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12. Jl Bi

(o 9 I

THE IRISH NATURALIST.

Jl ifjMonttjUj gtouvttctl

OF

GENERAL IRISH NATURAL HISTORY,

THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF

The Royal Zoological Society of Ireland ; The Dublin Microscopical Club ;

The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society ;

The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club; The' Dublin Naturalists' Field Club ;

The Armagh Natural History and Philosophical Society ;

The Cork Naturalists' Field Club ; The Limerick and Clare Field Club.

EDITED BY

GEORGE H. CARPENTER, B.Sc.Eond

AND

R. IXOYD PRAEGER, B.A., B.E., M.R.I. A.

VOL. X,

DUBLIN : EASON & SON, Limited,
85 MIDDLE ABBEY STREET, and 40 LOWER SACKVILLE STREET.

BELFAST : 17 DONEGALL STREET.
LONDON : SIMPKIN MARSHALL, HAMILTON KENT & Co., Ltd

I9OI.

Printed by Alex. Tiiom & Co. (Limited), 87, 88, & 89, abbey-street, Dublin.

• 5;

CONTRIBUTORS

TO THE PRESENT VOLUME

Aecock, N. H., m.d., Dublin.

Anderson, Prof. R. J., m.d., Galway.

Andrews, Mary K., Belfast.

Barnes, Wieeiam A., Kells.

Barrett-Hamieton, Capt. G. E. H., b.a , f.z.s., New Ross.

Barrington, R M., ee.b., f.e-S., Bray.

Brenan, Rev S. A., b.a., Cushendun.

Brown, J., Belfast.

Browne, Rev. J. Montgomery, b.a., Abbeyleix.

BurbidGE, F. W., M.A., F.E.S., Dublin.

CampbEEE, D. C, Londonderry.

Carpenter, G. H., b.sc, Dublin.

Coegan, N., m.r.i.a., Sandycove, Dublin.

CoeE, Prof. G. A. J., f.g.s., m.r.i.a., Dublin.

Cooke-Trench, Thomas, Sallins.

Cunningham, C. M., Belfast.

CuTHBERT, H. K. G., Dublin.

D'Arcy, Very Rev. C F., Belfast.

DaviES, J. H. , Lisburn.

Deeap, Maude J., Valentia.

Druce, G. C, m.a., F.ES., Oxford.

FeEMYNG, Rev. W. W., m.a., Portlaw.

Hartog, Prof. Marcus, d.sc, Cork.

Hurst, Cecie P.

Johnson, J. P., m.a., Dublin.

Johnson, Rev. W. F., m.a., Poyntzpass.

Kane, R. R., EE,d., Dublin.

Kane, W. F. de V., m.a., d.e., Monaghan.

Knox, E. Beake, m.d., Dublin.

LETT, Rev. H. W., m.a., Loughbrickland.

Matthew, G. F., Montreal.

Meade, Joseph, Bray.

Moffat, C. B., b.a., Enniscorthy.

Moore. Rev. H. Kingsmiee, m.a., Dundrum, Co. Dublin.

More, Frances M., Dublin.

Noean, Joseph, f.g.s., Dublin.

Orr, Hugh L-, Belfast.

Otway, LOFTUS A., b.a., Dublin.

PACK-BERESFORD, Denis R., d.e., Bagenalstown.

A 2

IV

List of Contributors.

Patten, Prof. C. J., m.d., Sheffield.

Patterson, Robert, m.r.i.a., f.z.s., Belfast.

Patterson, Robert Lloyd, f.e.s., Holy wood.

Philips, R. A., Cork.

Peunkett, Lt.-Coe. G. T., c.b., Dublin.

Praeger, R Leoyd, b.a., m.r.i.a., Dublin.

Rogers, Rev- W. Moyee, m.a., f.l.s., Bournemouth.

Scharff, R. F., PH.D., b.sc, m.r.i.a., Dublin.

Starkey, James S., Dublin.

vStewart, S. A., f.b.s.ED., Belfast.

Thompson, Prof. D'Arcy W , m.a., Dundee.

Thornhiee, W. B., Castlebellingham.

Toppin, A. H., Dublin.

Ussher, R. J-, Cappagh.

Waddeee, Rev. C. H., b.d., Saintfield.

Ward, W. T. C, Belfast,

Warren, Robert, Ballina.

WEECH, R., Belfast.

WEST, WieEIAM, F.e S., Bradford.

WiEEiAMS, W. J:, Dublin.

Workman, W. H., Belfast.

Wyse, L. Bonaparte, d.e.

PIRATES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Development of Choysaora isosceles (Plate i),
Do. do. do. (Plate 2),

The Grey Phalarope (Plate 3),

Antlers of Red Deer, from alluvium, near

(Plate 4), ...

Armadillidiuin pulchellum, .
Mesoplodon Hectori and Orca gladiator,
Luvarus imperialis,
Ornithomyia avicularia,
Distribution of Long-eared Bat in Ireland,

Wexford

To face p.
To face p.
To face p.

25
28

53

To face p. 101
p. 109
p. 118
p. 191
p. 224
p. 250

INDEX.

o

Agrotis cinerea, 202.

Alcock, N. H., and C. B. Moffat —

The Natural History of Irish

Bats ; the Long-eared Bat (Ple-

cotus auritus), 241.
Algse of Lough Neagh, 86.
Aiuphipeplea glutinosa, 132.
Anderson, R. J.— Dentition in the

dog, 89 ; A Note on a Beaked

Whale, Mesoplodon Hectori,

Gray, 117.
Andrews, Mary K. — Erosion at

Newcastle, Co. Down, 114.
Anthus cervinus, 204, 231.
Arenaria tenuifolia, 21.
Arfvedsonite, 15.
Arinadillidiutn pulchellum, 109.

Balaenoptera rostrata, 74.

Barnes, Wm. A. — Sisyrinchium
augustifolium on Lough Erne,
230.

Barrett-Hamilton, G. E. H,— Irish
Hare entering a burrow, 73 ;
Probable occurrence of the
Lesser Rorqual on the coast of
Co. Wexford, 74; Black-tailed
Godwit in Co. Wexford, 93 ; On
Mus sylvaticus and Lepus timi-
dus (reviewed), 45.

Barrington, R. M. — A young
Cuckoo on migration, 50 ; Migra-
tion of Birds, 73 ; Migration of
Birds as observed at Irish Light-
houses (reviewed), 1.

Barrington, R. M., and C. B.
Moffat. — Wasps in Co. Wicklow,
197.

Bat, Long-eared, 241.

Bats in day-time, 175 ; Winter
flight, 51. *

Belfast Municipal Museum, 14.

Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, 16,
80, 96, 116, 128, 130, 138, 210.

Belfast Natural History and Philo-
sophical Society, 52, 96, 116.

Benham's Platyhelmia, &c, (re-
viewed), 232.

Bird notes, 174.

Birds, migration, 1, 73; rare, 231.

Botanical field-work in 1900, 29.

Brenau, S. A. — Sphserotheca niors-
uvae in Co. Antrim, 20 ; Spring
migrants in Co. Antrim, 132 ;
Plants of Co. Antrim, 229.

Brown, J. — Notes on fish from the
Co. Down coast, 173; Bird notes
from the Mourne Mountains, 174.

Browne, J. M. — Entomological
notes from Abbeyleix, 92, 204.

Burbidge, F. W. — Notes on
Humble Bees, 172 ; Selection of
Plants by Animals, 202 ; Habits
of JLunible Bees, 204.

Campbell, D. C— Roller in Co.
Donegal, 23 ; Arrival of the Swift
at Londonderry, 164; Hawfinch
near Londonderry, 174; Breed-
ing of the Dunlin, 175.

Carex aquatilis, 49 ; irrigua, 165.

Carpenter, G. H. — Review of Miall
and Hammond's Harlequin Fly,
44 ; Review of Schmeil's Zoology,
100 ; The Dublin Museum ami
Irish Naturalists, 157 ; CEnistis
quadra on Carlingford Mountain,
164; The puparium of the Grouse-
fly, 221.

Cave Committee's explorations,
141, 254.

Cephalopods, Irish fossil, 48.

Cephalozia Francisci, 220.

Chenopodiuin ficifolium, 22.

Chrysaora isosceles, 25.

Cladocera, 112.

Clausilia bidentata with two
mouths, 72.

Coccothraustes vulgaris, 174,

Colgan, N. — Carex aquatilis in Co.
Dublin, 49 ; Elymus arenarius in
Co. Dublin, 49 ; A new Irish
sedge, Carex irrigua, 165 ; Notes
on Irish Topographical Botany,
with some remarks on floral
diversity, 233.

Cole, G. A. J.— Early geological
mapping of Ireland, 10; Recent
observations on Oldhamia and
Histioderma, 81 ; Monocraterion
and Oldhamia, 137 ; Pisolitic
iron- ore in Lough Neagh, 148.

, t

VI

Index.

Conchological Exchange Club,
130.

Conchological Society's Com-
mittee, 173.

Cooke-Trench, T.— Is the Holly
dioecious ?, 105.

Coote, instinct, 134.

Coracias garrulus, 23.

Cork Naturalists' Field Club, 19,
129, 139, 169.

Corncrake in January, 93.

Co. Down Railway Guide, 48.

Crannoges, dogs from, 71.

Crustacea, underground, 91.

Cuckoo in December, 50.

Cunningham, C. M. — Instinct in
young Coots, 134.

Cunningham, D. J., notice, 142.

Cuthbert, H. K. G. — Abundance of
Vanessa io in 1901, 203.

Cystopus caudidus, 95.

D'Arcy, C. F. — Some notes on the
flora of Glenariff, Co. Antrim,
192 ; Another station for Lastrea
Thelypteris in Westmeath, 201.

Davies, J. H. — Chenopodium fici-
folium in Ireland, 22; Polygonum
mite at Lough Neagh, 68 ; Ditri-
chum vagans,a new British moss,
in Ireland, 161.

Deer, Red, 101.

Delap, Maude J. — Notes on the
rearing of Chrysaora isosceles in
an aquarium, 25.

Delphinus delphis, 74.

Dentition of the dog, 89.

Department of Agriculture, &c,
Journal (reviewed), 12.

Ditrichum vagans, 161.

Dog, dentition of, 89.

Dogs from crannoges, 71.

Dolphin, Common, 74; Risso's, 88.

Druce, G. C. — On some forms of
Rhinanthus new to the British
flora, 121 ; Irish Rubi, 229.

Dublin Microscopical Club, 15, 77,
95, 220.

Dublin Museum demonstrations,
14.

Dublin Museum and Irish Natura-
lists, 157.

Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, 17,
78, 97, 139, 168, 209, 253.

Dunlin, breeding, 147, 175.

Dunmore cave, 14.

Egan, F. W. — Obituary, 47.
Eggs, weight of, 226.
Elymus arenarius, 20, 49.

Entomological notes, 92, 204.
Erosion at Newcastle. 114.
Eryngium campestre, 172.

Flemyng, W. W. — Sirex gigas in

Co. Waterford, 255.
Flora of Co. Wexford, 254.
Floral diversity, 233.

Hartog, M.— Review of Kidd's Use-
inheritance, 252.

Hedgehog, habits. 254.

Hurst, C. P. — New records and
stations for Cybele district IV.,
255-

Irish Bee Journal (review), 127.
Irish Field Club Union Conference,

140.
Irish Topographical Botany, 130,

149, 170. 233-

Johnson, J. P. — George Francis
Fitzgerald (obituary), 94.

Johnson, W. F. — Vanessa io in
Ulster, 23 ; Vanessa c-album in
Ireland, 23.

Journal of the Department of Agri-
culture, &c, reviewed, 12.

Kane, W. F. de V. — Notes on Irish
Cladocera, 112 ; Destruction of
cherry trees by Semasia wce-
beriana, 146.

Kane, R. R. — Review of Ireland :
industrial and agricultural, 206.

Keish caves, 254.

Kidd's Use-inheritance, illustrated
by the direction of hair on the
bodies of animals, reviewed, 252.

King-Eider, 50.

Knowledge Diary (review), 45.

Knox, E Blake. — The Dunlin
breeding in Ireland, 147.

Lacerta vivipara, 132.

Lamplugh, G. W., notice, 130.

Lastrea Thelypteris, 201.

Lejeunia microscopica, 220.

Lepidoptera of Westmeath, 90.

Leptodontium recurvifolium, 131.

Lepus timidus, 73.

Lett, H. W. — Leptodontium recur-
vifolium in Kerry, 131 ; Mosses
new to Ireland, 196.

Index.

VII

Limerick Field Club, 14, 79, 113.
Listera cordata, 21.
Lizard, Common, 132.
Longevity of land mollusca, 145.
Luvarus imperialis, 190.
Lyell Geological Fund, 48.

McHenry, A., honour to, 48.

Malarial mosquitoes, 91.

Mastigophora Woodsii, 77.

Matricaria discoidea, 21.

Matthew, G. F. — Monocraterion
and Oldhamia, 135,

Meade, J.— Elymus arenarius in
Co. Dublin, 20.

Mesoplodon Hectori, 117.

Miall and Hammond's Harlequin
Fly, reviewed, 44.

Migrants, Spring, 132.

Migration of birds, 1, 73.

Moffat, C. B.— Lesser Broom-rape
on White Clover, 22 ; Review of
Barrett-Hamilton on Mus sylva-
ticus and Lepus timidus. 45 ;
Review of Harting's Handbook
of British Birds, 123 ; Early
arrival of Swifts in Co. Wicklow,
132 ; Breeding habits of the
Squirrel, 148; Review of Praeger's
Irish Topographical Botany,
149 ; Review of Price's Ready
Aid to distinguish the commoner
birds of Great Britain, 251. See
also under Alcock, and under
Barrington.

Mollusca, no; Collective investi-
gation, 173 ; Variation, 70.

Monk-fish, 230.

Monocraterion, 135.

Moore, H. Kingsmill. — A new
variety of Polystichum angulare,

143-

More, Frances M.— Truffles in Ire-
land, 20.

Mosquitoes, Malarial, 91.

Moss Exchange Club, 201.

Mosses new to Ireland, 196.

Motacilla alba, 146.

