2^2 
The hish Nairn alist. 
October, 
BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 
May 30. — The Hare's Gap. — The second excursion of the season took 
place, when over forty members and their friends went to Newcastle by 
the 9.35 a.m. train. Robert Bell and Joseph Maxwell were the conductors 
on this occasion. On arrival the party proceeded by brakes to the mouth 
of the Trassey Valley en route for the Diamond Rocks. The brakes were 
left behind above the Trassey Bridge, and the remainder of the excursion 
was continued on foot. In about half an hour the Hare's Gap, the narrow 
col joining Slicve Bcarnagh and Slieve-na-Glogh, was the most prominent 
feature in the landscape. After lunch the journey was continued right 
over the Gap and round the southern slope of Slieve-na-Glogh. Then a 
further ascent of about 300 feet brought the party to the Diamond Rocks. 
With the help of some quarrymen,and a geologist working a 10 lb. sledge, 
they began at once looking for the minerals which are the special charac- 
teristic of the granite in this locality. Many specimens were found, and 
the members were able to bring home more or less excellent examples of 
beryl, topaz, clear, smoky, and black quartz, mica, and also the commoner 
minerals. 
During the afternoon Dr. Dwerryhouse, of Queen's University, gave a 
short address, in which he dealt with the geological features of the Mourne 
Mountains. The party highly enjoyed the al fresco lecture. 
The view of the mountains at this point was charming. Looking south, 
over the head of the Silent Valley rose the fine crest of Slieve Bingian, the 
greatest mass of any single mountain in the whole range. To the left rose 
the broad shoulders of Slieve Commedagh, backed by the towering form 
of Slieve Donard, the monarch of the range. On the right, the tors crowning 
the summit of Slieve Bearnagh completed the panorama. 
On the way back to the cars attention was drawn to the weathered 
slopes of Slieve Bearnagh, where the granite appeared like walls of gigantic 
masonr3^ While, of course, the chief interest of the day was geological, 
the botanists of the party made some collections of plants, including the 
following : — Listera cordata, Juniperus nana, Hymenophyllum Wilsoni, 
Saxifraga stellaris, Ulex Gallii, Lycopodium Selago. At the subsequent 
business meeting at the Slieve Donard Hotel several new members were 
elected including Mr. J. W. Manning, formerly of Rosapenna, but now 
manager of the Slieve Donard Hotel. 
June 13. — Castle Robin. — A party of over fifty members and friends 
left the Great Northern Station at 2.30 p.m. for Derriaghy Halt, whence 
they proceeded on foot to their destination — Castle Robin — a distance of 
about three miles. 
A short description and history of the place was given by Robert May, 
who mentioned that the ruins still remaining were those of a castle erected 
some hundreds of years ago by one Roger Norton, an officer in Essex's 
army. The prehistoric mound or tumulus close by the ruins of the castle, 
and upon which the party was standing, was known as " Lis-na-Robin " 
long prior to Norton's day, and it doubtless gave its name to the castle. 
Leaving what remains of the castle behind, the members, under the 
leadership of Robert Bell, proceeded to the neighbouring quarries. The 
quarries are in the Lower Basalt, and an intrusive dyke of amygdaloidal 
