Is an inland and not very extensive county; but is highly worth visiting: for though much of it consists of furze-clad mountains, yet these are finely contrasted by the diversified scenery on the banks of the Suir and Barrow, its eastern and western limits, and of the Nore which divides it nearly in two. In several parts of the county the mineralogist will find petrifactions or incrustations similar to those of Derbyshire; especially on the banks of a stream which flows through the glen of Ballyragget; and the Derbyshire farmers may here learn a lesson from the Irish agriculturists, who have discovered that these incrustations or depositions, which form with great rapidity, make an excellent manure. In many parts also are found calcareous petrifactions of pectunculites, echinites, cochlites, and some Cornua ammonis; and in several places, particularly in the barony of Galmoy, (as stated by Mr. Wakefield,) are tubiporites in such size and plenty as to be often seen in the fields and on dry stone walls. The antiquities are very numerous; Raths, Druidical Monuments, Castles, Abbeys, &c. are scattered in all parts, but very ruinous. The rivers are on a large scale, and the scenery pleasing. Bounded on the N.W. by Queen's County; N. by Carlow; E. by Wexford; S.W. by Tipperary.

Callen, 7 m. S.W. of Kilkenny, has ruins of three Castles, and old Gothic Ch., all destroyed by Cromwell. 1 m. see Eve Castle in ruins; also very large Rath, 40 feet high, 46 yards by 24.

Castle Comer, 8 m. N. of Kilkenny; see the celebrated Kilkenny coal-pits; beautiful mansion of Lady Ormond, the scene of several battles during the rebellion. Town partly burnt down, but since rebuilt.

Castle Durrow, 12 m. N.W. of Kilkenny, a town pleasantly situated on the banks of the Erkin, a small river, with a good inn. Near it the large old-fashioned mansion of Lord Ashbrooke. Roads good. Country round well cultivated, with some wood. Several vestiges of Danish Mounts. Visit Ballyspellan, 6 m. S.W., a celebrated Spa, chalybeate, with much to amuse the mineralogist; also Druidical remains. Fertagh has curious old Ch., and Round Tower 96 feet high. At Freshford see Irish inscription over Ch. door. Galmoy has numerous Danish Raths in its vicinity.

Dunmore Cave, 5 m. N.W. of Kilkenny, is one of the most remarkable in the island. Proceed to the Ch. of Mothe, a little to the southward of which, in a field on the slope of a gently rising hill, is the mouth of the cave, which opens into a large oval pit, about 40 or 50 yards wide, apparently formed by the sinking in of the surface, at the eastern end. To this there is a descent of 70 feet from the opposite quarter, over the rubbish of stone and clay; but the other sides of the pit are perpendicular. Rabbits often burrow near the entrance; and the first cavern, which is spacious, but of an irregular form, is generally a shelter for wild pigeons. To the roof of this cavern is an altitude of at least 50 feet; the floor slopes downwards, and towards the left the tourist arrives at a narrow passage which leads by a slippery ascent to the interior cavern. The difficulty of approach to this spot is amply repaid by the wonders within, where a great variety of stalagmitic concretions, added to the rugged forms of the rocks, exhibit a most singular and striking appearance. The tourist who wishes to explore all the wonders, must now proceed to the upper end, which becomes much narrower, but soon expands into a larger apartment. Beyond this there are other winding passages and other caves; but as neither Mr. Wakefield nor Mr. Walker seems to have explored them, it perhaps remains for some adventurous tourist to discover wonders equal to the caves of Trophonius or even Montesinos. Those who choose not to proceed further may consult Mr. Tighe's Survey of the County, where various other circumstances are stated. It is said that one of those passages leads to the other side of the hill, where day-light may be seen to enter through a narrow chink. In another of the inner caverns, imagination supposes the calcareous concretions to have assumed the form of an organ; in another, of a cross and altar. A stream of water passes through the cavern at a considerable distance from its entrance; and many skulls and other human bones have been found near to it, also in the more interior passages beyond it. Some of these skulls have been seen petrified, as it is called, or covered with the calcareous spar. The mineralogist may here pick up some specimens of an indurated clay, tinted by carbon, and called in the vicinity black chalk. Upon the whole, a visit to this place cannot fail to be highly gratifying to the tourist; though he will meet with some difficulties in exploring it, as the bottom is always damp and slippery, and rugged withal, from the stalactites formed by the dripping water on its very irregular flooring.

Ennisteague, or Innistiogue, 12 m. S.E. of Kilkenny, has a handsome Bridge and some pleasing scenery.—See the enchanting and picturesque glen at Woodstock, near Glanmore, with ruins of Ch. and Castle, in whose winding recesses nature and art have done every thing possible to embellish the scene.