Museum, National, 157, 231.

Neale, Francis, notice, 113.

Night-jars. 174, 175.

Nolan, Joseph. — F. W. Egan

(obituary), 47.
Notes from the Botanical School,

Trinity College, Dublin (notice),

Nyctea scandiaca, 50.

Obituary Notices. — F. W. Egan,

47 ; G. F. Fitzgerald, 94 ; E. A.

Ormerod, 212 ; Robert Smith, 48 ;

Martin F. Woodward, 212.
(Enistis quadra, 164.
Oldhamia, 81, 135.
Ormerod, Eleanor A., obituary,

212.
Ornithomyia avicularia, 221.
Orobanche minor, 22.
Orr, Hugh L. — The Common

Lizard in Co. Antrim, 132 ;

Winter flight of bats, 51.
Otway, Loftus A. — Irish Red Deer,

101.
Owl, Snowy, 50; Tawny, 24, 72,

230.

Pack-Beresford, Denis R. — The
male of Vespa austriaca, 195.

Paludestrina Jenkinsi, 145.

Patten, C. J— The Natural History
of the Grey Phalarope, 53.

Patten, C. J.; notice, 167.

Patterson, Robert. — Tawny Owl in
Co. Down, 24 ; Snowy Owl in Co.
Donegal, 50; King-Eider in Co.
Down, 50; Tawny Owls in Co.
Down, 72 ; Corncrake in January,
93 : Breeding of Wigeon in Ire-
land, 147 ; Tawny Owl in Co.
Antrim, 230 ; Foxes in Co.
Donegal, 231 ; Notes on the
Hedgehog, 254.

Patterson, Robert LI 03'd.— Com-
mon Dolphin in Belfast Lough,
74; Smew on Lough Neagh, 93 ;
The Grey Phalarope, 116; Monk-
fish in Belfast Lough, 230

Peacock Butterfly, 23, 72, 115, 145,
172, 203.

Phalarope, Grey, 53, 116.

Phalaropus fulicarius, 53, 116.

Phillips, R. A. — Matricaria disco-
idea and Arenaria tenuifolia in
Ireland, 21 ; Hieracium hypo-
chseroides and Listera cordata
in Co. Cork, 21 ; Eryngium cam-
pestre in Ireland, 172.

Phylloctinia guttata, 77.

Pipit, Red-throated, 204, 231.

Pisolitic Iron-ore, 148,

Planarian worms, 133.

Planorbis corneus, 131.

Plant architecture, 71.

Plant-life and latitude, 75.

Plant records wanted, 176.

Plants of Co. Antrim, 229.

Plecotus auritus, 241.

Vlll

Index,

Plunkett, G. T.— Influence of lati-
tude on plant-life, 75.

Polygonium mite, 68.

Polystichum angulare, var. sinuo-
suni, 143.

Praeger, R. Lloyd. — Botanical field-
work in 1900, 29 ; Irish Hawk-
weeds, 74 ; Habenaria intacta
in Clare, 143; Irish Topo-
graphical Botany, 170 ; Spir-
anthes Romanzoffiana in Antrim,
171 ; Pyrola secunda refound in
Ireland, 171 ; Plant records
wanted, 176; H)'popith)'s multi-
flora in Roscommon, 201 ; Salix
herbacea in Co. Antrim, 228.

Price's Ready Aid to distinguish
the commoner birds of Great
Britain (reviewed), 251.

Pyrola secunda, 171.

Rearing of Chrysaora isosceles, 25.

Reviews. — Barrett-Hamilton on
Mus sylvaticus and on Lepus
timidus, 45 ; Barrington's Migra-
tion of Birds, 1 ; Benham's
Platyhelmia, &c, 232 ; Harting's
Handbook of British Birds, 123 ;
Horrell's European Sphagnaceae,
13 ; Ireland : industrial and agri-
cultural, 206; Irish Bee Journal,
127 ; Journal of the Department
of Agriculture, &c, 12 ; Kidd's
Use-inheritance as illustrated by
the direction of hair on the
bodies of animals, 252 ; Know-
ledge Diary, 44 ; Eankester's
Zoology, part iv., 232 ; Miall and
Hammond's Harlequin Fly, 44;
Praeger's Irish Topographical
Botany, 149 ; Price's Ready Aid
to distinguish the commoner
birds of Great Britain, 251 ;
Schmeil's Textbook of Zoology,
100.

Rhinanthus forms, 121.

Rhynchodemus Howesi, 15.

Rogers, W. Moyle.— vSome North-
east Ireland Rubi, 213 ; Hand-
book of British Rubi (notice), II.

Roller, 23.

Rorqual, Lesser, 74.

Royal Irish Academy, 69, 113.

Royal Zoological Society of Ire-
land, 15, 52, 76, 95, 116, 137, 142,
163, 167, 209, 220, 253.

Rubi, 11, 213, 229.

Salix herbacea, 228.

Sandpiper, Wood, 205.

Scapania nimbosa, 95 ; ornitho-
podioides, 15, 95.

Scharff, R. F. — Dogs from cran-
noges of Ireland, 71 ; Armadilli-
dium pulchellum, Brandt, a
woodlouse new to the British
Islands, 109 ; Note on Irish
Planarian worms, 133; A remark-
able fish (Luvarus imperialis)
obtained on the south coast of
Ireland, 190 ; Review of Ben-
ham's Platyhelmia, &c, 232;
Review of Schmeil's Zoology,
100.

Selection of plants by animals,
202.

Semasia wceberiana, 146.

Shearwater, Great, 42 ; Sooty, 42.

Sirex gigas, 203, 255.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium, 230

Slaughter of sea-birds, 164.

Smew, 93.

Smith, Robert (obituary), 48.

Snake near Wexford, 173.

Somateria spectabilis, 50.

Sphaerotheca mors-uvae, 20.

Sphagnaceae, European, 13.

Spiranthes Romanzoffiana, 171.

Squatina angelus, 230.

Squirrel, breeding habits, 148.

Starkey, James S. — Vanessa io in
Co. Sligo, 115.

Swift, arrival, 132, 164.

Stewart, S- A. — Night-jar near
Belfast, 174.

Syrnium aluco, 24, 72, 230.

Thompson, D'Arcy, W. — Risso's

Dolphin, a cetacean new to the

Irish fauna, 88.
Thornhill, W. B.— Foraminifera,

144.
Toppin, A. H.— Some Irish species

of fresh-water Hydra, 155.
Trench, T. Cooke, see Cooke-

Trench, T.
Trinity College Herbarium, 71.
Truffles, 20.
Turtle-dove, 204.

Underground Crustacea, 91.

Ussher. R. J. — Review of Barring-
ton's Migration of Birds, 1 ; The
Great and Sooty Shearwaters on
the south coast, 42 ; Black-tailed
Godwits in Co. Wexford, 204 ;
Red-throated Pipit in Co. Mayo,
231.

Index.

IX

Vanessa c-album, 23 ; 10, 23, 72, 115,

145, 172, 203.
Variation in Mollusca, 70.
Vespa austriaca, 195.
Vespae, 197.
Violets, 48.
Viper, 163.
Vision of whales, 51.

Wad dell, C. H.— Review of Hor-
rell's Sphagnaceae, 13 ; Hiera-
ciutn senescens, Backh., in Ire-
land, 120.

Wagtail, White, 146.

Ward, W. T. C, — Vanessa io near
Londonderry, 172.

Warren, R. — Black-tailed Godwit
in Co. Wexford, 115 ; White Wag-
tail at Bartragh, Co. Mayo, 146.

Wasps, 195, 197.

Welch, R. — Planorbis corneus in
Co. Sligo, 131 ; Longevity of land
mollusca, 145.

West, W. — Notes on the algae of
Lough Neagh, 86.

Whale, Beaked, 117.

Whales, Vision of, 51.

Wigeon, breeding, 147.

Williams, W. J.— Turtle Dove in
Co. Dublin, 204 ; Wood Sandpiper
in Co. Dublin, 204.

Weight of eggs, 226.

Woodward, Martin F., obituary,
212.

Workman, W. H.— The Hedgehog
near Belfast, 24 ; The Vision of
Whales, 51 ; Night- jars on the
Cave Hill, Belfast, 163 ; Some
notes on the weight of birds'
eggs, 226.

Wyse, L. Bonaparte. — Sirex gigas
I,., in Co. Down, 203.

ERRATA.

Page 92, line 24, for Malthodes read Malachius.

H5'
115,
«5.
163,
202,
202,

24, for secundarus read secondaries.
27, for Bar-tailed read Black-tailed.
33, for Hanly read Howly.
10, for terris read berus.

17, for nimar read minor.

18, for narrus read nanus.

VOLUME X.

THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS.1

BY R. J. USSHKR.

In August last a book appeared for which ornithologists have
been waiting for years, and like many things long expected, it
has finally taken by surprise those who know of the enormous
accumulations of facts, that had to be digested, contained in
the Irish lightkeepers' reports of eighteen years. The last
annual report, for 1897, has only been printed within the
present year, yet the entire series has been analysed with
untiring research and power of appreciating the varying
facts of the several birds' migrations. Mr. Barrington states
that he has availed himself of the assistance of Mrs. Barrington
(who has taken an active interest in the work), and of Mr.
Moffat, whose acute mind and painstaking help have largely
contributed to its success ; while the author's own grasp
of the subject has enabled him to achieve what is certainly
a new departure in the study of migration.

The special merit of this work is that its careful state-
ments rest on data which are presented to the reader for
verification. What is merely inferred is always distinguished
from what is proved, and the reasons in each case are given ;
while the cautious estimate of the evidence is frequently
indicated by such remarks as, " It is true in the main," " It
has been demonstrated," or "There seems some reason to
think."

1 The Migration of Birds as observed at Irish Lighthouses
and Lightships, including the Original Reports from 1S88-97, now

published for the first time, and an Analysis of these and the previously
published Reports from 1881-87 ; together with an Appendix giving the
measurements of about 1,600 wings. By Richard M. Barrington*
Pp. 285 (Analysis), and 660 (Reports). London : R. H. Porter ; Dublin :
Edward Ponsonby, 1900. Price, 2$s.

2 The Irish Naturalist. January,

Another feature is that each species is treated of separately,
which brings out the wide differences in the migrational
habits of birds. The author confines himself almost exclu-
sively to strict inductions, and generally denies himself the
luxury of theorizing on many fascinating questions which
are prominent in most writings on migration.

Mr. Barrington's analysis abounds in facts and statistics,
though they follow no hard and fast rules, as the tabulated
statements applicable to one bird are replaced in the case
of other species by displays of different facts that are elucidated
by their study.

Where a bird is known and distinguished bythelightkeepers,
their notices of it are tabulated and compared with the records
of specimens received, and the latter generally corroborate
the results of the former ; but where the observers have not
learned to distinguish species reliably, the specimens alone
are cited as evidence.

These specimens, amounting to more than 2,000, consist
chiefly of legs and wings of birds which have killed themselves
by striking against the lanterns at night. This is the readiest
means of accurate identification, and was suggested by the
late A. G. More in 1884 ; but at Mr. Barrington's request,
strange birds have been sent to him entire, and these have in
not a few instances turned out to be additions to the list of
Irish-taken species or birds of extreme rarity in the country.
The following seven species thus obtained, were new to
Ireland : —

Woodchat Shrike. Short-toed Lark.

Redbreasted Flycatcher. Lapland Bunting.
Lessor White-throat. Mealy Redpoll (var. rostrata).

Yellow-browed Warbler.

The Sheathbill, an antarctic bird, would make an eighth, if
its occurrence could be attributed to natural causes ; while the
Great Spotted Cuckoo, which appears to have been observed
on the Skelligs on 30th April, 1897, nas been accurately
described. Unless a mistake occurred, this is the second
instance of the latter bird in Ireland.

Besides the above species, others of a greater or less rarity
have been taken at or near light-stations, as the Pied Fly-
catcher (seven times), Golden Oriole, Barred Warbler, White

1901. USSHER. — The Migration of Birds. 3

Wagtail, Hawfinch, Wryneck, Sand-Grouse, Roseate Tern,
Eared Grebe, and Surf Scoter. The Pied Flycatcher has been
shown to be an irregular autumn visitor in immature plumage
to the south coast of Ireland, and a good many other summer
migrants have occurred in late autumn or winter.

But apart from exceptional occurrences, Mr. Barrington has
brought to light most important facts about the distribution
and seasonal movements of the commoner birds. The portions
of the coast where each species has occurred are carefully de-
tailed, and the reader is thereby led to infer the routes by which
birds arrive. This is suggested by the lines which limit their
range on arrival, given at p. 267 for the spring migration. It is
probable that spring migrants arrive approximately at right
angles to these lines, and accordingly that they come to our
eastern and southern shores from the direction of Wales or
Cornwall. The Co. Wexford receives the densest portion of
the host, and some species make it their special point for
landing.

This is the case in autumn also, as regards the Passerine
visitors which come to winter in Ireland, or touch it at that
time on passage.

It is remarkable that the Whinchat, Garden Warbler, and
Yellow Wagtail, which breed more towards the North or West
of Ireland, have been received almost exclusively from southern
or south-eastern light stations on migration.

While the arrivals of some species, like the Sky-lark in
autumn, seem to be uniform in numbers from north to south,
other birds, like the Black Redstart and the Brambling, occur
almost exclusively at the southern and south-eastern stations.

The coasts of Connaught are shown to be less visited than
any others by birds which arrive chiefly in the south-east, but a
certain proportion of these occur at Down and Antrim stations.

x\nother group of winter migrants are chiefly noticed on that
side of Ireland least frequented by the former. The Woodcock
is an instance of this. Its most frequent and earliest occur-
rences are on the coasts of Donegal and Connaught, and
extend to western Kerry. Ulster stations yield more than
half of the records for the whole Irish coast. These are most
numerously furnished from Inishtrahull, which appears to lie

in the way of the largest arrivals from the north of Europe.

A 2

4 The Irish Naturalist. January,

Mr. Barrington's data of the arrivals of Woodcocks make me
realize more fully than when I wrote in the " Birds of Ireland,''
that the early appearance of these birds in western Kerry and
Cork points to their having come down the west coast, rather
than from the south-east of Ireland and the direction of Wales.

