the choicest productions of art, and over the most brilliant throngs of Ireland's beauties and her hospitably entertained visiters-was here degraded to the base purpose of protecting a dunghill. Our morning's excursion had lasted three hours, and I am satisfied that they were neither idly nor uselessly spent. We had seen a phenomenon of vegetation in the Aphanizomenon, most stupendous in its details; one single species had met our eyes in such inconceivable numbers, that it is not extravagant to assume that the individuals in the space we examined, far exceeded in number all the phenogamous plants of the world! Besides which we had familiarised ourselves with the ordinary aspects of Fredericella Sultana, and seen its habitats, and thus acquired an interest in it and all its beautiful congeners. This, in addition to the pleasures of intellectual society, was no mean acquisition for three hours. If the rest of our lives had been similarly spent, we should all have been wiser, if not

better men.

Having paid attention to ourselves-a duty incumbent upon all field naturalists-and being thoroughly invigorated we proceeded to the Kingstown and Dublin Railway Station, and joined a large party, consisting of nearly fifty, under the direction of Professor J. B. Jukes, the director of the geological survey of Ireland. We pro

ceeded by train to the station of Killiney, where we left the carriages and examined the section formed by the railway cutting, which makes a complete escarpment of a considerable portion of the hill continuous with the face of the cliffs. The railway, I should suppose, is fully two hundred feet above the shore, and abundant examples may be seen of protruded granite and granite veins, this rock being here always in contact with lower Silurian slates. The railway continues on to Bray, and passes in its course through the bluff called Bray-head. The

tunnel is cut through the Cambrian Rocks, and appears from the Hill of Killiney like a white spot on the side of Bray-head, the light being distinctly seen at the farther extremity. It is in this tunnel and the adjacent cuttings that Professor Kinnahan, one of the most active and indefatigable of the Dublin naturalists, has discovered in great abundance the curious and interesting fossil Oldhamias, the oldest of all created animals which have left traces of their past existence, like an elegant vignette, imprinted on the first leaf of that Great Book which has existed from the beginning, and whose pages contain a faithful record of the past, written by a hand which cannot err-His who created all things.

From the railroad we descended to the beach, over immense masses of granite, forming rocks of the grandest appearance, on whose surface, wherever a small quanity of soil was collected, were growing plants in bloom of the beautiful Aster tripolium (L.), usually found in marshy places near the sea-shore, but here growing in greater luxuriance and beauty than ever we saw before. So also the Statice limonium (L.), another salt marsh plant, was growing with extraordinary luxuriance. Plantago coronopus, (L.) grew in every crevice, and many of the precipitous faces of the cliffs glittered in a golden and emerald mantle of samphire, (Crithmum maritimum, L.) Asplenium maritimum produced its fronds luxuriantly in the deeper crevices, whilst nearer the shore a carpet of the pink Armeria maritima (Willd.), formed an agreeable relief to our feet after scrambling over the sharp rocks. Amongst the blocks of shingle on the shore we saw a large quantity of water-worn fragments of Micaceous Schist, in which crystals of Chiastolite of considerable size and beauty were profusely imbedded. After an interesting exploration of the beach, which would have furnished ample materials for days instead of

minutes, we re-ascended to the railway, and continued our ascent above it. One small field through which we passed was pointed out to us by Professor Kinnahan and Mr. Kelly as one of the very few localities in Ireland in which the beautiful and sweet-scented little orchid Neottia spiralis, (L.) is found; we procured an abundance of good specimens very easily. Our progress was now across stone fences, hedges, and other obstructions, until we came to a saddle-back protrusion of granite, which extended as a bare ridge about a yard high, and the same width, through several small fields; and our excellent director pointed it out in various other parts of the hill in a diagonal line from our halting place. Continuing our walk we soon found ourselves amongst enormous masses of granite, scattered about in wild confusion over a comparatively flat space, which formed the summit of the hill. The vegetation here was only the heather and gorse, and such weeds as usually accompany them in stony moors. Our labour in reaching this spot was now repaid by one of the most beautiful views imaginable—a valley of surpassing loveliness was spread at our feet, the luxuriant crops of ripened grain glittering in the sun, fully warranted the appellation of the Golden Valley, by which name we were told it was known. The range of mountains, beginning with the Head of Bray and the peaks called the Golden Spears, bounded the valley on the opposite side, and stretched far away through Wicklow. To our right the green waves of the glorious Bay of Dublin rolled upon the narrow band of sand and shingle, which separated its waters from the luxuriant meadows of the valley, giving rather the idea of a rich garden watered by a quiet stream than a spread of sea coast, usually so bleak and barren.

Many portions of the space on which we stood were entirely bare, the granite being almost polished by the action

of the wind and other causes; here we saw some most instructive examples of injected granite in small veins which came to the surface, filling up what had evidently been fissures in the older rock; then, upon following Professor Jukes down the side of the hill towards Bray, past a large quarry, we came to a considerable depression running obliquely towards the sea-shore, forming an immense smooth groove. Here he pointed out to us the unmistakable marks of glacial action; the sides were of bare granite, polished and grooved deeply by the action of the descending glacier, which had evidently moved seaward down this ice-worn channel, for the Professor also shewed us an excellent section of the dirt-bed which it had projected over the cliffs on the shore-the section being made by the railway cutting passing through it. Re-ascending, we now directed our steps towards the higher peak, called Observatory Hill, upon which is placed a monument, and skirting along its side, passed through the beautiful grounds and by the magnificent castellated mansion of Mr. Warner, with his kind permission.* We returned to the railway station to await the train which was to convey us back to Dublin. On our way we saw some very interesting examples of slate in contact with granite, and procured good illustrative specimens. Dr. Allman found a remarkably fine specimen of the Felspathic mineral Spodumene embedded in granite.

This finished a day of great interest to all, and we returned to our homes fully satisfied with the pleasures we had enjoyed and the knowledge we had so agreeably gained. The time occupied in the latter excursion was six hours, from two to eight p.m.

Two days afterwards, a small excursion party was

Let no one who has the opportunity of ascending from Kingstown to the Obelisk lose it. The view is one of the grandest which can be obtained, and will long be remembered. EDITOR.

again organized for an aquatic trip. It consisted of Professors Allman, Redfern, and Kinnahan; the Rev. P. P. Carpenter, of Warrington; Dr. Edwards, Mr. Hyndman, Mr. Robert M'Andrew, his son, and myself. To Mr. M'Andrew, our sincerely esteemed friend and late president, we owed the pleasure of this excursion, which was made in his beautiful commodious yacht, the "Naiad," furnished with all the apparatus necessary to the marine zoologist, such as dredges, nets, &c. Besides providing for our creature comforts in the most liberal manner, our host gave us the full benefit of his great experience in dredging matters, and treated us with a degree of kindness, which I am sure I may say for all, will never be forgotten. We had so slight a breeze that, whilst busily engaged at breakfast, we glided out of the harbour without being aware we had left the anchor. The wind, however, freshened, and we soon lost sight of land. Our course was for the Kish Bank, which we reached by noon, and the dredge was lowered; it grated along as a naturalist loves to feel it, over a rough bottom, which proved to be a bed of Escallops (Pecten maxima), great numbers of which were brought up at each haul of the dredge. The results of our operations will be shewn by my giving you the names of the specimens we procured.