147 



LAGAN CANAL. (Half Day). 



The fifth excursion of the Summer Session took place on the 

 25th July, when the Club visited the Lagan Canal under the 

 able guidance of Mr. N. H. Foster, M.B.O.U. 



The courteous Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway 

 had reserved special carriages attached to the two o'clock train, 

 and in less than half an hour Hillsborough was reached, where 

 some local members were waiting the arrival, Lisburn and Porta- 

 down members having joined en route. From this stage forty 

 members and friends took part in the proceedings. A walk of 

 less than a mile brought the members to Newport Bridge, where 

 the Hillsborough to Antrim road crosses the canal. Soon the 

 collectors were busy searching and examining, and many treasures 

 rewarded the ardent devotees. 



After a walk of two and a half hours along the canal 

 banks Lisburn Bridge was reached, and all wended their way 

 to the Temperance Institute, Railway Street, where a welcome 

 tea awaited the members. 



After tea, a short business meeting was held — the Vice- 

 President (Mr. W. H. Gallway) in the chair. 



The members then dispersed, some taking the opportunity 

 of visiting the Cathedral and other places of interest in Lisburn 

 ere returning to their respective homes by the frequent trains from 

 this town. The walk from Hillsborough to Lisburn was a most 

 interesting one to the botanical members of the party. Perhaps 

 there is no district near Belfast where so many water-loving 

 species of plants are to be found in profusion. A very noticeable 

 feature, too, of the botanical display here afforded by Nature was 

 the zoning of the vegetation. By the hard dry margin of the tow- 

 path one class of plants flourished ; then an inner zone nearer the 

 canal supported another distinct series. Finally, those plants 

 which find their genial habitat in the water itself formed several 

 zones. On the very margin were tall species of grasses, and the 