My remarks in the above work on trans-marine migration
were made from my separate examination of the reports, at the
cost of much time and labour, and they generally agree with
the statements in Mr. Barrington's volume. I had, however,
written on the Passcres and some other groups before the later
reports were printed, and I was unable to digest exhaustively
the migration records, being more occupied with the inland
distribution and other aspects of our ornithology. Therefore,
I wish to state that if discrepancies are found between us, Mr.
Barrington's work upon migration should carry the greater
weight to which his superior acquaintance with his branch
of the subject entitles him.

The west coast, Donegal to Kerry inclusive, has also been
shown to be that most frequented in autumn or winter by the
Greenland Falcon, Mealy Redpoll, Snow-Bunting, Common
Snipe, Whimbrel, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, and Barnacle
Goose ; while the Twite, Water-Rail, and Purple Sand-piper
are considered by Mr. Barrington to have a tendency to strike
on the north and west coasts, though for proof of this more
instances are desirable. Most of the above species breed out
of Ireland — in Iceland or in arctic countries, and the Water-
Rails and Snipes that occur on our north-west coasts probably
arrive in autumn from the same direction.

The spring occurrences of Wagtails at Inishtrahull, one of
which proved to be a White Wagtail, are very interesting, for
when taken in connection with the repeated captures of this
bird in Co. Mayo in April, we may infer that it uses the
western coast of Ireland on its journey to the north. Mr.
Eagle-Clarke has shown that it travels up the west coast of
Britain at the same season (Report of British Assoc, 1900).

The Wheatears which strike western lighthouses at the end
of April, are supposed by Mr. Barrington to De also on their
journey to the far north.

The records of the numbers of birds that strike the lanterns
are influenced by a circumstance hitherto unnoticed, which

1901. Usshkr. — The Migration of Birds, %

was pointed out by Mr. Moffat ; namely, that on the moonlight
nights much fewer birds are attracted by the lighthouses, but
that within a week of new moon the greatest numbers thus
fall victims in the dark. It will therefore require extended
observations to embrace years when the lunar phases are
similar about the same dates.

But taking the results arrived at since 1882, Mr. Barrington
gives a series of judiciously drawn tables and figures for the
times of the migration of each species. By these he shows, in
the case of the commoner birds, the months and parts of
months when the maximum immigration takes place, and it
thence appears that the migrants arrive in the greatest num-
bers later (and sometimes a good deal later), than the dates
when their first appearance is wont to be noticed in the
country.

It has been established by this whole enquiry that many species
called resident or sedentary come to Ireland in great hosts when
the cold season commences, and many birds which were not
suspected to quit the land have been shown to migrate in
considerable numbers, as the Redbreast, the Rook, and the
Water-Rail ; while others are not found to migrate — for instance,
the Creeper, Bullfinch, and Jay, the presumption being strong
against these.

Concerning Thrushes, Blackbirds, Larks, Chaffinches, Star-
lings, and several other species, it is found that after the
numbers that are killed striking have greatly diminished
during mid-winter, there is a distinct increase of them in
February or March. Such cases might be supposed to be those
of departing birds which had wintered in the country;
but one of Mr. Barrington's most remarkable announcements
is that they are more probably the arrivals of a spring immi-
gration ; that these birds may be coming at that season to breed
in Ireland, or further north, and that birds are very seldom
seen to depart at any season. For this conclusion he gives
several reasons ; among the rest, the land-birds seen by day-
light are, except in a very few cases, making for the Irish
shores. Then again, the birds seen at the season at which they
might be expected to emigrate are frequently in an exhausted
or dying state, as though they had just crossed the sea by a long
flight. The numbers of both summer and winter visitors
recorded from light-stations are comparatively small at their

6 The Irish Naturalist. January,

seasons of departure, though the summer visitors should be
much more numerous when reinforced by their young reared in
this country. Most of the birds that visit us in winter only,
like the Redwing and Fieldfare, strike the lanterns very rarely
in spring. On the other hand, Thrushes, Blackbirds, Sky -larks,
and Starlings, though they strike much less numerously in
spring than in autumn, still do so in a far greattr proportion
than those purely winter visitors do. This supports the idea
of a second immigration of the former in early spring.

Mr. Eagle-Clarke, in his recent report above referred to, speaks
of the emigrations of the Song Thrush observed in autumn on
the eastern and southern shores of Ireland. He has had the
advantage of studying the Migration Reports, 1881-87, from
all the British Islands, and has doubtless much additional in-
formation besides. It is to be hoped, therefore, that he will de-
scribe more particularly the evidence forthese emigratory move-
ments, especially as regards Ireland ; for Mr. Barrington has
dwelt on the comparative difficulty of obtaining satisfactory
proof of such movements from Irish light-stations ; though, no
doubt, whether it is observed or not, emigration takes place.
The solution of this apparent divergence between our authori-
ties will be welcome.

Why departing birds so seldom strike the lanterns is partly
explained by the darkness of the latter on the landward side,
so that they fail to attract birds which are leaving the land.
Swallows, indeed, and Starlings appear to leave by daylight
more than other birds do, as flocks have been seen departing ;
while Sedge Warblers, whose habits are partly nocturnal, strike
the lights in early autumn much more than other summer
visitors. Birds of the latter class must, indeed, be supposed
to be on their way out of Ireland when they strike in autumn.

Among the summer visitors, several have been taken at light
stations late in autumn or in winter, notably the Black-cap,
and some of them — the Barred Warbler and the Yellow-browed
Warbler, are of extremely rare occurrence j1 while the Pied
Wagtail, which is partially a summer visitor to Great Britain,
visits Ireland largely in winter.

1 The Rufous Warbler shot by Mr. F. R. Rohu at the Old Head of
Kinsale, iu September, 1876, is a similar case, but as Mr. Rohu was uot
(as I stated in mistake), a light-keeper, this occurrence cannot be
numbered among the lighthouse records.

igoi. UssiiKR. — The Migration of Birds. 7

Strange immigrations of Rooks are described, which were
observed in November, 1884, 1887, and 1890. These chiefly
arrived on the extreme points of Kerry and Connanght, the
birds flying in from the Atlantic at a great height, sometimes
for many days together, and in an exhausted state.

Then again it is recorded (p. 282), that rushes of Starlings and
Rooks have been seen passing westward into the Atlantic from
the furthest points of Connaught. These cases, which occurred
in October and November, are not connected with those great
stampedes or races for life towards the western coasts and
islands which occur in severe frost and snow. An instance of
these took place at Samphire Island, Tralee Bay, in February,
1895, when vast numbers of Starlings, Sky-larks, Thrushes,
and Redwings were noticed going south all day in heavy
snow. Next day they were still going south continuously.

Mr. Barrington alludes to birds which reach Ireland in winter
that have stopped at some half-way house, and to the constant
tendency of the Starling to pass westward on the renewal of
cold weather, but he might have treated separately of those
supplementary immigrations and westward movements which
occur at any time of winter or early spring, when hard weather
sets in. On such occasions the number of trans-marine arrivals
is very great, and must considerably modify the statistics, for
they must increase above their normal proportion the totals
for each month after the autumn migration is over.

The carnivorous propensities of Gulls, which swallow whole
birds as large as a Blackbird, are described, with the probable
suggestion that birds of feeble flight diminish this danger by
crossing at night.

A totally original portion of this volume contains measure-
ments of about 1,600 wings, with the dates and localities of
capture. The result given is that in every species of which a
sufficient number were measured, thelongest-winged individuals
arrived first in spring ; while in the majority of species the
same rule applies to autumn, the apparent exceptions at that
season being the Fieldfare, Wheatear, White-throat, Willow
Wren, and Gold-crest. Where the males are larger than the
females, as in most Passercs, the measurements show that the
former arrive first in spring ; and if it is assumed that the
adults are larger than the young birds of the year, then the
former migrate first in autumn in nine species out of thirteen.

8 The Irish Naturalist. January,

Another point ascertained, as was pointed out by Mr. Eagle-
Clarke in 1896, is that the direction of the wind does not
apparently affect migration, though its force does so.

At page xxv. an extensive table relates to forty-two species,
including thirty-one Passcrcs, and gives in each case the dates
of the arrival of the majority, of their departure or second
immigration, statistics of specimens received, whether longer
or shorter-winged, the earliest dates in spring and in autumn
when they were killed, and the northernmost and southernmost
stations where they occurred at each season of passage. This
valuable table is based exclusively on specimens, and is quite
original.

The articles on the several species richly repay separate
study ; but reference to them would have been facilitated if a
short paragraph in distinct type had been placed at the head
of each, stating as briefly as possible the range and season of
the bird's migration, and any other characteristic facts.

But the chief drawback to the work seems to be the order
of classification, which is not that now generally adopted
since Mr. Sclater described it in the Ibis, 1880, and since it
was embodied in the Ibis List, 1883. The 4th edition of
Yarrell in 1871, commenced, as was then usual, with the birds
of prey, which made it impossible to adopt the modern classi-
fication through the later volumes. This inconsistent and
piecemeal arrangement, resulting from a period of transition,
was adopted in the earlier migration reports, and has been
continued. This makes it difficult for anyone familiar with
the more natural order now recognised, to find a species
without the help of the Index ; besides which it tends to per-
petuate exploded ideas as to the affinities of birds ; shrikes,
for example, being placed next birds of prey.

Over 600 pages, or more than two-thirds of the volume, are
occupied by light-keepers' observations for ten years ending
1897, and extracted from their schedules. These notices are
arranged under the head of each species, or of each name, such
as "Sand-Larks," when several species are comprised. And
here a tribute is richly due to those by whose patient and
gratuitous labours so vast a store of information has been
collected. Though not trained in ornithology, their atcention
to bird-migration all the year round has improved their
observation and knowledge and led to most interesting results.

1901. Ussher. — The Migration of Birds. 9

It seems sad that they have so little instruction to identify
the species of birds, for though many of these are now recog-
nised by light-keepers which the}' formerly ignored, they still
misapply many names so as to render their reports about them
almost useless. Instances of such names are — " Black-cap "
for Stone-chat and other birds, " Warblers " or " Wrens " for
divers small species, "Tits" for Pipits; " Linnets" or " Bull-
finches" for other Fringillidce\ " Puffins " for Razor-bills or
Guillemots : " Barnacles " for Brent or Barnacle Geese,
indifferently. Then « Hawks," "Pigeons," " Sand-Larks,"
" Gulls," and " Ducks/' are each terms applied to several
species so as to tantalize and bewilder the student of the
reports. Though information ma)' occasionally be misunder-
stood, yet its good effects were manifest after the Commis-
sioners of Irish Lights had, in 18S4, presented to six isolated
stations copies of Morris's " British Birds." These books,
which were illustrated, have often been referred to by the light-
keepers as a great help, and it may safely be assumed that in
this matter no greater reward for the past and help for the
future could be bestowed on the lightkeepers by the Commis-
sioners, than copies of the volume now produced.

Looking back upon the work of eighteen years so perse-
veringly done by Mr. Barrington, and conducted at his own
expense since the British Association discontinued their grants
in 1887, some reflections arise — The inquiry, so unpromising
at first, has yielded richer results as the years have passed, and
both the light-keepers' interest has been enlisted and their
entries have become more numerous and intelligible. Then
again, the fluctuating data obtainable require a long series of
years to draw conclusions from them with confidence, and
facts arise which explain what had been obscure, or confirm
previous inferences. Therefore, .the longer the inquiry is
continued, the clearer will be the lessons which the Migration
Reports will teach ; and long may it be the privilege of
Ireland to have this work carried on by so able and pains-
taking an ornithologist as the author of the book before us.

It is much to be regretted that only 350 copies have been
printed, so that when all are sold, he will not be recouped for
half his heavy outlay on its preparation.

Cappagh, Co. Waterfonl

A3

io The It ish Naturalist. January,

EARLY GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
IN IRELAND.

BY PROF. GRENVILLE A. J. COLE, F.G.S., M.R.I.A.

Now that Professor Judd (i) has traced back the foundations
of Sir Richard Griffith's geological map of Ireland to the year
1 812, a time when the discoveries of William Smith were
making themselves generally felt, it is of interest to recall
that one of the earliest geological maps of any part of the
British Isles was published for the Royal Dublin Society in
1802. This is the map drawn up by the Rev. G. Vaughan
Sampson, m.r.i.a., to accompany his well-known " Statistical
Survey of the County of Londonderry." The work is of course
mainly " geognostical," that is to say, it represents, by signs
and colours, mineral differences among the rocks, rather than
geological horizons. But Smith (2) himself had drawn up his
manuscript map of the environs of Bath only three years be-
fore, and it is unlikely that the breadth and importance of
his work had been realised in 1802 beyond the circle who
discussed matters with him in the west of England. The
colours used in Sampson's map of Londonderry are reserved
for surface-deposits, such as brown for " heath and bog,"
yellow for " sand," green for " rich loams," &c. But he was
fully alive to the desirability of representing the more massive
and underlying deposits, which he does by signs scattered
over the surface of the uncoloured areas of the map. On
Slieve Gallion, in a space of about one square inch, we can
thus trace the occurrence of "white lime "(the Chalk), the
overlying basalt, and the granite mass stretching to the west.
On the fine hills above Dungiven, we see how the Chalk runs
as a band under the basalt capping of the range ; while below
it comes a band of " marie," where the Triassic beds now
appear upon the map of the Geological Survey. No defined
boundaries are given to these various formations ; but we are
clearly provided with the basis for a true apprehension of the
district. The fact that Sampson's main purpose was agricul-

(i) "The earliest geological maps of Scotland and Ireland," Geological
Magazine, 189S. p. 148.
(2) See Judd "William Smith's Manuscript Maps," ibid., 1897, p. 439

190 1. Cole. — Early Geological Mapping in Ireland. 11

tural is shown by his note, " The parts without colour are
infertile." From his treatment of the fertile areas, and the
way in which one colour is there made to terminate against
another along an engraved line of boundary, it is clear that
the principles on which our " drift " maps are coloured at the
present day were grasped by Sampson in 1802. That he did
not apply these principles to the representation of the larger
geological features was doubtless due to the conditions under
which his work was prepared. In providing an index to the
colours employed, Sampson was also a pioneer. When
Professor Judd describes Smith's manuscript map of Bath,
coloured in 1799, as "the oldest geological map in existence, if
we distinguish geological from agricultural or soil maps," it
is pleasant to note that Sampson and the Royal Dublin Society
produced an engraved map only three years later, which
represents several geological features, and which has thus
good claims to be regarded as a geological map. So far as I
know, it is the oldest geological representation of any part of
Ireland, and was issued thirteen years before Smith's magnifi-
cent map of England and Wales was engraved and became
public property.

