270 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



replaced by iron. A third socket from a mill at Erickeens, now 

 disused, given by M. Costello, is a symmetrically cut stone, nearly a 

 cube. Two grooves are cut round it ; and it has, at four corners of 

 lower surface, slight bosses, like rudimentary feet. The first two 

 have been slightly chipped. 



The millers say that a good stone is better than any other socket 

 for a pivot, but for its liability to heat and crack. It must be care- 

 fully attended to with lubricant, for which tallow is used. M. O'Erien 

 says that a stone socket will not wear one-sixtieth inch in five years. 



The iron gudgeon or pivot must be turned in a lathe to form a 

 slender truncated cone ; if not, it will bore, and the stone will not last. 

 The upper gudgeon — for the upper stone is penetrated too— must be 

 similarly turned. It works in a bearing in a beam overhead. 



DiiTiNG Kilns. 



Up to fifty or sixty years ago every townland in this region had a 

 single kiln, and every mill had a double kiln. Each kiln was like 

 a huge tobacco pipe, and was generally built on a slope so that only 

 about 2 feet of the walls protruded above ground-level. The 

 ' Poorheen ' ^ was a tunnel through the side of the bank. The fire 

 was placed at its mouth. 



Three ' Iceumwee ' supported the ' sporrooghee.' Sheaves of 

 straw were laid heads inward over the sporrooghee. These sheaves 

 were of scutched straw. Scutching is done by taking the sheaf in 

 both hands by the butt, and striking it against a block, as a preliminary 

 to threshing with a flail. The straw is thus in regular order for the 

 * sgriv.' Yery little corn goes through. 



A little door was in the sloping beehive roof of the kiln on the 

 inner side over the ' poorheen.' The door was of wattle covered 

 with straw like the roof, having straw or hay ropes for hinges, and 

 was made to lie flat on the roof. If wind blew on it, the door was 

 covered with a sack to prevent draught from entering. There was 

 no opening to let out smoke, which filtered through the roof. 



Very little smoke is created in these kilns. The hot gases which 

 pass through the corn produce a culinary effect and improve its 

 flavour. People in the habit of using meal so treated think other 

 meal insipid. Stirabout and fresh oat-bread made from meal under 

 the old system are delicious. 



Drying took about twenty-four hours. In the new kilns it 



1 For this and other words see Glossary at end. 



