president’s annual address. 
83 
called the parent of all such societies—is already proud of the zeal 
and achievements of some of our members. 
The Report of the Council having entered into statistical details, 
I shall not dwell much on the proceedings of the past year. I may, 
however, be permitted to congratulate you on the very important 
and interesting paper read by my learned predecessor and Mr. 
Salter on the line of demarcation between the Carboniferous and 
Devonian rocks in the south of Ireland. This is a most important 
and interesting subject; and without expressing any opinion upon 
this controversy, I am sure you will join with me in the wish that we 
may have such further detailed information as may set this point at 
rest. Our worthy Vice-President, Dr. Griffith, has entered into 
the field, and I trust that he will continue to favour us with his ex¬ 
tended researches. There are at the present moment several similar 
controversies afloat, such as the distinction between the Cambrian 
and Lower Silurian rocks, between the Eocene and Cretaceous for¬ 
mations ; and, indeed, as might naturally be expected, the gradual 
progress of the science, and the minute investigation which is being 
extended to all the strata of the earth, show the extreme difficulty 
of drawing abrupt lines of distinction on palasontological grounds. 
Mr. Du Noyer has given us a very interesting communication on 
the neighbourhood of Killarney; and Professor King, of Queen’s 
College, Galway, has given us a most important paper on the depo¬ 
sits of Artrea in the county of Tyrone, which he demonstrates to 
belong to the Permian period, instead of the New Red Sandstone. 
This discovery may lead to the most important results with re¬ 
ference to the working of our coal mines. We have also had 
some most valuable papers on the composition of the Irish granites. 
Every one who has heard the Rev. Samuel Haughton’s contribu¬ 
tions must be aware of the great accuracy of his investigations; 
and I understand that he has obtained most original mineralogical 
data for classifying by eye the different granitic rocks. The Rev. Pro¬ 
fessor Galbraith has also been a most assiduous labourer in this field. 
And here I hope that I am not travelling beyond my province 
in alluding briefly to the controversy in which this gentleman has 
engaged with reference to the existence of porcelain clay in Ireland. 
No one can be better qualified than he is to express an opinion of 
the quality of the Irish clay, or of its fitness for the production of 
those beautifal wares, which have added so much lustre to the ma- 