Royal College of Science, Dublin.

CURRENT LITERATURE.

A Bramble-book.

The publication of Rev. W. Moyle Rogers's '' Handbook of British
Rubi " (Duckworth, 1900, 5/-) will be welcomed, though few of our Irish
botanists elect to explore the thorny path of batology. The fruticose
section of the genus, which includes all British forms except the Rasp-
berry, Stone Bramble, and Cloudberry, runs to exactly 100 species as
enumerated in this latest pronouncement on these bewildering plants.
Mr. Rogers's book is distinctly attractive, being excellently printed ;
the descriptions are full, the characters marking each form being picked
out in italics, and interesting notes on character and distribution are
added. In an appendix the distribution of each is shown by a list of the
Watsonian numbers of the counties in which it has been found ; as
regards Ireland, the author departs from this plan for reasons that are
not stated, and quotes the names of counties instead. We cordially
commend the book to our botanical readers.

12 The Irish Naturalist. January,

REVIEWS.

THE NEW DEPARTMENT.

Journal of the Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland.— First Year, Nos. i and 2. Pp. 1 So and
192. Dublin: H. M. Stationery Office. August and November, 1900.
Price, is. each.

For the information of agriculturists and educationalists in Ireland
and elsewhere, our new Department issues a quarterly journal, the two
first numbers of which are before us. It is a gratifying sign of the
interest taken in the work of the Department that the first number is
already out of print. It contains a full report of the first meeting of the
Council of Agriculture with the address delivered thereat by the Hon.
Horace Plunkett. A very important article on the Irish flax industry
is contributed by Prof. Johnson, who gives a full account of the process
of retting as practised by continental flax-growers and paints out the
importance of bacteria as agents in the process. Prof. Carroll of the
Model Farm, Glasnevin, gives the outline of experiments on foods
furnished to sheep, with regard to their manurial value in promoting
the growth of cereals on the land, and also to their food value as tested
by the production of mutton. We observe also articles on the Warble
Fly, and on enteric disease in calves, as well as a valuable summary of
the Irish agricultural statistics for 1S99, and a number of notes of general
interest.

The main feature of the second number is Prof. J. C. E wart's valuable
article on the ponies of Connemara. Instead of conforming to one type,
as generally supposed, these hardy little animals may be grouped into five
tribes. Prof. Ewart, whose experience of horse-breeding is well known,
believes that Connemara "could produce ponies — say one thousand
annually — suitable for mounted infantry (alike in size, hardiness, staying
power, and intelligence) at a lower figure than any other district in Great
Britain or Ireland." Mr. W. S. Green, Inspector of Fisheries, contributes
a valuable paper on Fishery Development with especial reference to
instruction in sea-fishing, and we notice an excellent picture of the s.s.
Helga, recently acquired for the scientific marine researches of the
Department, and already at work on the western seaboard. There
are abstracts of the agricultural statistics for 1900, short papers on the
Turnip " Fly " and Wire-worms, reviews of the work of the Irish Land
Commission and the Congested Districts Board, directions as to the pre-
vention of tuberculosis in cattle and fungoid disease in potatoes, and a
number of short notes bearing on the wide range of subjects which come
within the scope of the Department's work.

1901. Reviews. 13

BOG-MOSSES.
The European Sphagnaceae (after Warnstorf) by E. Charles
HORRElvL, F.E.S. Journal of Botany, May to December, 1900.
Since the appearance of Dr. Braithwaite's fine work on the bog-mosses
in 1880 nothing of importance has appeared dealing with the British
species. Mr. Horrell's work, which forms a pamphlet of 88 pages, and
appeared first in the Journal 0/ Botany, does not profess to be original, but
to place before British bryologists Warnstorfs latest arrangement of the
bog-mosses as the most natural classification yet published.

It is however more than a mere translation. There is an interesting
introduction, a useful bibliography, references to British works are in-
serted, and numerous localities given for species and varieties, so that the
work will be indispensable to British students of the genus. These are
followed by a clavis of the European species and elaborate descriptions
of species and varieties. There are 41 species and no varieties numbered
and described, while the whole number of varieties referred to or described
amounts to 210. Even so., we learn that this formidable array is
not complete, "innumerable varieties" have been mercifully omitted.
The great majority of these species have been found in Britain, and a
lesser number of the varieties. Braithwaite's Sphagnacece recorded 20
species and 47 varieties as British, the London Catalogue of 1881, 16
species and 34 varieties, while the number in Dixon's Handbook of 1S96
was reduced to 12 species and 40 varieties (including sub-species).

Irish localities are conspicuous by their absence in the long lists given,
and it might be supposed there was no great variety of bog-mosses in
the land of bogs, or that Irish bryologists had neglected the study. I
suppose no doubt is intended to be thrown on recent Irish records (for
example Sphagnum medium Limpr. and S. Auslini Sulliv. have been
recorded in the Irish Naturalist), but if an author only wishes to vouch
for specimens he has seen, this should be stated. Several important
works have appeared of late with accounts of the distribution of British
mosses in which most recent Irish records of importance are ignored.

The Sphagnasece form a compact and natural family, but are hard to
divide up into natural well-defined species and varieties. The fructifi-
cation so useful in other families fails us here. Warnstorfs system accor-
dingly depends chiefly on the cell structure, and ascribes great impor-
tance to the position and form of the chlorophyllose cells of the branch
leaves, and to the form and distributiotrof the pores in the cell walls. To
determine the species, it is therefore necessary in many cases to make
sections of the leaves. Students of the old school will be sorry to find
that their plants cannot be determined in the field, and will not take
kindly to the system, but there is no doubt the older arrangements left
troublesome intermediate forms, often impossible to determine. It
remains to be seen if the new system will clear up these difficulties.

Much work remains to be done in correlating British and continental
forms; many slight varieties depending only on colour, &c, will likely be
discarded, and others of more importance peculiar to these countries

described, and fitted into their places.

C. H. W.

14 The hish Naturalist. January,.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

Belfast Municipal Museum.

An important and interesting addition has been recently made to the
natural history department of this museum by the donation of an exten-
sive and valuable series of marine, fresh water, and land shells from the
representatives of the late Mr. George Horner, J. P., of The Lodge,
Cliftonville. This collection, to be known as the " Horner Collection,"
was largely collected by the late Sir James Emerson Tennent, Governor
of Ceylon, and sent home to Mr. Davidson, M.P., of The Abbey, White
abbey, at whose sale the}' were acquired by the late Mr. Horner.

The Limerick Field Club.

The Limerick Field Club in their winter programme include two
evenings devoted to "Natural History and Archaeological Exhibits
followed by short papers from members of the Club." This should be
useful in popularizing the meetings. The scientific lectures on the pro-
gramme include "A Botanical Ramble in the English Lake District"
by Miss Bennis. and " Some Limerick Wild-flowers" by Mr. Praeger.

Exploration of Dunmore Cave.

Professor A. C. Haddon and Messrs. Seymour (Geological Survey),
Halbert (National Museum) and Praeger have been investigating the Cave
of Dunmore, in Co. Kilkenny, both as regards its geology, and its past and
present fauna. A number of the small animals which render the
Mitchelstown cave so interesting were taken. The full results will be
published shortly.

Dublin Museum Demonstrations.

We call attention to the advertisement of the Museum Demonstrations
now being held in Dublin, which appears on the back of our cover. This
form of practical instruction in science and art has proved a success in
the past, and its origiuat or, Col. Plunkett, is sparing no pains to make the
demonstrations of the present year as interesting as heretofore. The
demonstrations already held have been largely attended.

Field Club Union Conference.

The Committee of the Irish Field Club Union have decided on holding
the Triennial Conference of 1901 in Dublin, in the month of June. This
will be a departure from the plan of the two previous conferences, inas-
much as the whole time will not be devoted to country excursions ;
visits under skilled guidance to the various scientific institutions of the
metropolis will be an important item of the programme; but the beauties
of counties Dublin and Wicklow will not be lost sight of.

1901.

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a monkey from Mr. S. Johnson, a pair of Wild
Goats from Sir Douglas Brooke, a Pigmy Bull from Major Lambert, a
Polar Bear from Mr. A. B. Walker, a Yellow-fronted Amazon from Mrs.
Hall, a Sulpliur-crested Cockatoo from Mrs. Downs, a pair of Tanrecs
from Dr. C. B. Ball, a Civet Cat, a pair of Spotted Woodpeckers from
Mr. J. W. Lentaigne, and a Fox from Messrs. B. and D. Carton.

4,962 persons visited the Gardens in November.

DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB.

November i. — The Club met at Leinster House. Dr. Scharff showed
a transverse section of a new species of terrestrial Planarian worm. The
worm was discovered by him last year at Kaux Chaudes in the Pyrenees,
and recently described as Rhynchodemus Howesi (Linn. Soc. Journal, Zool., vol.
xxviii., 1900;. The section, which was cut at the anterior end of the body,
showed the structure of one of the eyes clearly, as well as the sensory
grooves — a characteristic feature of many planarian worms. The ciliated
epithelium is confined to a narrow tract on the lower surface of the body.
Sensory pits appear to be absent in this species. Rhynchodemus Howesi
has a length of no less than 5 inches ; it is therefore just twice as long as
the largest member of the genus hitherto known to science. Five other
species of Rhynchodemus occur in Europe, one of which is peculiar to
Ireland and another to the Pyrenees, while Rh. tcrrestris, to which the new
species is nearly related, has a much wider range.

Mr. Moore showed on one slide various ornamental appendages from
the flowers of Bulbophyllum and Cirrhopetalum. These appendages mostly
take the form of hairs. They are brightly coloured, and as they are
very slender at point of origin, the slightest wind causes them to move
about, thus making the flowers conspicuous. In some cases the colour-
ing matter is in the cell sap ; in others the walls of the cells have
become stained.

Mr. M'ArdeE exhibited Scapania omithopodioides, Dillenius and Wither-
ing {Scapania p/anifo/ia, Hook.), which was collected by himself and the
Rev. Canon Lett last June in a iocky gorge on the N-K- side, and near
the summit of Mount Brandon, Co. Kerry, probably in the same place
where it was first found by Dr. Taylor in 18 13, and some years later by
two celebrated bryologists, Messrs. Mitten and Wilson. Mount Brandon
is the only known locality in Ireland. This rare and beautiful Hepatic
has never been found in fruit. Mr. M'Ardle exhibited a specimen
showing how the plant reproduces itself by adventitious budding.

Mr. Henry J. Seymour exhibited a thin section of a rock (horn-
blende-kersantite), occurring as a dyke on the east coast of Co. Down
The rock is of special interest, as it contains a blue amphibole not
hitherto known to occur in situ in Ireland, and which is an addition,
therefore, to the list of Irish minerals. It occurs as a secondary growth
in crystallographic continuity with the primary green hornblende of the
rock, and is probably arfvedsonite

1 6 The Irish Naturalist. January,

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

November 7. — Annum, Converzsazione. — The Annual Conversazione
was held in the Free Library. At half-past six o'clock tea was provided
for the visitors on the ground-floor rooms. In the Reference Library
was a display of exhibits which was well up to the average. The
collection embraced the following :— Geoeogy — Dr. G. Abbott
(Rochester Field Club), magnesian limestone concretions; W. Swanston,
New Red Sandstone concretions from Connecticut Valley, U.S.A.; J.
Wright, foraminifera from Pleistocene clays, Isle of Man ; C. Bulla, Irisb
and American Carboniferous crinoids ; W. J. Fennell, quartz from the
Mournes ; R. Bell, cephalopoda from Liassic and Cretaceous rocks of
Derry and Antrim; W. Gray, Liassic Cephalopoda, and minerals from the
basaltic rocks of Antrim ; J. St. J. Phillips, rock sections (micro.) ; J. Orr,
Carboniferous fossils from Ayrshire ; Rev. P. Quail, rocks from County
Down ; Miss Blackwood, collection of Liassic fossils (prize). Zooeogy —
R. Welch, genus Helix, British and foreign, the genus Clatisilia, British
and foreign, shells collected on the Club's excursions, 1900 ; W. A.
Green, a year's collecting in Ulster; G. Reilly, a beginner's collection;
R. Welch, living specimens of Helix aspersa five years old; W. Gray,
reversed specimens of Helix; J. Donaldson, pond-life (micro); H. L. Orr,
the genus Cyprcta, British and foreign ; R. Welch, Patella athletica, with
coralline growth ; C. Elcock, selections from the Horner collection just
presented to the Free Library Museum ; T. Brown, pearls and precious
stones; W. H. Patterson, cameos; R. May, cameos; J. Hamilton, shells
used as foghorns; F. J. Bigger, shells from the Andaman Islands; R.
Patterson, a series of Stoats from Ireland, England, and Scotland, a
series of Weasels from England and Scotland, collection of Irish bats,
and stuffed fishes and birds; J. Hamilton,, locusts recently taken in
South Africa, and other insects recently taken on the Amazon ;
W. F. M Kinney, the caterpillar of Hepialus virescens. Botany — Rev.
C. H. Waddell, flowering plants, and mosses; Rev. Canon Lett, fungi;
W. H. Phillips, illustration of apospory in Athyrium Fiiix-fcemiiia, some
recent fern finds; Mrs. Stelfox, marine algae (mounted); Miss M. C.
Knowles, rare grasses recently collected ; H. Hanna, algae from the
Arctic Seas, phyto-plankton, Atlantic, West Coast of Ireland ; J. H.
Davies, growing mosses ; J. Vinycomb, original drawings of plants, by
Worthington Smith, F. L.S. ; Major-General Bland, set of illustrations
of British fungi, drawn by exhibitor ; Royal Botanic Gardens (Glasnevin),
carnivorous plants : F. J. Bigger, the cotton plant ,• N. Carruthers,
mounted plants, collected on summer excursions ; Botanical Committee,
recent additions to Club's herbarium ; J. Malcomsou, prize collection of
plants ; S. A. Stewart, old botanical books ; Richard Hanna, old
botanical books ; W. Gray, an old botanical book ; J. Vinycomb, herbal
with illustrations by T. Bewick. Antiquarian— The President, original
sketches of round towers, by the late W. F. Wakeman ; W. H. Patterson
shells from shell-mounds and sand-dunes ; W. Gray, the effect oi
decomposition of ancient Irish celts Miss Walkingtou, weavers old

*901- Proceedings of Irish Societies. 17

candlesticks ; R. May, old Irish lamps ; W. J. Fennell, F. J. Bigger, and
H. Hughes, plans, drawings, and rubbings made in 1900; J. Vinycomb,
Basin Loaning.

