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veral inftances, I found one folid lump of wax, after the deftruction of the animal fubflance: and it appears to me fufficiently clear, that the glands which were filled in this manner, were formed internally of one cavity, and were not, as is commonly the cafe, compofed of many minute cells. I have alfo filled the glands of this ftructure, in the mefentery of an horfe, with quickfilver I have then dried them, cut open the bags, and introduced a briftle into them through the vas inferens. And in the human mefentery, after having injected the artery, I have filled a bag refembling a gland, with quickfilver; which being opened, a mixture of injection and quickfilver was found in its cavity.

That the lymphatic glands in moft animals are cellular may not, perhaps, be hereafter doubted: that they are fometimes mere bags, analogy and actual obfervation induce me to believe. It might be faid, that in thofe inftances which I have related, the cells were burft, or that the glands were diseased: to which I can only reply, that there was no appearance to lead me to fuch a conclufion.

If, then, the lymphatic glands are either cellular, or receptacles refembling bags for the abforbed fluids, we are naturally led to enquite, what advantages arifes from this temporary effufion of the contents of the abforbents. That there is a confiderable quantity of fluids poured forth from the arteries of the whale, to mix with the abforbed chyle, is very evident; nor can it be doubted that the fame thing happens in other animals; for the cells of the lymphatic glands are easily inflated, and inje&ed from the arteries."

The ready communication of thefe bags with the veins of the whale, induced me to examine whether I fhould afcertain any thing fimilar in ather animals. Air impelled into the lymphatic glands, however, feldom gets into veins: fometimes indeed veins are injected from these glands; but when this has occured to me, I have obferved an absorbent arifing from the gland, and terminating in the adjacent vein.

Thefe remarks, perhaps, may not be very important; fuch, however is the nature of the fubje&, that all the knowledge we have hitherto obtained of the abforbing veffels has been acquired by fragments, and all our future acquifitions must be made in the fame manner : I have wished, therefore, by offering thefe obfervations, to contribute my mite to the general stock of our knowledge of this fubject.

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ment for my excurfion; and yef-, of the brook have formed the

terday Mr. Mills and I vifited the fpot, where fo much pure gold has been of late taken up, being diftant about five miles from this place, About feven miles weftward of Arklow, in the county of Wicklow, there is a very high hill perhaps 6 or 700 yards above the fea, called Croughan Kinfhelly, one of whofe NE abutments, or but treffes, is called Balinnagore, to which the afcent may be made in half or three quarters of an hour. Should you have Jacob Nevil's map of the county of Wicklow, published in 1760, at hand, by cafting your eye on the river Ovo, which runs by Arklow, at about four miles above the latter place, you will perceive the conflux of of two confiderable streams, and of a third about half a mile higher up, close to a bridge. By tracing this latt to its fource, you will come to a place, fet down in the map Ballinvalley; this is a ravine between two others, that run down the fide of the hill into a femicircular, or more properly, femi-elliptical valley, which extends in breadth from one fummit to the other of the boundary of the valley, and across the valley three-quarters of a mile, or fomewhat lefs. The hollow fide of the hill forms the termination of the valley, and down which run the three ravines abovementioned. At their junction, the brook affumes the name of Ballinafloge; at this place the defcent is not very rapid, and fo continues a hanging level for about a quarter of a mile, or fomewhat more when the valley grows narrower, and the fides of the brook become fteeper; and it fhould feem that, fome rocky bars across the course

gravelly beds,, above, over, and through which the ftream flows, and in which the gold is found. The bed of the brook, and the adjacent banks of gravel on each fide, for near a quarter of a mile in length, and for 20 or 30 yards in breadth, have been entirely ftirred and washed by the peasants of the country, who amounted to many hundreds, at work at a time, whilt they were permitted to fearch for the metal.

A gentleman, who faw them at work, told me, he counted above 300 women at one time, befides great numbers, of men and children.

The ftream runs down to the NE from the hill, which feems to confift of a mass of fchiftus and quartz; for on examination of the principal ravine, which is now washed clean by the late heavy rains, the bottom confifted of fchiftus, interfected at different diftances, and in various places, by veins of quartz, and of which substances the gravelly beds at the bottom, where the gold is found, feem to confift.

