1 879-1880.] 403 



ward along the slope of the hill. Here a chasm has been cut by 

 the water, which finds its way from the upper ground, and the 

 various strata are well exposed, from the Keuper Marls to the 

 Basalts. It is notable that the Lias is absent from this section, and 

 from other exposures further south. The glauconitic sands are, 

 however, well represented, and are fossiliferous. After a short 

 time spent here, the road to the top was taken, and soon the 

 breezy heights, purple with heather, were reached, where a halt was 

 called for rest, and to enjoy the landscape spread at our feet. The 

 position of the hill, at an angle where the range which skirts the 

 Antrim coast bends inland, commands a most extensive view of 

 the rich valley of the Lagan and surrounding district. Belfast, 

 comparatively free from factory smoke, with both shores of the bay, 

 looked bright and warm in the evening sunshine, while Strang- 

 ford Lough and a wide expanse of the County Down, with the 

 Ballynahinch and more distant Mourne Mountains, formed a scene 

 amply repaying the toil of the ascent. A few of the party bent on 

 botany made a rapid circuit of the area between the Black Moun- 

 tain and Divis. Nothing new, however, was to be expected in a 

 field so near home, and so well worked. The most notable was 

 the curious cryptogam, Botrychium lunaria, a species of fern, very 

 sparingly distributed, and most difficult to detect. On the return 

 of the party by the Forth River several of the members visited a 

 standing-stone on the northern slope of the hill, near which are 

 several rude cairns, apparently contemporaneous with it, and which 

 are worthy of a closer examination than time would admit on the 

 present opportunity. A leisurely walk brought the party home 

 about eight o'clock, after having spent a most enjoyable evening. 



On 13th September, to 



NEWTOWNARDS AND SCRABO MOUNTAIN. 

 The sixth and last excursion for the season took place on 

 Saturday, 13th September, to Scrabo Hill and the neighbour- 