At nine o'clock the President (Mr. Francis J. Bigger, M.R.I. A.), in
opening the proceedings, cordially welcomed the many friends of the
Club, and hoped that the exhibition had given them every satisfaction.

The lights having been turned down, a number of beautiful views
were thrown on the screen by Messrs. Fennell, Hogg, Welch, M'Kinney,
and Win. Gra}^. The pictures were those taken by members of the
Club during their summer excursions to Downpatrick, Carrickfergus,
the Valley of the Boyne. During the evening microscopic demons-
trations were given by Messrs Donaldson, M'Cleery, Phillips, Stelfox,
Wright, Welch, and Gray, while relics and mementoes relative to South
Africa were taken charge of by Messrs. G. Donaldson and W. Swanston.
The art collection on the upper floor of the Library attracted consider-
able attention. It may be mentioned that before the close of the
proceedings a special vote of thanks was passed to Dr. G. Abbott, of
Tunbridge Wells, who sent an excellent" series of concretions of the
magnesian limestone of Durham.

November 27. —The Winter Session of this Society was opened. Mr.
Rodman exhibited an excellent collection of lepidoptera. Miss Wheeler
exhibited some interesting examples of humming-birds' nests At
eight o'clock the President delivered a lecture oti " Irish Ecclesiastical
Architecture," dealing with the peculiarities of our primitive structures,
beehive huts, oratories, round towers, &c, with which Ireland is so richly
provided. The influence of the Norman invasion and subsequent times
was also very fully explained, and the lecture was copiously illustrated
by lantern slides produced by our best photographers. The meeting
was closed by the election of new members.

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

November 20.— The chair was taken by Mr. W. de V. Kane in the
absence of the President. Forty-two members and visitors were present.

Mr. G. W. Nicholson read a paper on " Natural history observations
made on a visit to the marine floating laboratory of the Royal Dublin
Society, at Ballynakill Bay." The speaker gave a most interesting
account of the work done in the floating laboratory. He described the
various measures adopted for the capture, preservation, and classification
of marine zoological specimens. The interior of the laboratory, its
appointments and contents were also described. Many very beautiful
marine organisms are frequently obtained, and while still alive and
active are submitted for examination.

Mr. Nicholson referred to the importance of studying the structure
of animals as Well as their habits. The paper was one of general
interest, for it dealt not only with the natural history of marine animals
but also with the land fauna of Ballynakill. Mr. Nicholson enumerated

1 8 The Irish Naturalist* January,

the insects and birds he observed n the district. His remarks on birds
were illustrated with many well executed lantern slides. He finished
up his paper by giving a popular account of the wild, healthy life which
he spent with the rest of the crew of the floating laborator} .

Dr. C. J. Patten (Hon. Sec), considered that the Club was much
indebted for the most interesting communication. He (Dr. Patten) had
visited the laboratory also and had seen the good work done there.
The country was rich in animal life. In addition to the foregoing list
made by Mr. Nicholson, Dr. Patten had noted several large seals and
many additional birds.

Rev. W. ELLISON remarked that although he had not investigated the
natural history of Ballynakill still much valuable work could be done in
remote parts of the West of Ireland. He gave an account of an expedition
to Slieve More in Achill Island. There he saw the Golden Eagle now
so rare in Ireland. He also noted the Chough. He had recently
visited Mayo and Sligo, including the coast lands of Killala and
Balliua. He observed that the Curlew — usually a wild and wary
bird — was quite tame and easily approached. He referred to his
observations on Sandymount strand, Dublin. He gave a list of
numerous sea and shore birds from that district, and pointed out that
the Heron was seldom seen.

Miss Mahaffy stated that it was most remarkable that Herons
should be so common on the north side of the River Liffey — Sutton and
Dollymount— and so rare on the Sandymount Strand.

Dr. Patten offered an explanation by stating that probably in the
former localities suitable food was more abundant.

Mr. CunninGTon said that he had visited the marine laboratory when
stationed at Inisbofin. Birds were so abundant that many were used as
articles of diet. The Oyster-catcher in his estimation is a very edible
bird.

Mr. Otway had made observations on the Donegal coast, where he
saw many Seals and Ravens.

Mr. Praeger gave an account of his travels over Slieve More, and
pointed out that it is a district full of interest to the naturalist.

Mr. A. Wiujams briefly touched upon his observations made in
Achill Island. Seals were comm.m. The avi-fauna, rich and varied,
included many rare birds which had visited the coastlands and sea-board
of the island. He had observed Eagles from time to time.

Mr. de V. Kane described some of the beautiful lakes and mountains
in the west of Ireland, also the nature of the bays and inlets. In June
he found the Puffin and Great Northern Diver swimming on inland
lakes in Monaghau thirty miles from the coast.

Dr. Aecock and Dr. Pethybridge also offered remarks on Mr.
Nicholson's paper.

The following were elected members: — Miss Dorothy M. Hudman.
Rev. D. F, R. Wilson, S. Ball, J. H. Chomley, E. Cumming* H. R,
Nelson, Alfred Purser, J. Holmes Pollok, C. E. Steele, and A. Bell.

1901. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 19

CORK NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

November 30. — An exhibition of scientific objects and apparatus
was held in the School of Art. The Cork Club for the first time
departed from its accustomed role and included photography among its
exhibits. A large number of people inspected the exhibits.

Mr. FarringTon pointed out that though the progress of the Field
Club was to a certain extent slow, it was sure, as could be judged by the
exhibits around. One example he would give as encouragement to
beginners in field work. He picked up a small plant one day, and not
knowing it, asked a specialist about it, and found it was a plant not
found before in Cork. Another interesting branch of work would be
following out the life history of animals.

Mr. PorTER then gave a short account of volcanoes, and showed
specimens of the various rocks.

Professor Hartog gave some interesting exhibits of microscopic
slides. He also spoke of the necessity of Irish Clubs looking after the
birds of Ireland. He knew on the authority of Professor Bergin that
many native birds have Gaelic names which have never been recorded.
The prize for the best collection of natural objects among junior members
he was very glad to award to Miss Queenie Harrington.

The exhibits of the Society were many and varied. Those of the two
most youthful members of the Club deserve a word to themselves.
Masters Stephen Farrington and Cecil Brooke Hughes each sent in a
collection of shells, which, considering that both lads are under twelve,
augurs well for their future scientific work. The following is a list of
the exhibits ; — Mr. \V. Ringrose Atkins, photographs ; Mr. J. L.
Copeman, two cases of butterflies from Ladysmith ; Mr. W, C. Corin,
photographs and some models of Celtic crosses from Cornwall ; Mr. T-
Farrington, transformations of Vapourer moth ; Miss V. Farrington,
book of botanical specimens ; Master T. Farrington, case of shells ; Rev.
P. Hurley,P.P, some rare books and the views from early edition of
Scott's novels, and some photographs; Mr. Osborn Bergin, B A. , ancient
MS. in Gaelic ; Mr. \Y. Miller, portable sundial and compass, radio-
meter, redometer, planosphere ; Mrs. M'Laine, a case of silkworm
cocoons and silk spun in Cork ; Mr. W. H. Johnson, cases of specimens
of wood and shells found in a submerged bog in Ballycotton ; Mrs.
W. H. Johnson, cases of shells found at Ballycotton ; Miss Martin, cases
of shells and fossils, and case of minerals and precious stones, presented
to High School by the late Mr. Ruskin ; Mr. Rohu, stuffed specimens of
Glossy Ibis, Velvet Scoter, Bittern, and a Death's-head Moth found on
Parnell Bridge. Professor Hartog, D.Sc, showed a splendid collection
of microscopes and slides ; Master Cecil Brooke Hughes, case of shells ;
Mrs. Brooke Hughes showed a fine collection of orchids, ferns and
nature prints ; Mr. C. Baker, lead ore, copper ore.

20 The hish Naturalist. January,

NOTES.

BOTANY.

Sphaerotheca mors-uvse in Co. Antrim.

This, the "Gooseberry Fungus," appeared in the garden at Whitehall,

Broughshaue, Co. Antrim, last spring. According to Mr. Ernest Salmon,

F.L.S., it is the first appearance of this species in Europe. Mr. F. W.

Moore, of Glasnevin, also received specimens.

S. A. Brenan.
Knocknacarry, Co. Antrim.

Truffles in Ireland.

Seeing in the November Irish Naturalist a note of the discovery by

Major Elmitt, after much trouble and research, of Truffles in the Co.

Gahvay, may I be allowed to inform readers that this fungus has been

known to exist at Castle Taylor for about forty years, and that I have

partaken of this home-grown delicacy when staying there with my

friends. Truffles have often been gathered there by myself and many

others.

Frances M. More.
Dublin.

Elymus arenarius in Co. Dublin.

In the November number of the Irish Naturalist Mr. N. Colgan writes
on this grass as found in a new station about a quarter of a mile north of
the Bra}' River, and states that all appearances are in favour of this
conspicuous species having been long established, and that it is
remarkable it should have so long escaped discovery there. I have
lived for years quite near to this spot, which, of course, I know well, it
being only separated from rny house by a couple of pasture fields. Being
absent from this district during the greater part of the years 1898 and
1S99, my attention was first attracted to this striking species last summer,
but as the slope and granite embankment in which it is growing was
constructed not more than three years ago, I felt no doubt that it had
been introduced in some manner; especially as some hundreds of tons
of stiff clay and other materials were brought from Glenageary, Wicklow,
and other places along the railway line, and deposited there by the
workmen, and used to face the sloping banks before placing the granite
stones in position. Also, higher up on the banks I found a gigantic
species of Briza, with spikelets quite half-an-inch in length, which is not
even a native of the British Isles. Both it and the Elymus are offered in
flower and seed catalogues under the heading of Ornamental Grasses.
Had I had any evidence of the Elyvius being native there, I would have let
the plant's station be known to Irish botanists. On the appearance of Mr.
Colgan's note, I determined to settle the question of its introduction be-

1901. Notes. 21

yond doubt. I interviewed a man who was engaged as overseer at the con-
struction of the embankment referred to, and I found my suspicion of this
grass being introduced confirmed. From him I learned the rather inte-
resting information that it had been sown there by the Railway Company.
When one half of the work had been completed, it occurred to some of the
engineering staff that the planting of a grass might help to protect the
clay banks from the action of the sea. As a result, seeds of a suitable
grass were procured. My informant did not know the species (no doubt
the Elymtts'), and two workmen were detailed to plant on the banks and
among the crevices of the granite embankment what is now a flourishing
colony of about one hundred yards. I find, on referring to a hand-book
on grasses, that this is the identical species used to protect the coasts of
Holland. I have not seen the Skerries station, but the claims of Elymus
arenarins as native in Co. Dublin seem to be slender.

Joseph Meade.
Old Connaught, Bray.

Hieracium hypochaeroides and Listera cordata in Co. Cork.

I have much pleasure in adding these two interesting plants to the
flora of this county, as the result of an excursion to the Millstreet
mountains in July last. Hieracium hypochceroides, Gibs. (=H. Gibsoni,
Backh.), a plant peculiar to the British Isles, I found growing with H.
iricum and H. anglicum on rocks over Gurtavehy Lake, certainly a most
unexpected locality to find it in, as in its only hitherto known Irish station,
Glencolumbkille, Co. Clare, and in the few localities in which it occurs
in Great Britain, it is apparently confined to 'the Mountain Limestone,
whereas the Millstreet mountains consist altogether of Old Red Sand-
stone. The little orchid, Listera cordata, R. Br., is plentiful on the same
and several other mountains in the district. The identity of my hawk-
weed was verified by Rev. K. F. Linton, m.a., to whom my best thanks
are due.

R. A. Philips.

Cork.

Matricaria discoidea and Arenaria tenuifolia in Ireland.

To the list of counties recently given in the Irish Naturalist in which
Matricaria discoidea has been found, I can add Co. Tipperary, having seen
it growing abundantly by a damp roadside between Nenagh and
Dromineer last July, thus showing that it has begun the invasion of
Munster as well as Ulster. I have also seen it during the past summer
at Galway, Ballinasloe, Athlone, Claremorris, and Ballyhaunis. Arenaria
temcifolia also seems to be spreading rapidly; I have noticed it this year
at Roscrea in Co. Tipperary, Clara in King's County, and at Loughrea,
Ardrahan and Attymon junction in Co. Galway.

R. A. Philips.

Cork,

22 The Irish Naturalist. January

Chenopodium ficifolium, Sm., in Ireland.

Rarly in September of last year I noticed, in an enclosed space at
Lisburn, Co. Antrim, where soil and some rubbish had been deposited, a
Chenopod, differing so much in form of leaf and general habit from
C. album, with which it was growing, as to lead me to suspect it to be
C. ficifolium, and to keep it under observation. It was so much belated
that the inflorescence did not appear till the middle of November, long
before which time C. album and Atriplex angustifolia, with which it was asso-
ciated, had died away and disappeared. The suspicion formed proved right
the identification having been verified by Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colgau ;
also by Mr. Arthur Bennett, who writes, " It is, no doubt, fine ficifolium
Smith" The records in the first edition of " Cybele Hibernica" have,
in the second edition, been discredited on the ground that they were
"not confirmed," and "are probably all errors." The present thus
seems to be the first satisfactory record for Ireland, and the plant, there-
fore, comes as a candidate for admission to the flora. Its proper standing
as Irish remains to be fixed. Pending further enquiry, it can hardly be
accepted as other than a suspected alien, which is the view entertained
by Mr. Colgan. It seems to be a species not often constant in its
localities, but it may probably have been overlooked with us, and, I
think, will not unlikely be seen again elsewhere in the neighbourhood.