Large tumblers of quartz are thickly fcattered over the surface of the top of the hill, under a turbary of confiderable thickness, upon the removal of which these tumblers appear.

I fhall not take up your time in attempting to give a minute geological defcription of this part of the country, as I have prevailed with Mr. Mills (who from his minute examinations, and practical knowledge, is fo converfant with the mineralogy of this county), to undertake that taik, which I am perfuaded he will perform to your fatisfaction.

The gold has been found in maffes

maffes of all fizes, from thofe of fmall grains to that of a piece of the weight of five ounces, which beautiful fpecimen is intended for the cabinet of a nobleman, adored in this country, and not lefs refpected by his friends in England, and which, I dare to fay, you will thortly have an opportunity of feeing in London. One piece of 22 ounces has been taken up, and which, I am told is to be presented to his majesty.

In our visit to this extraordinary place, we were moft hofpitably entertained by Mr. Graham, of Ballycoage, whofe house is not more than a mile from the gold mine: from him and his brothers I learnt, that about 25 years ago, or more, one Dunaghoo, a fchoolmaster, refident near the place, ufed frequently to entertain them with accounts of the richness of the valley in gold; and that this man had used to go in the night, and break of day, to fearch for the treasure ; and thefe gentlemen, with their fchoolfellows, ufed to watch the old man in his excurfions to the hill, to frighten him, deeming him to be deranged in his intellects: however, the idea of his treasure did at laft actually derange him.

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credit to it, as he never found any gold, and lives very near the place. I am credibly informed too, that a goldfmith in Dublin has, every year, for 11 or 12 years, bought four or five ounces of gold, brought conftantly by the fame perfon, but not John Byrne.

Thus, fir, you have all I could learn refpecting this important event; which is at your fervice to lay before the Royal Society, should you not have been furnished with an account from an abler pen. I am, &c.

John Byrne told me, that about 11 or 12 years ago, when he was a boy, he was fifhing in this brook, and found a piece of gold, of a quarter of an ounce, which was fold in Dublin; but that upon one of his brothers telling him it must have been dropped into the brook by accident, he gave over all thoughts of fearching for more. Charles Toole, a miner at Cronbane, tells me, he heard of this difcovery at the time but gave no VOL. XXXVIII.

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THE extraordinary circumftance of native gold being found in this vicinity, early excited my attention, and led me to feize the first opportunity that prefented itfelf, after my late arrival here, to infpect the place where the difcovery was made.

I went thither on Tuesday, the 3d of this month, with Mr. Lloyd, of Havodynos, and Mr. Weaver. The former having given you fome account of the circumftances which attended the original difcovery, and, fince he left me, a favourable day having enabled me to take a leCc

cond

cond view of the adjacent country, I fhall now attempt to defcribe the • general appearance, and add fuch further information as has come to my knowledge.

The workings which the peafantry recently undertook, are on the north-east fide of the mountain Croughan Kinshelly, within the barony of Arklow, and county of Wicklow, on the lands of the earl of Carysfort, wherein the earl of Ormond claims a right to the minerals, in confequence (as I have been informed), of a grant in the reign of king Henry the fecond, by prince John, during his command of his father's forces in Ireland; which grant was renewed and confirmed by queen Elizabeth, and again by king Charles the fecond.

The fummit of the mountain is the boundary be ween the counties of Wicklow and Wexford; feven English miles weft from Arklow, ten to the fouth-weftward of Rathdrum, and fix fouth-wetterly from Cronebane mines; by eftimation about fix hundred yards above the level of the fea. It extends W by N and E by S, and ftretches away to the north-eaftward, to Ballycoage, where thafts have formerly been funk, and fome copper and magnetic iron ore has been found; and thence to the NE there extends a tract of mineral country, eight miles in length, running through the lands of Ballymurtagh, Ballygahan, Tigrony, Cronebanc, Connery, and Kilmacoe, in all which veins of copper ore are found; and terminating at the date quarry at Balnabarny.