Gowran, 8 m. E. of Kilkenny, stands on a pleasant stream.—See Ch. in ruins, a fine specimen of the middle Gothic. In the cemetery are the bones of the officers of the Castle garrison shot by order of Cromwell for their gallant defence. See Low Grange, 1 m., modern mansion erected on ruins of ancient Castle. Visit Graignemanach lying in a sequestered vale on the romantic banks of the Barrow, which claims the tourist's notice by majestic ruins of an extensive Abbey, of which the architecture and sculpture excite our admiration even in its present dilapidated state. It is built in the form of a cross; and its outline pretty entire. The arch leading into the choir, rising to the roof with double mouldings and supported by clustered pillars, is a very fine specimen of the Gothic. It is impossible to view the two plates of it given by Grose, without wishing to explore its venerable arcades. It was a mitred Abbey, and founded in 1212; but particularly remarkable for having been the depository of a "Doomsday Book," or Survey of the Island, begun by Henry II., and finished under the orders of John.

Kilkenny, the county town, is 57 m. S.W. of Dublin.—The Castle is an interesting object to the inquisitive tourist, originally begun in the 12th century by Strongbow, and completed by William de Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke. Great part of the ancient edifice has survived the various convulsions of civil anarchy, now repaired and beautified so as to form a conspicuous ornament to the city, on a rising ground, with a rapid descent to the Nore, and on the other sides fortified by walls and towers, the Gothic grandeur of whose remains is disfigured in the eye of taste, by a lofty marble entrance gate of the Corinthian order. Much fine tapestry, in fresh and lively colours, representing the story of Decius, will interest the visitor on entering the breakfast-room. See also the alcove or presence-chamber, hung with tapestry, with a chair of state raised a step above the floor, a remnant of ancient pomp, now superseded by the simpler habits of modern nobility. The other parts of the mansion have also been well fitted up for the fashionable conviviality which has recently graced its walls. The ball-room or gallery is of great length, and contains pictures, many of which are highly interesting, being the portraits of the gay court of the 2d Charles. See also the Countess's Dressing-room in an octagon tower; the Chapel, and, if permitted, the Evidence Room, which contains an immense mass of valuable MSS., materials partially gleaned by Carte, the historian. Near the city is the Cathedral Ch. of St. Canice, of considerable antiquity, being, in its finished state, of the reign of Edward the 1st, and still in very good preservation. It stands on an eminence, with a descent on all sides; and the Ch. yard is entered, from the town, by a flight of marble steps. The cemetery being planted with trees has a romantic effect, and presents a very extensive prospect over a rich vicinage. In the interior the seats of the choir and gallery are of oak varnished, and the whole plain, but remarkably neat. The compass ceiling is adorned with fretwork, and has many modillions, and in the centre a group of foliage, festoons, and cherubim. In the nave and aisles are many beautiful sepulchral Monuments. It is the Cathedral of the see of Ossory; and close to it is a very curious Round Tower. The Dominican or Black Abbey, an extensive ruin, with the elegant ramifications of some of its Gothic windows in pretty good preservation, stands low, and is surrounded by squalid huts, which disfigure its outside and take off much of the sombre effect of its venerable walls. The windows, especially the east one, are light and elegant: the arcades are open and airy; and the towers spring up with an airy elegance that seizes at once upon the traveller's attention. The Abbey of St. Francis, with its square Tower springing from a lofty Gothic arch, is worthy the tourist's notice, though much disfigured in its interior by the squalid cabins of poverty and idleness, and by part of its precincts being turned into a horse barrack. The great altar is a marble slab of amazing size; but perhaps the most remarkable circumstance about the place is the legendary story of a sainted lady who built part of the choir, and whose extreme chastity induced her to descend a virgin into the grave at the age of 70, although she had been married young and to several husbands. The ruins of St. John's Abbey, part of which has been converted into a foot barrack, present some very fine specimens of the light Gothic in the windows and corridors. Founded in 1220. See the marble mill, about 2 m. from the city, and on the left bank of the river; a very ingenious invention, alike admirable for the simplicity of its construction, and for the power which it exerts. The saws are made of soft iron, and will last but a week; each cutting about ten or twelve inches per day, equal to the labour of two men. Not far from these mills are various marble quarries; but the most curious mineralogical specimen is called Sidero-calcite, so plentiful as to have been used for repairing the roads. Unlike the other marbles, it cannot be burnt into lime; but it contains a quantity of iron and manganese; and as it is brittle and friable, it has been proposed as an ingredient in mortar or cement used for building under water. Visit Clogmanta Hill, about 10 m. N.W., where are some extensive Druidical remains, with a magnificent prospect from the summit. Rathbeath, 5 m. N., is supposed to be the ancient Argat-Ross, where in early times a silver mine existed, whence the first Irish coinage took place.

