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PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
crystal, and the following precious stones :—Hyacinth and Cinnamon stone, from 
Ceylon; Chrysoberyl and Chrysolite, from Brazil; Garnets, from Bohemia; an 
Oriental Buby, from the East Indies ; specimens of Topaz, from Brazil, Bohemia, 
and New Zealand; an Emerald, from South America; a Berryl and Aqua 
Marina, from Siberia; Tourmaline, from Switzerland; and Amethyst, from 
Bohemia; Calcedony, from Iceland; a Cornelian, from Persia; Hyalite and 
Opal, from Germany; Cats-eye, from Ceylon, &c. The collection also included 
fine specimens of native gold and silver ore, from Transylvania and Norway. Mr. 
Graves pointed out the great value and interest of this collection, and concluded 
by moving a special vote of thanks to the right honourable donor. 
The motion passed with acclamation. 
The Rev. James Mease forwarded, on the part of George Broomfield, Esq., of 
Maryborough, two specimens of native gold from Australia, embedded in the 
quartz matrix. 
Dr. Cullenan, Ereshford, contributed a nodule of clay-slate iron ore from that 
locality. 
Mr. William Little, Dublin (late of William-street, Kilkenny), presented, u as 
a contribution to the Museum of his native city,” a specimen of cloth manufactured 
by the natives of the Eeegean Islands, from the bark of a tree. 
The Dublin Statistical Society presented a pamphlet, containing the paper of John 
E. Cairns, Esq., A.B., “ On the best means of raising the Supplies for War 
Expenditure,” read before that society. 
Thanks were voted to the various donors. 
THE VINEGAR PLANT. 
The minutes of the last meeting having been read, Mr. Graves proceeded to 
read the following communication from Dr. Keating, Callan, on the subject of the 
Vinegar Plant 
u I see in the Moderator a good article, from Mr. Molyneux, about the Vinegar 
Plant. I have been much gratified at reading it, and the more so that I have been 
engaged for several months in making observations on one in my possession. I 
fully agree with him as to the purity of the vinegar, and am the better judge of 
the matter from having been for several years in France, where, of course, I 
used vinegar almost daily. I have even used that produced from the vinegar plant, 
for pharmaceutical purposes, and found it to answer admirably, and for family use 
it cannot be equalled, at least in these countries. My experience teaches me it is 
not so delicate a plant or fungus as is generally supposed. I have given away 
some, and, in parting the new from the old, have torn the mother plant (this was 
when I got it newly). Still the old plant did well—nay, more, about a month 
since, I placed some of the vinegar in a common jar, and, to my great surprise, a 
day or two ago, having occasion to use it, in decanting the liquid I found a young 
and healthy plant in it. I do not know how this occurred ; but I suppose it must 
have been a young offshoot which passed into the jar with the vinegar at the 
time.” 
Mr. J. G. Robertson then read the following supplementary observations, com¬ 
pleting the subject of his former paper on 
THE CAVE OF DUNMORE. 
At our last general meeting I had the honour of reading rather a long 
description of the Cave of Dunmore, having derived my information chiefly from 
the notes of the late William Robertson, Esq. Many of you will recollect that 
Mr, Robertson expressed his doubts of the existence of either dead men’s bones, or 
of a well and running stream in the Cave; these remarks induced the Rev. James 
Graves and Mr. John G. A. Prim to state their belief that Mr. Robertson had not 
visited or, at least, inspected that chamber of the Cave in which human bones and 
the well are to be found. In consequence of these doubts, and with a desire to 
illustrate more accurately this wondrous work of nature—the greatest curiosity of 
our county—Mr. Graves suggested that we should make a close examination of 
the different chambers, and, if possible, clear up some points connected with its 
formation which are in general not so well understood. 