The Chenopods and Atriplices have not much attraction for many
observers, and have, perhaps, been too much neglected. Though said
to be near to C. album, our plant, where seen growing, is strikingly
different. The several specimens observed at Lisburn were very large
and robust, one of them being over four feet high, the stem near the base
more than an inch in diameter, closely branched and densely leafy, and
pyramidal in outline. The odour is peculiar, resembling that of stale
dried fish.

J. H. Davies.

Lisburn.

Lesser Broom-rape on White Clover.

Far from finding Orobanche minor "exclusively on Tri folium protease" I
find it in Co. Wexford abundantly on Trifolium repens. This summer I
persistently noted that the parasite was in full flower on T. repots in six
different localities before I had seen a single spike of it on T. pratense.
There was no Red Clover in the vicinity of any of the plants above referred
to. I have a note of finding Orobanche minor in flower on Sweet Pea in
the garden at Ballyhyland, in the third week of November, 1895.

C. B. Moffat.
Ballyhyland.

1901. Notes. 23

ZOOLOGY.

Vanessa c-album in Ireland.

A short time ago the Rev. C. L. Garnett, M.A., Rector of Ardtrea,
Co. Tyrone, was on a visit in this neighbourhood, and came to see my
collection of insects. lie informed me that he had seen Vanessa C.
album in Co. Dublin, and on my asking for a detailed account of
the matter, very kindly informed me of the circumstances. It was
about i\ miles from Malahide, on the Dublin road, that he met with
the insect, in either July or August. The butterfly settled and
remained basking in the sun with its wings expanded, so that Mr.
Garnett had a full and clear view of it. He made an attempt to catch it, but
missed, and the butterfly immediately made off at full speed. Mr. Garnett
returned to the spot several times, but failed to meet with the insect
again. I have submitted the evidence 10 Mr. Kane and agree with him
that it is satisfactory proof that it was V. c-album ; but that, of course, it
was a case of casual migration.

W. F. Johnson.

Poyntzpass.

Vanessa io in Ulster.

The Peacock butterfly seems to have made a regular invasion of Ulster
this year. We have already records of Miss Campbell's capture of it in
Co. Londonderry, and Mr. Kane's records of it from Co. Monaghan
and Newry, and I have seen a specimen from Donegal, and now
have to report its occurrence in Armagh in the garden of Mr. John
M'Watters, and at Ardtrea Rectory, Co. Tyrone, where it was seen
by the Rev. C. L. Garnett, while the Rev. Canon Lett showed me the
remains of one which he found at Loughbrickland. I must say that the
Peacock showed very bad taste in not coming to Acton Glebe, where it
would have had every accommodation in the way of butterfly nets,
chloroform, pins, and setting boards !

W. P. Johnson.
Pontzpass.

Roller in Co. Donegal.

On 27th September, 1900, Mr. Thomas Sheen shot a female Roller
(Coracias garrulus), at Fure, Co. Donegal (about 7 miles from London-
derry) ; it frequented the neighbourhood for some days before it was
shot, and was reported to be an escaped parrot.

D. C. Campbei^i,.
Londonderry.

?4 The Irish Naturalist. January, 190T.

Tawny Owl in Co. Down.
On November 19th, a Tawny Owl (Syrnium aluco, L.), was sent in to me
for inspection. It was shot in the early morning of November 16th,
1900, in a wood in Belvoir Park, near the River Lagan. I examined it
carefully in the flesh, and there was no trace of confinement. It was
moulting, and the " pen "' feathers were so numerous that Sheals declined
to skin it. However, it was successfully skinned by Mr. Stears, the
owner. I afterwards dissected the body and found it to be a female ; but
from the size of its ovaries, I do not think it is a bird of the year. Its
stomach contained the remains of a full-grown rat, with a tail six inches
long. The rat's two hind-legs and portion of the back and ribs were there
but the fore-legs and skull were missing. The stomach was lined with
the fur. I made a special journey to Belvoir Park, and cross-examined
the gamekeeper who shot it. He was quite unaware of the rarity of his
capture, but knew it was not a Long-eared or a Short-eared Owl. He
told me that the gardener, wishing to have a bird to fill an empty glass
case, asked him to give him the first bird he shot. He took his gun the
next day, and on coming to this wood was attracted by the screaming
and calling of Blackbirds and Thrushes. Thinking a Stoat was the cause,
he advanced cautiously and saw the Owl perched in a tree. He was
going away, when he remembered the gardener's wish, and shot it for
him. At the time, he noticed the number of feathers he knocked out of
it. I have seen the place where it was shot, and do not doubt the
genuineness of the occurrence. This being the first authenticated record
of the Tawny Owl in Ireland, I have thought it right to give all the
information I have in detail.

Robert Patterson.
Belfast.

The Hedgehog near Belfast.

It may, perhaps, interest some northern readers to know that the
Hedgehog lives and breeds within a mile and-a-half of Belfast ; it seems
strange that such a shy animal should live near so large a city. I have
noticed them for the last eight years in a garden close to the town.
They crop up every now and then, usually found by a dog or the gardener
— we do our best to protect them ; I have kept one for a whole winter, and
found it a source of great amusement ; it got quite tame, and would eat
beef out of my hand and run after me for it. We noticed that it
would run backwards and forwards time after time, always turning
about the same point. I do not know whether this is the habit of
every Hedgehog. I have never seen the fact mentioned in any natural
history book ; but some naturalists may have observed it.

W. H. Workman,

Irish Naturalist, Vol. X.

Plate i.

I'

WW 1 1 \ ] '-

• ^>,r ;'*

-

<£*V>$>

Development of Chrysaora isosceles

/ fa / page 25

February, 1901. 25

NOTES ON THE REARING OF
CHRYSAORA ISOSCELES IN AN AQUARIUM.

BY MAUDE J. DBIyAP.

On June2ist, 1899,1 picked up a damaged specimen of the jelly-
fish Chrysaora isosceles on the shore of Valencia Harbour, and
placed it in an aquarium for examination. On the following
day I saw numbers of tiny particles moving about in the
water, and found that they were ciliated planulse, which had
been liberated from the medusa. On June 27th the planulae
were attaching themselves to the 'glass and hanging down
from the surface film of the water.

Two days later the tentacles began to develop, showing that
the free-swimming planula stage was over, and that a fixed
h3rdroid-like stage, known as the Scyphistoma, had commenced.
At first the Scyphistomae had four tentacles, then four more
appeared, one midwa}r between each of the first tentacles, and
later on eight others to make up the full number of sixteen.
Some of the Scyphistomse had their full number by July 13th.
I kept a large number of these Scyphistomae in an ordinary
12-inch bell-jar throughout the winter. About twice a week
some fresh sea- water was put in. A supply of copepods was
kept in the bell -jar, but the Scyphistomae, I found, preferred
to feed upon small medusae, such as Sarsz'a, and little cteno-
phores — Pleurobrachia. In December a few of the Scyphis-
tomae budded young ones from the base of the polyp.

On April 3rd, 1900, I saw an Ephyra swimming in the bell-
jar containing the Scyphistomae, which I had reared from the
Chrysaora taken during the previous summer, and on looking
next day five more were found. It was evident that they had
only just been liberated from a Scyphisto??ia, as two specimens
were still united. On April 14th I found a Scyphistoma just
beginning to start the process of segmentation, and kept it
under observation. The tentacles of the Scyphistoma were
gradually absorbed, and the animal changed in colour from
white to pink. A series of transverse rings next appeared,
dividing the body into a number of segments. Each segment
developed into an Ephyra. Segmentation began at the anterior
end of the polyp, and proceeded downwards, so that the
Ephyrae were liberated one after the other, but occasionally in

A

26 The Irish Naturalist. February,

the struggle for freedom two or three came off together, and
separated afterwards.

A Scyphistoma in the process of segmentation is known as
a Strobila. In the specimen under observation, Ephyrae were
liberated three days after the commencement of strobilization.
The Ephyrae when first liberated were pinkish, but soon
changed to a translucent white. They measured about 2 mm.
in diameter. The disc or umbrella was flat and divided into
eight marginal lobes, each bearing a sense-organ (tentacu-
locyst). The next step was to try the experiment of rearing
an Ephyra up to the adult stage, and to see how large the
medusa would grow in confinement. On April 17th six
Ephyrae, liberated on 3rd and 4th April, were placed in a
bell-jar containing some Sarsia tubulosa ; the latter were soon
eaten, in spite of their being much larger and more active
swimmers. By April 22nd the largest Ephyra was beginning
to assume its adult form.

The umbrella measured half an inch in diameter, and four
tentacles had developed on the margin. The tentacles when
fully expanded were about 4 inches in length. The circular
mouth of the Ephyra was now surrounded by four oral arms.
Their food supply consisted chiefly of small medusae, which
were greedily devoured. The largest of the Ephyrae
(measured on April 22nd) increased in size more rapidly
than its companions, and proved itself to be the survivor of the
fittest by eating them. On May 16th the survivor measured
1^ inches across the umbrella. The oral arms, now frilled,
were 2\ inches in length. Four more tentacles had appeared,
and others were just visible, one on each side of every sense-
organ.

By May 22nd it had reached the normal form of the adult
(just seven weeks old) having 24 marginal tentacles. The
umbrella measured 2^ inches in diameter, and the frilled oral
arms 5 inches in length. On June 4th the brown markings on
the top of the umbrella began to appear. The umbrella now
measured 3I inches across, and the oral arms 9 inches. By
June 13th it had become too large for its bell-jar (12 inches
across and 8 inches deep), so it was removed to another 14
inches across and 12 inches in depth, holding when full about
4 gallons of water. At this stage the umbrella was 5 inches

190T. Delap. — Rearing oj Chrysaora isosceles. 27

in diameter. On June 21st the umbrella had increased to 6£
inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness ; the frilled
oral arms extended to the bottom of the bell-jar. The colouring
of the marginal lobes and the top of the umbrella was now
as bright as in a specimen taken from the sea — a rich dark
brown colour.

About July 8th the medusa— 13 weeks old — reached its
maximum growth. The umbrella was 9 inches in diameter ;
the oral arms and tentacles extended to the bottom of the
bell-jar. The gonads were visible, showing quite yellow
through the umbrella.

The difficulty of obtaining a sufficient food supply owing to
the stormy state of the weather, and the increased tempera-
ture of the water, gradually affected the.health of the medusa.
It began slowly to decrease in size, the umbrella became
smaller in diameter, and the oral arms and tentacles shorter.
It spent, too, a great deal of its time at the bottom of the bell-
jar bumping the top of the umbrella upon the gravel, instead
of swimming round and round at the surface. By August 13th
its condition became critical, and as it was not likely to live
much longer I preserved it in a solution of formaline. The
umbrella had decreased to 6 inches in diameter.

The chief trouble connected with the rearing of this medusa
was to obtain a sufficient supply of food ; its appetite was
enormous. I soon found out what kind of food Chrysaora
preferred by placing different pelagic animals in the bell-jar,
and watching the result.

It had a great liking for small Antho-medusae and L,epto-
medusae, such as Corymorpha, Margelis, Sarsia, Ampkinema,
Phialidium, Laodice, Euchilota, &c. ; also for the siphonophore
Agalmopsis, and the ctenophores Pleurobrachia and Bolina.
It had no objection to Tomopteris and1 Sagitta. There were,
however, two animals it would not touch, even after a few days'
starvation — the antho-medusa Tiara pileata, and the cteno-
phore Beroe ovata. It is well known that young fish are often
found under the umbrella of the large Scypho- medusae,
especially Pilema {Rhizostomd) octopus. One day I put a small
fish, about an inch in length, into the bell-jar. The medusa
caught it and held it for some time in the frills of the oral
arms, but finally let it go without doing any harm to it. I
kept afterwards two small fish for some weeks in the bell-

A*2

28 The Irish Naturalist. February,

jar along with Chrysaora, but it never attempted to catch
them. Copepods and other Crustacea were placed in the bell-
jar, but the medusa did not eat them. It seems clear that
Chrysaora mainly lives upon jelly-fish, using the term in a
popular sense.

The long marginal tentacles are used for catching animals,
and the lightest touch is sufficient to hold securely a small
jelly-fish. The tentacle is then drawn up and towards the
frill of one of the oral arms ; the frill seizes the captured
medusa and passes it up into the mouth. When Chrysaora
was hungry it stretched out the tentacles to an enormous
length and also the frilled arms ; but when quite satisfied it
kept both contracted. A good meal consisted of several
dozen medusae and ctenophores.

The water in the large bell-jar was changed daily, about
one gallon removed and a fresh supply added. The tempera-
ture of the water in the bell-jar was often taken and compared
with the surface temperature of the sea. The bell-jar stood on
a table near a window with an eastern aspect, sheltered from the
sun. In the early part of the year the water in the aquarium
was below the surface temperature of the sea. In February as
much as 3 to 5 degrees (sea minimum 47*5° F. ; aquarium 420
F.) In March the temperature became more equalized, and
later on the water in the aquarium was above the tempera-
ture of the sea. During May and June the aquarium was
usually about 3-4 degrees in excess (aquarium 59°-62° F.) In
July there was a short spell of hot weather, which increased
the temperature of the aquarium to 66°F., the sea being 640 F.
This was the highest temperature recorded in the aquarium.

Valencia, Co. Kerry.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Pirate i.
Fig. 1. Chrysaora isosceles— Scyphistoma stage, x 25.
,, 2. A Scyphistoma beginning to strobilize, x 25.
,, 3. Strobila stage, showing Ephyrse ready for liberation, x 25.
,, 4. Young Ephyrse just liberated, x 10.

Plate 2.
Fig. 5. An Ephyra, oral view, X 35.
,, 6. An advanced Ephyra, three weeks :>ld, x 2\.
,. 7. An advanced Ephyra, four weeks old, x 2$.

