'i88o-i88i.] 37 



should be the scope of our investigations." After referring to the 

 subject of his address last year, Mr. Gray continued : — " On the 

 present occasion I will, with your permission, enlarge a little 

 upon our former subject, and endeavour to ascertain how far 

 we have fulfilled the object of our Club, and what aids or 

 auxiliaries are still needed for the purpose of extending or 

 utilising the results of our investigations." Mr. Gray referred 

 to the marked success of the Club's excursions, and said that — 

 " On the east coast we have dredged around the bays and head- 

 lands of Down and Antrim, on the west we have scaled the 

 magnificent cliffs of Donegal, in the north we have hunted in 

 the sand dunes from Magilligan to Torr Head, and in the 

 South we have extended our surveys into Monaghan, Louth, 

 and Sligo. Within this area we have navigated Lough Neagh 

 and Lough Erne, explored the caverns of Fermanagh, assembled 

 around our ancient cromlechs, cairns, and earthen forts ; we have 

 met amid the ruins of churches and abbeys ; we have ascended 

 to the crests of our highest mountains, and we have descended 

 hundreds of feet below the lowest depth of the harbour of 

 Belfast. Then, following up the mineral and other resources of 

 our country, we have explored the coal mines of Tyrone and 

 Antrim, the granite quarries of Down and Donegal, the lime- 

 stone exposures of Armagh and Fermanagh, the sandstones of 

 Down, the iron mines of Antrim, and the bauxite of Irish Hill. 

 We have also had the advantage of witnessing the processes by 

 which many of our mineral products are utilised in the arts, 

 particularly the methods by which the rich clays of Fermanagh 

 can be converted into the beautiful pottery of Belleek. It is 

 also a satisfaction to remember that our excursions have not 

 been undertaken out of idle curiosity, but with the intelligence 

 of inquiring naturalists." After giving particulars of the Club's 

 prize scheme and its good results, Mr. Gray continued : — "The 

 sole aim of the Club, however, is not merely to popularize 

 science, hence many of our members have successfully devoted 

 themselves to original research, and our published records of 

 special investigations in several departments of natural science 