On the higheft part of the

mountain are bare rocks, being a variety of argillite, whofe joints range NNE and SSW, hade to the SSW, and in one part include a rib of quartz, three inches wide, which follows the direction of the ftrata. Around the rocks, for fome diftance, is found ground, covered with heath; defcending to the eastward, there is fpringy ground, abounding with coarie grafs; and below that, a very extenfive bog, in which the turf is from.four to nine feet thick, and beneath it, in the fubftratum of clay, are many angular fragments of quartz, containing chlorite, and ferruginous earth. Below the turbary the ground falls with a quick defcent, and three ravines are obferved. The central one, which is the most confiderable, has been worn by torrents, which derive their fource from the bog; the others are formed lower down the mountain by fprings, which uniting with the former, below their junction the gold has been found. The smaller have not water fufficient to wash away the incumbent clay, fo as to lay bare the substratum; and their beds only contain gravel, confifting of quartz with chlorite, and other fubftances of which the mountain confifts. The great ravine prefents a more interefing afpe&t; the water in its defcent has, in a very thort diftance from the bog, entirely carried off the clay, and confiderably worn down the fubftrata of rock, which it has laid open to infpection.

Defcending along the bed of the great ravine, whofe general course is to the eastward, a yellow argilla

ceous

ceous fhiftus is firft feen; the laminæ are much fhattered, are very thin, have a flight hade to the SSW, and range ESE and WNW. Included within the fhift, is a vein of compact barren quartz, about three feet wide, ranging NE and SW; below this is another vein, about nine inches wide, having the fame range as the former, and hading to the northward, confifting of quartz, including ferruginous earth. Lower down, is a vein of a compact aggregate fubftance, ap. parently compounded of quartz, ochraceous earth, chert, minute particles of mica, and fome little argillite, of unknown breadth, ranging E and W, hading faft to the fouthward, and including ftrings of quartz, from one or two inches thick, the quartz containing ferruginous earth. The yellow argillaceous fhiftus is again feen with its former hade and range; and then, adjacent to a quartz vein, is laminated blue argillaceous fhiftus, ranging NE and SW, and hading SE; which is afterwards feen varying its range and hade, running ENE and WSW, and hading NNW; lower down, the blue fhift is obferved more compact, though ftill laminated. The ground, lefs fteep, becomes fpringy, is inclofed, and the ravine, hallower, has depofited a confiderable quantity of clay, fand, and gravel. Following the courfe of the ravine, or, as it may now more properly be called, the brook, arrive, at the road which leads to Arklow; here is a ford, and the brook has the Irish name of Aughatinavought (the river that drowned the old man); hence it defcends to the Aughrim river, just above its confluences with that

from Rathdrum, which, after their junction, take the general name of the Ovo, that diicharging itself into the fea near the town of Arklow, forms an harbour for veffels of fmall burthen.

The lands of Ballinvally are to the fouthward, and the lands of Ballinagore to the northward, of the ford, where the blue thiftus rock whofe joints are nearly vertical, is feen ranging ENE and WSW, including fmall ftrings of quartz, which contain ferruginous earth. The fame kind of earth is alfo feen in the quartz, contained in a vein from ten to twelve inches wide, ranging ENE and WSW, and hading to the fouthward which has been laid open in forming the Arklow road.

Here the valley is from twenty to thirty yards in width, and is covered with fubftances wathed down from the mountain, which on the fides have accumulated to the depth of about twelve feet. A thin ftratum of vegetable-foil lies uppermoft; then clay, mingled with fine fand, compofed of fmall particles of quartz, mica, and shift; beneath which the fame fubftances are larger, and conftitute a bed of gravel, that alfo contains nodules of fine grained iron ftone, which produces 50 per cent. of crude iron: incumbent on the rock are large tumblers of quartz, a variety of argillite and thiftus; many pieces of the quartz are perfealy pure, others attached to the fhiftus, others contain chlorite, pyrites, mica, and ferruginous earth; and the arfenical cubical pyrites frequently occurs, imbedded in the blue fhiftus. In this mass of matter, before the workings began, the brook had formed

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