Knoctopher, 9 m. S. of Kilkenny, stands pleasantly on the banks of a rivulet which flows into the Nore. Bessborough, 8 m. S., is a handsome seat of the Earl of that name, in a park of 500 acres; the house 100 feet in length, with elegant hall, saloon and parlour containing numerous fine paintings, of the Italian and Flemish schools. See various Cromlechs and other Druidical remains at Garryduff-hill, especially Leibe ne Cuhn, or the Priest's Grave, with stone cells. Grandison or Grany Castle, though apparently not older than the reign of Henry VIII., being in the style of domestic fortification of that period, and now almost a total ruin, is yet far from being an uninteresting object, not only in picturesque effect with its numerous towers, but as affording a good idea of the insecure state of society during that unsettled period. It has three Round Towers on the Suir, and two Courts; a large square Tower, connected to a great hall, and another Round Tower form the other side; in the inside of the arch of a window in the hall is a grotesque angel holding a shield with the arms of Butler. It was built by Margaret, the great Countess of Ormonde, at a period when ladies of high birth seem to have been proud of exercising the masculine authority of the other sex. Kells, a pleasant little place, 3 m. N., has some pretty river scenery. At Kilbeacon see Earl's Rath, a very large fort, oblong, and surrounded by a deep fosse, formerly filled with water, with a bank about 20 feet high; in the area are remains of buildings. Kilmogue has a curious Cromlech, the upper stone, 45 feet in circumference, supported by several others, nine in number. The stones are of siliceous breccia, and it is still known by the name of Lachan Scahl, the Great Altar Stone. At Mullinavat, the mineralogist will find considerable amusement in his researches. At Tory-hill, to the S.E. about 7 m., and called in the Irish, Sleigh Grian, or the Hill of the Sun, see a circular space on the very summit, covered with stones, in which is one large squared stone, 5 feet long, resting on three others, with an inscription in the ancient Pelasgic characters, BELIDIVOSE, supposed to be a dedication to the Deity, under the name of Bel, Baal, or Apollo.

Thomastown, 9 m. S.E. from Kilkenny, deserves the notice of the antiquary from its being one of the most ancient towns in the island, being founded by one of the chiefs of Henry II. in his first expedition. From this Thomas Fitz-Anthony it derives its nomenclature. Its principal remnant of antiquity is the Abbey, of which there are some considerable fragments; one end being fitted up as the parish Ch. There is a venerable Tower at one angle; and the Gothic arcades afford some fine specimens of the lancet arch, evidently of a date posterior to the foundation of the town itself. In the ruinous part of the edifice, the tourist will notice a large sepulchral stone, which is reported in traditionary legends to cover the body of a giant. Its trade is considerably increasing in consequence of the river navigation. The river Argula falls into the Nore, close by Ballyduff, where are ruins of an old Castle. About 2 m. above it, on the banks of the Nore, are the ruins of the Abbey of Jerpoint, a Cistertian establishment as early as 1180. Its remains, which are extensive, more resemble a fortress than an Abbey; and it has a very fine light and airy Tower with four pinnacles. The picturesque tourist when at this place must not omit a most romantic walk to a secluded dell and glen at Kilfaun, about 1½ m. in length, well described by Wakefield, who notices an elegant cottage placed in a situation truly delightful; opposite to which is a waterfall, the rivulet running through the lawn and flower garden, having on both sides rocks ornamented with large evergreens, the whole scene exhibiting numerous beauties both of art and nature. Near Thomastown is Mount Juliet, the seat of the Earl of Carrick, which, though in a neglected state as described by Mr. Wakefield, is deserving of notice; the house being built in the old fashioned style of architecture, and standing immediately on the banks of the romantic and rapid Nore.

MINERALOGY.

Granite in various parts of the county; particularly on Brandon mountain near Gowran, with siliceous schistus, containing mica, crystals, and jasper. Pyrites and quartz near Inistioge. Black slate and hone-stones near Castle Durrow. Kilkenny coal near Castle Comer. Some pieces of very fine compact jasper, of various sizes, may be found on the borders of the granite district in the S. The specimens already discovered were of a deep red colour, for the most part obtusely angular, and squarer at one end than the other: they were imbedded in yellow clay, a few feet below the surface.

The mineralogist may feel gratified by the examination of a very fine granite quarry in the vicinity of Gowran. It is a beautiful stone of a light yellow cast, fine grained and compact, and may be taken up in blocks of any required size.

On the top of Drumdowny Hill, the extremity of an extensive range, there is a dry stone wall inclosing a space of about 300 acres, appropriated for quarrying a species of breccia, or pudding stone, which is cut into mill-stones.

BOTANY.

Borago officinalis, Burrage:—on the ruins of Grandison Castle.

Erica cinerea, Female Heath; with white flowers:—on moist sides of hills.

Humulus Lupulus, or Hops:—indigenous evidently in many parts of the county.

Iris Pseud-acorus, Common Flags or Saggons:—in wet grounds.

Lichen, Common Mosses; with all the varieties of caninus, physodes, farinaceus, &c.:—in many places.

Lonicera var. fol. quercinis, Oak-leaved Honey-Suckle:—in the S.E. district, in meadows.

Lycopodium alpinum, Alpine Moss:—on the hills on western side of the Nore.

Lycopodium clavatum, Club Moss:—near Inistiogue.

Lycopodium Selago, Ladies' Shamrock:—in moist grounds on the banks of the Nore.

Rumex Acetosa, Sorrel:—in moist meadows.

Rumex acutus, Sharp Dock:—on clayey soils in the north.

Verbena officinalis, Vervain:—in pastures, and on road sides.