58 
tried this matter; but several affirmed, that it had been done by 
others of their acquaintance*. 
Mr. Wm. Molyneux, secretary to the society of Dublin, for pro- 
moting researches in natural philosophy, believed in the petrifying 
power of Lough Neagh, in opposition to those who asserted that 
the petrified wood is found in the sand hills near the lough. He 
also thought this power was chiefly exerted on the holly ; but he 
never obtained any positive proof of this property existing in the 
waters of the lough ; nor could he procure a piece of petrified wood, 
with unchanged wood adhering to it. He observes, that when 
briskly calcined, the ashes of this petrified wood were affected by 
the magnetf . 
But Mr. W. Smith, whose opportunities of observation were 
frequent, says, in answer to some queries proposed to him on this 
subject by Mr. Molyneux, that he thinks the petrifying power of the 
waters of the lake to be fabulous; and believes that the petrified 
wood is found, only in the earth which surrounds, or which forms 
the bed of the lake, at the sides. He remarks, that none of the 
pieces he saw, were partly wood, and partly stone ; nor did he ever 
see the bark petrified. 
This wood is described by Dr. Barton]:, as existing in two dif- 
ferent states. In the one kind, there is still an exact resemblance 
to wood, although it is now really stone. This is, generally, in small 
pieces, which are of a whitish colour, porous, and comparatively 
lighter than other stones; cleaving easily lengthways, grinding 
to a smooth surface, so as to be fit to whet knives ; and have never 
yet been found with any wood contiguous to them. The other sort 
is found in much larger, harder, and more weighty pieces, which are 
* The Natural History of Ireland, by Dr. Gerard Boate, published by Hartlib, in 1652, 
and republished in 1755. 
f Philos. Trans. No. 158, p. 554. 
t Lectures in Natural Philosophy, &c. by Richard Barton, B.D. Dublin, 1751. 
