1 66 [Proc. B.N.F.C., 



courage of the party did not forsake them. A large party assembled 

 at the Northern Counties Railway, and, with geological hammers, 

 botanical cases, and sundry other naturalists' implements, took 

 their seats in the saloon carriage provided for them, apparently 

 with a full determination to forget the rain and enjoy themselves. 

 Arriving at Larne they never hesitated to take iheir seats on the 

 open conveyances provided for them, and good fortune smiled on 

 their courage — the clouds rolled up, the sun shone forth, and the 

 weather became all that could be wished for during the trip. A 

 prize was offered by the Vice-President for the best series of 

 geological specimens collected during the excursion, and another 

 for the best bouquet of wild flowers submitted by the ladies, and 

 the competitors seized the very first opportunity to collect speci- 

 mens. The familiar section at Waterloo was examined by the 

 geologists, while other members of the party admired the coast 

 scenery, particularly the succession of headlands which are seen to 

 such advantage from this point. Ballygally Head offered another 

 attraction. Here the beds of Lias clay, cropping out under the 

 Chalk rocks along the beach, yielded a goodly number of fossils, 

 including Ammonites, Nautili, Pentacrinites, and other charac- 

 teristic forms. Here, too, the members extracted from the Lias 

 limestone fragments of fossil wood or lignite of the same geological 

 age and origin as the well-known Whitby jet. The basaltic face of 

 Ballygally Head, decorated with fern fronds, and festooned with 

 wild flowers (amongst which were conspicuous the pretty blossoms 

 of the Wood Vetch ( Vicia sylvatica) a rare plant in other districts, 

 but which is common on the Antrim coast), and the battered ruins 

 of Carncastle beneath it, looked extremely picturesque. Shaw's 

 Castle, a little further on, and the adjoining coast-guard station, 

 are next passed ; and at*a gravel bank, two miles nearer Glenarm, 

 a considerable time was spent examining the post-tertiary beds 

 exposed in a deep section close to the road. It was here at 

 Ballyruther, on the farm of Mr. Joseph Dale, that the remains 

 of the Mammoth were found a few years ago. One of the teeth 

 of this creature is now in the collection of the Rev. Dr. Grainger, 