Irish Naturalist, Vol. X.

Plate 2.

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Development of Chrysaora isosceles.

To face page 28.

1901. - 29

BOTANICAL FIELD-WORK IN I9OO.

BY R. ^OYD PRAKGKR, B.E.

The last of the five seasons' field-work devoted to the
collection of material for "Irish Topographical Botany" was
extensive and varied. Before its commencement I drew up
somewhat elaborate comparative tables showing the strength
or weakness of the floras of the various county-divisions, and
the final season was devoted to working up those divisions
which most required further exploration. Nearly fifty days
were spent in the field, and few of the Irish counties lay
beyond the range of the summer's excursions.

The season was late, and June 9 was' the first date on which
I ventured afield. On that day, I worked across the western
side of Meath, from Athboy to Hill of Down. Ranunculus
Aurico??ius near the former place, and Orchis Morio at the
latter, were the best additions to the Meath list. The upper
reaches of the Boyne, which I followed for some miles,
proved uninteresting. Next day I examined the gorge of
Poulaphouca, on both the Kildare and Wicklow sides. The
most remarkable feature of the flora of this lovely spot is the
group of strongly calcicole plants which grow on the slate
rocks (Ordovician) of the gorge, no limestone being present,
nor within several miles. Arabis kirsuta, Geranium colum-
binum, G. lucidum, Carlina vulgaris, A vena pubesce?is, all grow
abundantly, and mixed with them we find an equally
characteristic calcifuge group — Lepidium hirtum, Cytisus
scoparius, Jasione montana, Digitalis purpurea. Two Hawk-
weeds, not yet named, grow here, and again at the pretty fall
above Ballymore, though no species^of the genus is in record
from these places. In the hotel grounds at Poulaphouca
Poa nemoralis (recorded by Dr. Scully) is particularly
abundant. From Ballymore I returned by road to Blessington,
finding Trifolium filiforme abundantly on a dry-built fence by
the way — its second station in Kildare. With it was Lamium
hybtidutn, new to the county.

On June 13 I disembarked at Drumhawnagh in Co. Cavan.
Matricaria discoidea, on the railway there, represented the
first station in Ulster of this ruthless invader, and Linaria
viscida, which grew with it, was also new to the northern

3°

The Ifish Naturalist. February,

province. Passing through Scrabby, I examined the wind-
ing western shores of Lough Gowna. Quite the best plant
found was Typha angustifolia, which grew in both Cavan and
Longford, forming a connecting link between its widely
separated stations on Lough Derevaragh and Lough Neagh.
Lastrea Oreopteris and L. cemula occurred on the lakeshore,
and Potamogeton heterophyllus in its waters ; Lamium hybridum
was gathered near Granard in the evening. Next morning I
started from Drumod in Leitrim, and worked down the
Shannon to Newtownforbes, and thence to Longford. Two
excellent plants rewarded my exertions. On a patch of
stony river- margin near Roosky Teucrium Scordium was
found. Though so characteristic of the great expansions of
the Shannon — Loughs Derg and Ree — this plant was unknown
north of the latter lake ; and a search which I made of the
head-waters of the Shannon around Loughs Key and Gara
three years ago was as unsuccessful in yielding the Water
Germander as Mr. Stewart's exploration of Lough Allen.
I found it again a couple of hours later inside the Longford
boundary, and the occurrence of these isolated patches
stimulates the hope that it will yet be found around some of
the head- water lakes. The Roosky station adds T. Scordium
to the flora of District IX. The other plant represented a
wider extension of range. This was Viola stagnina, formerly
recorded only from a limited area in Clare and Galway. It
grew in peaty ground close to the edge of the river below
Roosky, in Co. Longford. Lough Forbes proved of no special
interest, but yielded Carex Pseudo-cypc? us and other marsh
plants, and a detour into a bog here added Rhynchospora ftisca
to the flora of Longford.

An afternoon ramble by the Liffey above Leixlip on June 17
yielded Ranunculus Auricomus, Oroba?iche Hcdcrcz and Poa
nemoralis. Next morning I cycled from Birr to Kinnitty, at
the northern base of the Slieve Blooms, and spent some
hours examining the fine glens that run into the mountains
there. A large number of calcifuge species were added to
the King's Co. list ; Equisetum variegatwn and Lycopodium
clavatuvi were the most interesting plants seen— and Uhnus
montana, apparently truly native in a mountain gorge. In
the evening I rode through miles of bog to the desolate
village of Frankford. The following day was devoted to bog-

1961. PraKGKR. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 31

trotting. Bearing some miles east of Frankford, I made for a
mysterious depression in a vast bog, marked Tumduff on trie
maps. It is a flat grassy tract, dotted with willow and birch,
and yielding a marsh rather than a bog flora — Vaccinium
Oxycoccos, Melampyrum pratense, Orchis incarnata, Cladium
Matiscus, Carex limosa, Osmunda regalis, were among the
rarer species. Thence westward over endless bog, across a
deserted road, to I,ough Boora, a lonely and desolate bog
lough. On the way thither I found a large breeding-colony
of Black-headed Gulls among a maze of pools, the margins of
which were bright with the alien flora which these birds bring
with them from the cultivated lands. Rhynchospora fusca
turned up near L,ough Boora, for the third time in King's Co.
In the afternoon I rode to Pallas L,ough and gathered some
plants, but awful thunder-showers, which could hardly be
surpassed by tropical rain, compelled a retreat to Tullamore,
and half submerged the county.

June 22 found me in Carrick-on-Suir. The short first day
was spent in working across the Waterford hills to Portlaw,
and back by the river. An outcrop of Old Red conglomerate
south-east of Carrick yielded Corydalis claviculata in abundance,
and the limestone near Portlaw added several species to the
extremely limited calcicole flora of Waterford. Next day I
made a pilgrimage to the famous Slievenaman, in South
Tipperary, which, though one of our loftier Irish mountains,
had never, so far as I can make out, been ascended by a
botanist. At the southern base of the hill a good calcifuge
group was met with, the best plant being Filago minima. On
the summit (2,364 feet) Carex rigida was the only alpine, but
the view was worth a dozen alpine plants. A long walk
brought me back to Carrick. An evening stroll revealed the
plant of Carrick-on-Suir — Bromus diandrus — growing in
profusion on walls, and the rare Nasturtium sylvestre was
gathered on both sides of the river ; it has been already
recorded from further up the Suir, at Clonmel. That night I
shifted quarters to Cahir, to continue the exploration of
South Tipperary. The 24th was spent in working down the
Suir to the picturesque village of Ardflnnan, thence across to
the lovely river- gorge at Knocklofty, and back to Cahir.
This is an undulating fertile limestone district, hemmed in
by the fine mountain-ranges of the Galtees, Knockmealdowns,

32 The Irish Naturalist. February,

and Comeraghs. The best plants seen were Cynoglossum
officinale near Ardfinnan, Carex mztricata at Knocklofty, and
Bromus erectus on the railway bank at Cahir — but only one
patch, and so must be marked f. Carex divulsa is a
characteristic plant of the district. Starting next morning
from Bansha, I crossed the famous Vale of Aherlow, with the
Galtees towering in front. A gravel-pit here yielded several
good plants. Picris hieracioides, already recorded by me from
Queen's County and Kildare, was abundant ; with it were
Galium Mollugo, Papaver Argemone, Oroba?iche minor, and
quantities of Ophrys apifera. Fording the flooded river, and
ascending through pinewoods carpeted with Lastrea amula I
was soon well among the Galtees, and in due course reached
Ivough Muskry, a deep tarn with no visible outlet, shut in by
a semicircle of stupendous cliffs. Mr. Hart has described the
alpine vegetation of this spot, which possesses considerable
variety, and is remarkable for the immense profusion and
luxuriance of the plants which compose it. Cochlearia alpina,
Sedum Rhodiola, Saxijraga iwibrosa, S. stellaris, S. hirta,
S. hyp?ioides, Oxyria re?iiformis, Cystopteris fragilis, and
Asplenium viride, tenant the cliffs in delightful abundance.
Botrychium Lu?iaria, gathered here at 2,250 feet, extends its
Irish vertical range by 500 feet. On the summit of the hill
above (Greenane, 2,636 feet), Carex rigida was plentiful.
Thence down the long southern slopes, which are devoid of
interest, and back by road to Cahir. The following day, the
country between Bansha and Cahir was explored. An esker-
ridge with gravel-pits in it proved the most productive ground,
yielding Calamintha Aci?ios, Cy?ioglossum officinale, Ca?li?ia,
Torilis nodosa, and Orchis Mario, most of them wanted for my
South Tipperary list ; the first is new to District II. That
evening I returned to Dublin.

Next morning I was off on a flying visit to Donegal and
Fermanagh, with the object of forming an opinion as to the
standing of one or two disputed plants. Reaching Belleek in
the afternoon I cycled to near Brown Hall in Donegal, to
seek Helia7ithe7num vulgaic, found there by Mr. H. C. Hart
in 1893. In addition to the scant published information, I
had the advantage of a marked map and full description of
the station, kindly supplied me by the finder of the plant.
My search was unsuccessful. The point marked by Mr. Hart

T90T. Pra.kgkr. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 33

on the map proved to be the top of a whale-backed cultivated
ridge. Half a mile west of this, just south of Rockhill, I
found limestone ground answering to the description, even to
the gable- ends of a ruined cottage which Mr. Hart told me
would be a sign that I was "hot." But no trace of the Rock-
rose could be seen ; and until the discoverer vouchsafes
further information as to the exact circumstances under
which the plant occurs — or occurred — its range, and quantity,
I for one cannot follow Mr. Hart in claiming for the species a
place in our indigenous list, and must perforce follow the
lead of " Cybele." We want to know more about it. In the
evening, however, I was recompensed for my journey of 150
miles and fruitless day by the addition of an interesting
plant to the flora of Donegal and of. Ulster — namely Rhyn-
chospora fusca, which grew on the bogs south-west of Belleek
with Drosera intermedia, Carex limosa, &c. The latter two
crossed the border into Fermanagh, where they were very
welcome, each having only one station in District X., but
the Beak-rush I saw on the Donegal side alone. Late the
same evening I rode on to the little inn at Garrison, on Lough
Melvin. The edge of the lake here was fringed with patches
of the rare Potamogeton filiformis in beautiful fruit. I have
already recorded it from the Leitrim side of Lough Melvin.

In the Irish Naturalist, v., 188 (1896) Mr. W. MacMillan,
the finder of several rare plants, recorded the Globe-flower,
Trollius europczus, as growing " in an unquestionably wild state
on the shores of one of the larger Fermanagh lakes." There
was no inherent improbability in his statement, as the plant
grows wild in the adjoining count}7 of Donegal. Nevertheless
the record is not even mentioned in " Cybele." So I was up
betimes next day, and rowed from Garrison through the
morning mists towards the island on Lough Melvin to which
Mr. MacMillan had kindly directed me. There are three
islets at the north-east end of the lake. The one which is
named on the one-inch map Bilberry Island is locally called
Heather}7 Island, on account of the long heather with which
it is covered. Close outside it is the low Sally Island. More
to the west is Gorminish (one-inch map) or Bilberry Island
according to local phraseology. For this place I steered, and
as the boat's keel grated on the pebbles, I saw a leaf of
Trollius floating in the water. Landing, the plant was found

34 The Irish Naturalist. February,

at once, growing along the rough stony shores amid a tangle
of Meadow-sweet, Purple Loosestrife, and similar plants.
I examined the island carefully. The Globe-flower grows at
intervals right round its one mile of shore, being abundant at
the western end, rare at the eastern. It forms a belt just
above storm-level, where it gets shade from the trees. The
flora of the island is strictly indigenous, and clearly it has
never been cultivated or planted. Oak, Holly, Alder and
other native species constitute the dense arboreal vegetation.
Luzula maxima almost monopolizes the drier ground under
the trees. Not a single non-native species occurs, and it
would be an absurdity to question the plant's being truly
native here. I returned to Garrison well satisfied, presented
mine host with a root of Trollius for his garden, and cycled
round the southern side of the lake, where I made a
desperate attempt to discover the Globe-flower on the shrubby
lake-shore, and so add it to the flora of L,eitrim and of
District IX. But it was not to be found, and remounting I
next halted in Co. Sligo, among the bogs that lie between
Cliffony and the gaunt limestone mountains. A couple of
hours spent here added Rhynchospora fusca, Car ex limosa and
other bog plants to the Sligo list. Thence to Mullaghmore,
where some botanizing was done among the sand-dunes, and
then back to Belleek via Bundoran and Ballyshannon. At
Belleek station in the evening Crepis ta?axacifolia was
noticed growing in a rock-cutting, an addition to the flora
of District X., and here far north of its recorded limit.

On July i st I went west, finding that the little-known
eastern portion of Galway (Divisions 15 and 17) needed
further exploration. North-east Galway — perhaps the least
known botanically of all the Irish divisions — consists of an
unbroken stretch of low- lying and frequently bog-covered
limestone. The geological maps showed that on the extreme
northern boundary alone might one hope to find a flora not
dominated by the calcareous rocks. Accordingly, I cycled
west from Milltown, and behind Dunmore found a range of
bare brown stone- strewn hills of Old Red Sandstone, and was
rewarded by a good calcifuge flora, including Graphalium
sylvaticum, Chrysanthemum segetu?n, Rapha?ius Raphanistrum,
Spergula, and Digitalis. Galium uligi?wsum was a less
expected find. On the 3rd I spent a long day in E)ast Mayo,

1901. pRAKGKR. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 35

north and west of Claremorris. The more interesting ground
in this bare country consisted of eskers, bogs, lake-shores,
and turloughs. The plants found included Rhynchospora fusca,
Plantago maritime/, (here very far from the sea), Rhamnus
catharticus, and a beautiful set of thistle hybrids, showing
every gradation from C. prate?isis to C. palustris. At the
railway station Matricaria discoidea was present as usual.

