Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1890-12-19
A FACTORY OF NATURE,
Strange Chemical Properties of Ro
mantle Irish Lake.

mantle Irish Lake.
Few freaks of nature are more strange
than ono which Is of constant occurrence
in Tough Neagh. AS a matter of fact,
not one man in every thousand knows Of
the peculiar chemical properties of this
lake. The natives along it's borders are
aware that from the lakes bottom they
can collect stones of strange shapes
which bear tho resemblance of trees and
branches But the poor people are too
uneducated to realize that these curious
stones are in reality petrified branches,
and that the waters of the lake have the
strange power of petrifying any sub
stance that may be put into it in ten to
twenty-one days, according to the ma
terial.
learned of it in curious manner. l
happened to be travelling in Connemara,
and met there an English gentleman
who informed me that he was going to
Tough Neagh ito visit his men and to
inspect his potrifying beds" did not
understand this peculiar announcement,
and asked for an explanation, which he
gave me most willingly. He told me
that he was one of the owners OF cele-
brated cutlery house-not far from the
Mansion House in London. Years be.
fore they had learned from an employe
that petrified trees had been found in
Tough Neagh, and from old Irish books
they discovered that the waters had the
extraordinary property of petrifying
wood within month.
Businesslike, they at once sent man
over. He selected several pieces Of hard
wood and, having tied weights to them,
plunged them in the lake and marked
their locality by small buoys and strips
attached to the test pieces.
In two weeks he returned and took uI
two pieces which he found to be partially
petri6ed. Two weeks afterward the re
mainder were brought to terra firma
and each rod of hardwood was hard al
flint petrif1ed through. Then the firm
tried experiments with the wood in the
different stages of petrifaction and dis
covered that unusually excellent razol
hone could be manufactured from i
and of different densities or hardness
according to the length of submersion
These homes are now famous produc
of this cutlery firm. They have patented
them, and obtain high prices for them
but the razor sharpening world LITTLE
knows that the stone is wood petrifed il
few weeks in the largest of the Irisl
lakes.
accompanied the gentleman to tn,
lake, and myself witnessed the process
of turning wood to stone, and | mus
confess that it gave me cause for refec
ton. Here was valuable natural fac
tory at the very doors Of the people, tn
natives, who were in semi-starvin,
condition all around. And yet Its pre-
ducts were utilized only by an Englisl
firm.
Possibly the petrified wood in som
of its stages of stone growing could b
put to many uses, and l have no doub
but that when the fact is more general
ly known some enterprising Irishma
will utilize the factory nature has give
them for the material benefit Of tn
country.
When returned to Dublin l made in
quiries about the curious phenomena
witnessed at Tough Neagh, and was re
warded by the courteous librarian c
Trinity College, who placed in my hand
several volumes of translations of al
cient Irish works, and marked for m
the parts referring to the lake. Anon
them found several references made {
the "hard, woody stone," which wa
taken from the bottom of Tough Neag
for spear and arrow heads by the earl
Irish. So that although the Irishme
} of to-day are 80 in 100 unaware of tn
! useful popularity of their big Tough,
those of 10 and Is centuries ago knew
well and utilized it.-Robert +. Walsh
} in St Louis Republic.