belfast anything like so good a 

 collection, and no available means of securing for our Museum the 



B 



