proceeded to the Moat, about 2^ miles to the North-West, on Donegore 

 Hill, which formed the camping ground for the rebels in 1798, on the 

 night previous to the battle of Antrim. Leaving the hill and passing 

 through the neat little village of Parkgate, the party next examined a very- 

 excellent Cromlech, in a grove at Silver Springs, off the road to Doagh, and 

 returned along by the banks of the six-mile water, to meet the evening 

 train at Templepatrick for Belfast. During the day the following botanical 

 specimens were collected : — The very rare river crowfoot {Ranunculus 

 jluitans). This species has only been included in the catalogue of Irish 

 plants within the last few years. Che nopodium Bonus Henricus, ChelidoniurrL 

 .mtjus, Silene iujlata, Lychnis vespertina, Potamageton lucens, Nasturtium 

 palustrc, the lake bulrush (Scirpus lacustris), the creeping scorpion grass, 

 and several species of fescue grass. 



Unfortunately the two following Excursions, to Holy wood on the 10th 

 July, and to Hillsborough on the 1 4th August, were so badly attended that 

 very little field work was done. 



The fifth and last Excursion of the Club was made on Saturday, the 

 23rd September to the Belfast Waterworks. The few members that 

 attended examined the source of all the streams that flow from the high 

 ground to the sea, and ascertained that nearly all obtained their supply of 

 water from the outcrop of the greensand below the chalk on the southern 

 escarpment of the trappean plateau. As the object of the meeting was 

 mainly to investigate the nature and extent of the supply of the water to 

 the Belfast Waterworks, very few botanical or geological specimens were 

 collected. It was remarkable that on this occasion the members, owing to 

 the dryness of the season and other causes, were able to examine the beds 

 of the principal reservoirs, on which the herbage grew as luxuriant as in 

 the most highly cultivated meadows. 



If all the work done for the year was confined to the Summer Excursions, 

 the Club could not accomplish much good, if the efforts of the Committee 

 are not seconded by the bulk of the members, for whose good alone the 

 Excursions are organized ; and they are designed with the view of cultivating 

 a general taste for the pursuit of science, rather than for the advancement 

 or development of special technical subjects. Much good has been done by 

 individual members, who frequently visit and examine in detail the localities 

 around Belfast, and the results of their labours are brought before the 

 Society, either as papers during the Winter Session, or as properly mounted 

 botanical, geological, or archaeological specimens, at our annual conver- 

 sazione. During the past year a few of the members visited the Pomeroy 

 district, and obtained a valuable collection of silurian fossils. The Com- 

 mittee would strongly recommend the members to conduct all their investi- 

 gations with the view of introducing papers on the subject studied during 

 the Winter Session, it being much more desirable to have papers on subjects 

 studied by ourselves and connected with our own locality, than to depend 

 too much upon the labours of others. 



Mr. William Gray read the first paper last Session, on "Water and 

 Water Supply, Geologically Considered." This had reference to the 

 question of the water supply for Belfast, which was so thoroughly canvassed 

 by the public during the Summer of 1865. Mr. Gray noticed the operations 

 of water in producing the physical features of the globe, and its various 

 uses, being essential to the sustentation of all organized beings, explaining 

 the apparently mysterious origin of springs. He proved that the ocean was 

 the grand natural reservoir, from which all our supplies were derived, 

 and to which all waters ultimately returned, to be again sent forth as 

 clouds and rivers, lakes and seas. He then explained the process of 

 evaporation, and the rainfall, and described the various circumstances that 

 affected both, and traced the difference between the rainfall of a district 

 and its available water supply. From the principles laid down, he was of 

 opinion that the calculations upon which the Belfast water supply scheme 

 was founded were faulty, and that the supply would not be as large as was 

 estimated. He believed, however, that the supply from the greensand 



