350 [Proc. B.N.F.C, 



to seems to have fallen into an error in supposing that the beds 

 in question belong to the white plastic clay series which occur 

 along the southern shore of Lough Neagh, whereas the latter do 

 not seem to extend to within half a mile of the spot where the 

 fossils occur, nor is the lithological character of the two beds at 

 all similar. As the conclusion regarding the fossiliferous beds in 

 the Crumlin river is erroneous, and as the evidence on strati- 

 graphical grounds in favour of the Pliocene age of the Lough 

 Neagh clays is not conclusive, the exact epoch to which the latter 

 beds must be referred is still an open question. Granted that they 

 repose upon basalt, nevertheless they may be of any age between 

 that of the lower miocene basalt and that of the upper boulder 

 clay of the glacial epoch. The reader suggested that they spanned 

 almost the entire interval, and are in part contemporaneous with 

 the lacustrine iron ores, bauxite and lithomarge of the Antrim 

 hills, which beds rest similarly on basalt, and contain plant re- 

 mains closely resembling, if not indeed identical, with those found 

 in the ironstone nodules of Lough Neagh. Should further 

 researches prove that the plants of the two deposits are the same, 

 and that the plastic clays are really of later Miocene age, it may 

 safely be inferred that one reason why these have retained their 

 clayey character is the simple fact that they were not covered by 

 the outflows of later Miocene basalt, to which is attributed the 

 consolidation of the iron ores and their associated beds. 



Mr. Swanston then briefly referred to the well-known silicified 

 woods of Lough Neagh, and brought forward a number of strong 

 arguments tending to supplement the opinion that they are associ- 

 ated with the black lignites, and are derived from the Lough 

 Neagh beds. A number of most interesting specimens were 

 exhibited, including the fossils and scratched boulders from the 

 Crumlin river, pieces of wood partially silicified while the re- 

 mainder still retains its woody character ; with examples of the 

 black lignite and ironstone nodules, enclosing plant remains from 

 the Lough Neagh beds. 



