43° [Proc. B.N.F.C, 



Queen's College, Belfast. In company with him and other Belfast naturalists, 

 Grainger spent many pleasant days in dredging for starfishes and other 

 echinoderms, in -which Order Thomson was specially interested. 



At this time Grainger contributed an interesting paper to the Ulster Journal of 

 Archaeology, Vol. 9, 1861 and 1862, entitled — "Results of Excavations in High 

 Street, Belfast." This paper contained much local information on old coins, 

 Belfast tokens, &c, found during the re -building of the culvert over the Farset 

 Eiver in High Street, and was the author's first published paper on archseology. 



In 1861 Ralph Tate came to Belfast, and opened classes under the South Ken- 

 sington Department, in geology, mineralogy, and botany. These classes stirred 

 up local geologists to much fresh activity, and were highly successful ; and in 

 the examination on the subject of geology, held at various centres over the United 

 Kingdom, in May, 1862, Tate's pupils carried off eleven first-class Queen's 

 prizes out of a total of 1 3 awarded to the students who presented themselves 

 for examination. Grainger had the honour of carrying off first place, but was 

 disqualified from obtaining the gold medal, which would otherwise have been 

 awarded to him, on the ground that he paid income-tax, and was consequently 

 ineligible under the rules of the Department. 



In the summer of the same year he had a pleasant walking tour through 

 Switzerland with the Rev. Robert Carmichael, Fellow of Trinity College, who 

 was married to his sister Belinda, and this trip furnished its quota of additions 

 to his museum. 



About this year operations undertaken by the Board of "Works towards im- 

 proving the navigation at Toome, where the Lower Bann leaves Lough Neagh, 

 resulted in the discovery of an extraordinary number of stone implements, 

 chiefly polished celts, in the bed of the river. Large quantities of these found 

 their way into museums and private collections, and Grainger acquired a repre- 

 sentative series, purchasing about 100 examples from a dealer for the modest 

 price of fourpence each. 



In the same year he was in London on business for a few months, and the 

 construction of waterworks near Dulwich College presented a good opportunity 

 for the study of the Eocene beds, and the interesting fossils which characterise 

 these deposits were diligently sought and preserved. 



A walking tour through "Wales, from Chepstow to Bangor, with Thomas 

 Valentine, brought our naturalist among a vastly older fauna. The Palaeozoic rocks 

 of Portmaddock, with their fine assemblage of Trilobites— Angelina, JEglina, 

 Asephus, &c— furnished him with material for his hammer, during the time at 

 his disposal. 



In March, 1863, the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club was founded, being an 

 outcome of the impetus which Professor Tate's classes had given to local 

 science, and Grainger was selected to fill the post of Chairman of Committee 

 during its first year. 



On 21st December, 1863, he was ordained in St. Anne's Church, Belfast, by 



