Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-09-07
THE GAZETTE: FORT WORTH TEXAS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER .

and branches. But the poor people are
too much .uneducated to realize that
these curious stones are in reality petri-
fed branches, and that the waters of the
lake have the strange power OF petrify-
ing any substance that may be put into
it in twenty-ons days, according TO the
material.
l learned of 1t in a curious manner.
l happened to be travelling In Come
mara, aud met there an English GENTLE
man who informed me that be vas going
to Lough Neagh hto visit his men and
inspect his petrifying beds. - l 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 oele-
brated cutlery house-not far from the
Mansion house in London. Years before
they had learned from an employs that
petrited trees had been found IN Tough
Neigh, and from old Irish books they
discovered that the waters had the ex-
traordinary property of petrIiying wood
within q month.
Business like, they at once sent a man
over. He selected several pieces of hard
wood and, having tied weights 10 them,
plunged them in the lake and marked
attached TO the test pieces.
In two weeks he returned and took up
two pieces. which he found to be par
tally petrifiel. Two weeks afterward
the remainder we're brought to terra
firma, and each rod of hardwood was
hard as flint, petrifed through. Then
the firm tried experiments with the wood
in different stages of petrifacIion and
discovered that unusually excellent
razor homes could be manufactured from
it and of different densities or hardness,
according TO the length OF submersIon.
These homes are now famous product
of this cutlery firm. They have pat
snted them, and obtain high prices for
them, but the razor sharpening world
little knows that the stone is wood, pet
ritied in few weeks in the largest of
the Irish lakes.
[ accompanied the gentleman to the
lake, and myself witnessed the process of
turning wood to stone, and l must con-
TESS that it gave me cause for reflection.
Here was valuable natural factory at
the very doors of the people, the natives,
who were in semi-starving condition
all around. And yet its products were
utilized only by an English firm.
Possibly the petrified wood in some of
Its stages of stone growing could be put
TO many uses, and l have no doubt but
that when the fact is more generally
known some enterpTising Irishman will
utilize the factory nature has given them
for the material beuetit OF the country.
When l returned 10 Dublin l made in
Quiries about the curious phenomena l
witnessed at Tough Neagh and was re-
warded by the courteous librarian of
Trinity college. who placed in my hands
several volumes of translations of ancient
Irish works, aud marked for me the parts
referring to the lake. Among them l
found several references made to the
hard, woody stone, :" which was taken |
from the bottom OF Tough Neagh for |
spear and arrow heads by the early Irish. |
So that, although the Irishmen of to-day |
are ninety mine in 100 unaware of the |
useful popularity of their 'big lough,"
those OF ten and fifteen centuries ago |
knew 1t well and utilized it.
In the museum of Trinity college can
be seen to-day several spear aud arrow
heads, made centuries ago from wood
petrifed in Tough Neagh. But, appar-
emily, even then, the natives were I'M
aware that the chemical properties OF the
water were so powerful or acted so
quickly. Messrs. NJ. G. W. of London,
found it out in time TO secure q profitable
monopoly. Why do not some enterprise
ng Irishmen initiate the example OF the
lnglishmau? In America such q mine
would be worked by Americans for
Americans. In Ireland 1t is worked BY
Euglishmen for themselves. Mais oest
oujours lie nerve.
ROBERT F. WALSH.
Dublin, April, 1890.