Next day was wet, but I visited Knockmae, west of Tuam,
the highest hill in this flat country. Epipactis atro-rubens is
by no means rare here (see Irish Naturalist, viii., 181), but I
searched in vain for Saxifraga hypnoides, recorded in Wade's
" Plantae Rariores " (1804), but apparently never seen here
since. The rain clearing off, I made a forced march to Lough
Corrib, but botanizing was interrupted by a boating adventure
that came very near putting a definite stop to my work on
" Topographical Botany," and I was glad to retreat to Tuam,
wet and empty-handed. The following morning I rode to
Annaghdown, and in company with Mrs. Frank Joyce
explored fresh portions of the Lough Corrib shores. Neotinea
intacta, growing sparingly by the lake, was the best find. In
the evening we cycled southward thirty miles to St. Cleran's.
A halt on the way at Coolarne (where Mrs. Joyce has found
Vicia Orobus) revealed Ophrys muscifera growing abundantly
and very large, and on the bare limestone Erica cinerea> for
the first time in all N.E- Galway.

The following day I went with Mrs. Joyce to Chevy Chase,
lying on the western slope of the broad Old Red Sandstone
ridge of Slieve Aughta. This place is famous as the only
mainland Galway station of Euphorbia hibema, discovered
here by Mr. Hart in 1873. We found the plant at once,
accompanied by Thalictrum collinum, and I traced it up the
Owendalulleegh River for four or five miles, and downwards
almost to Lough Cooter. Other similar streams descend these
western slopes, which should be searched for it ; but it is
apparently not on the eastern slopes — at Dalystown for
instance. The day's work added many calcifuge plants to the
list for S.K- Galway. Next day I botanized round Lough
Cooter, then north for seven or eight miles, and back into
Gort. Lough Cooter was chiefly remarkable for the variety
of its Orchid flora ; I gathered thirteen species in half an
hour — Habe?iaria conopsca, viridis} bi/olia, chloroleuca ; Orchis

36 The Irish Naturalist. February,

Aforio, mascula, pyramidalis, maculata, incarnata ; Ophrys
apifera^ muscifera ; Listera ovata, Epipactis palustris. The
best plants seen elsewhere were Comus sanguinea and
Geranium columbinum on bare limestone some miles north
of Gort. On the 8th I had a long and delightful day over the
classic ground of Garryland, and away across the bare lime-
stone to the Burren hills, thence to Kinvarra, and back by
Garryland to Gort. Garryland is a delightful combination of
wild limestone " crag," lake, and wood. Its characteristic
plant is Spircea Filipendula, which grows in great profusion,
filling some meadows with its cloudy masses of blossom as we
may see the Meadow-sweet doing at home. The stunted
arboreal vegetation of the " crags " includes the Yew and both
species of Buckthorn, as long ago noted by Mr. More ; and
the peculiar flora of the western limestones attains here a full
development. A level billowy waste of bare grey rock,
stretching away to the abrupt grey mountains of Burren, was
next crossed. As the Clare border was approached 5. Fili-
pe?idula diminished and Dryas octopetala increased. I sampled
one or two of the limestone hills (the flora of which has been
frequently described), and turning north crossed the low
ground to the sea at Kinvarra. The cultivated laud here
yielded an unusually varied set of uncommon weeds ; here is
a sample list, jotted down in one field : — Papaver Rh<zas,
dubium, hybridum ; Lepidium campestre, Brassica alba, Stachys
arve?isis, Euphorbia exigua, Linaria Elatine, Valeria?iella
de?itata, Centautea Scabiosa, Anthemis Cotula. Kinvarra yielded
its quota of plants, and turning eastward agaiu I recrossed
the low grounds, and came through the mazy woods of Garry-
land to Gort, and next morning returned to Dublin.

July 11-13 was spent with the Belfast and Dublin Field
Clubs on the Boyne ; some brief note of the botany of the
excursion has already appeared in these pages {Irish Nahiralist
ix., 230-231). On the 15th I revisited Navan, and driving
north to Rathkenny, turned eastward to explore the uplands
of Slieve Bregh (753 feet), the western end of an irregular
Ordovician ridge that crosses Louth and plunges into the sea
at Clogher Head. Agrimo?iia odorata, new to District V., was
perhaps the best plant found, but the addition of at least
twenty calcifuge species to the flora of Meath was to me a
matter of greater interest. I rejoined the railway at Dunleer.

1901. PRAKGKR. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 37

On July 17 I started on a northern tour. That day was
spent in L,outh, round by Ballymascanlan and Ravensdale.
Valerianella rimosa was the best plant found ; my hostess,
Mrs. Swan, got a better one in Geranium columbinum, but as
it grows here on a wall off the limestone, I fear it must be
marked %, On the 18th Mr. Allen Swan and I had a splendid
day round by Bush, Whitestovvn, Greenore and Carlingford,
and over Carlingford Mountain back to Dundalk. The sandy
fields near Greenore yield many good colonists, including
Silene noctiflora, S. anglica, and Saponaria Vaccaria, and the
coast flora is full of interest ; Erodium nioschatum is frequent,
and Galium Mollugo and a Cnscuta not yet in flower, pre-
sumably C. trifolii, occurred. On Carlingford Mountain, high
above the limits of cultivation, Aquilegia grows in clefts of the
rock along streamlets, looking absolutely indigenous. On
the summit of the hill we were fortunate in stumbling across
one of the few plants of the Parsley Fern that exist there — a
stunted but healthy patch on a high rock. Thence across the
hills to Bellurgan, where Agrimonia odorata grew luxuriantly „
This walk was perhaps more productive in variety of plants
than any of which I have a record, upwards of 400 species
having been noted during the day, Shifting quarters next
morning to Ballybay in Monaghan, a useful day was spent on
the hummocky lake-strewn Ordovician country south of that
town. Polyg07ium minus, Sclerant/izis annuusy Habenaria
albida, Pctamogeton alpinus and obtusifolius, were among the
plants obtained, the flora being essentially calcifuge. Next
day I worked through similar country from Glasslough to
Ballybay. Polygonum minus and Potamogeton obtusifolius were
most characteristic, and Annaghmakerig I^ough yielded a
good haul of Characce. Sedum Telepkium, growing abundantly
on rocks at Rockcorry, appears to be the first record for
District X. The two days' work gave a considerable increase
to the flora of Monaghan as shown by the previous lists of
Mr. Somerville, Mr. Waddell, and myself. Two days were
next spent in Fermanagh, with Enniskillen as centre. Under
Mr. Plunkett's guidance, a number of low-level bogs were
explored, which stretch along the base of the Florencecourt
range of hills. The bog-flora of Fermanagh being hitherto
practically ?* *7, a number of desiderata were obtained. Drosera

A4

38 The hish Naturalist February,

intermedia grew in great abundance with D. angliea, but
Andromeda and V. Oxycoecos were conspicuous only by tbeir
absence. In these points the flora resembled that of the
western bogs rather than those of the Central Plain ; and
another point of resemblance appeared in the discovery, after
a long search, of Rhynchospora fusea in its second Ulster
station, being an addition to the flora of District X. It grew
luxuriantly in a wet patch of bog west of the hill of Clonty-
mullan, the elevation of which (242 feet) is marked on the one-
inch map. Florencecourt demesne yielded abundance of
Epipaetis latifolia, Carcx strigosa, and C pendula ; the lime-
stone hills above were tenanted by the usual limestone flora,
with List era cordata under the long heather. Next morning
was spent on the shores of Lower Lough Macnean, which
were singularly unproductive ; the best plant was Rosa
involuta var. Nicholsonii, Crepin, the species being new to
District X. and the variety to Ireland. Potamogeton nitens
appears to be also new to X. In the afternoon I was joined
by Mr. W. West, of Portora Royal School, who with his col-
league, M . W. N. Tetley, has recently made some excellent
finds in Fermanagh, to some of which I lately referred
(/. Nat. ix., 285). We examined the hills lying north of the
lake, but they proved devoid of interest. That night I pro-
ceeded to Ballysadare, and next day worked across the humpy
quartzite ridge and made a long round over the limestone
past Annaghmore, &c. It was characteristic of the varying
fortunes of field-work that an evening stroll of an hour within
half a mile of Ballysadare yielded twice as many additions to
the Sligo list as the whole day had done ; and these included
some interesting plants, such as Diplotaxis ?nuralis, Stcllaria
palusfris, Potamogeton nitens.

July 27 to 31 were spent in Mayo; of the botany of this trip
some account has already been given {Irish A7atu?ralist, ix.,
224-229). Other duties now compelled a cessation of field-
work, but on August 12 I started northward from Clough-
jordan in Tipperary, and worked through Knockmachree
wood and over Scohaboy bog to the conspicuous pointed hill
of Knockshigowna, which is crowned with a modern-antique
ruin. Thence over too-fertile ground, through Ballingarry
southward. Campanula Trucheliunh growing in a rough

1901. PRAKGHR. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 39

hedge far from a cottage, inspired a hope that I might be on
the outskirts of a native colony of this rare plant ; but the
appearance under similar circumstances of Iris fcstidissima
dispelled the illusion. The best ground found was about
some eskers south-west of Cloughjordan. Gal htm Mo Hugo
was there, and Erysimum cheiranthoidcs appeared in some
abundance as a colonist in cultivated land ; on the railway
Armaria tenuifolia grew with Lhiaria viscida. A triplex erecta
and Galium Mollugo, growing at Cloughjordan, were new to
District VII. Next morning I visited a further portion of
the eskers. From the train a few years ago I had fancied I saw
Gcranhwi sanguineum here, and now found it growing in
immense abundance over a considerable area — an interesting
habitat, as the plant is almost confined to the coasts, the lime-
stone "crags" of the west, and the limestone shores of the
great lakes. With it were Erigeron acre and other similar
plants. A bog beyond the eskers yielded Potamogeton alpinus
and Chara polyaca?itha. Thence I made a long march south-
ward to the Old Red Sandstone hills near the source of the
Nenagh River, but got hardly any calcifuge species ; so I
dropped back on Toomavara, where a car was waiting to take
me to catch the evening train from Cloughjordan to Limerick.
Of the three most interesting days that followed I have
already written in this Journal (ix., pp. 260-5).

On the morning of August 19 I cycled from Longford to
Ballymahon. An outcrop of Old Red Sandstone near Castlerea,
visited on the way, yielded some welcome calcifuge species.
Striking westward for Lough Ree, Gorteen bog was crossed,
and its vegetation proved to be chiefly composed of Rhynchos-
pora fusca and R. alba ; the former, though unrecorded for the
county (save on a previous page of the present paper) proved
to be one of the most abundant plants of western Longford.
The mouth of the Inny yielded in interesting flora, as
recorded by Messrs. Barrington and Vowel in 1887, including
Lathyrus palustris and Shim latifolhim. Thence north-west
along the shore and over boggy ground to the Bilberry River
getting Potamogeton coloratus, unrecorded in the Lough Ree
report, and Lamia polyrhiza, recorded from one station in
Westmeath. Bilberry River was deep and slow, full of water-
plants, with treacherous floating margins, and I swam it with
some difficulty, getting on the bank Galium uliginosuiti, which

4o The h ish Naturalist. February,

also had one previous Lough Ree station. Swampy ground
beyond the river yielded Lastrea Thelypteris, growing among
Canx filiformis and C. teretiuscula ; though unrecorded by
Barrington and Vowell, it has now turned up by the lake in all
three counties bordering on it. Close by, Polygonum minus,
new to Lough Ree and to District VII., grew abundantly on
the peaty lake-shore. I walked round Saint's Island, getting
on the western shore Galium Mo lingo and Stachys Betonica,
both new to Lough Ree and to District VII. The credit of
the latter discovery does not belong to me, as Miss Rosa
Smith sent me last year specimens of this rare plant both
from Saint's Island in Longford and from the opposite
promontory of Noughaval in Westmeath. It is the best
addition to the Lough Ree flora which I have to record. I
returned by Derrymacar Lough to Bally mahon. A morning
stroll up the Inny next day revealed Mercurialis perennis
abundant at Newcastle bridge. The Royal Canal north-west
of Ballymahon yielded little except Sparganhim affine, new to
District VII., and I cycled away to Elfeet Bay on Lough Ree.
Here a big haul of light-soil plants, most of them wanted
for Longford was made ; Erysimum cheiranthoides, Ononis
arvensis, Filago germanica, Convolvuhis arvensis, Valerianella
rimosa, Valerianella dentata, Anthemis Co tula, Erigeron acre,
Cdlamintha officinalis, Lamium amplexicaule ; most of these
are unrecorded from Lough Ree, and the last is new to
District VII. There were also many plants of roadsides and
old buildings, such as Coronopus Ruellii (common), Hyoscyamus,
Verbascum Thapsus, Nepeta Cataria (common). Along the lake
shores from Elfeet Castle to Collum Point, where Teucrium
Scordium was now in full bloom, the interesting Lough Ree
flora was fully developed, and Erigero?i acre was added to the
list. From Elfeet Bay my cycling route lay over a cultivated
ridge, and then across vast bogs. Several times I stopped
and sampled them for Rhynchorpora fusca, which always turned
up at once. Longford was reached via Lyneen Bridge. Next
day I determined to make an attempt to verify the ancient
record of Euphorbia hiberna on Slieve Bane in Roscommon, for
which the authority is the MS. catalogue of Patrick Browne,
made in 1788, and now in the Linnean Society's library. The
station is, on the face of it, rather improbable, and apparently
no botanist has ever attempted to prove or disprove it.

1901. pRAKGKR. — Botanical Field-work in 1900. 4 1

Accordingly I cycled westward, sampling the bogs now and
then and always getting Rhynchospota Jusca. The Shannon
was crossed at L,anesborough, and a dead straight road led
north-west to the base of the hill. Slieve Bane is a long smooth
north-and-south ridge, with twin points rising to 857 and 839
feet. It is a simple, denuded anticline, the limestone of the
plain lapping against Old Red Sandstone on its flanks, and
this in turn against the Ordovician rocks which form the mass
of the hill. The grassy slopes capped with brown heather
above, looked quite hopeless, and I devoted my attention to
the streams, ascending one rivulet and descending the further
slope by another, and recrossing the hill by a similar pair.
This exhausted all the ground I could see that appeared to
offer the slightest chance of success,, but not a trace of the
plant was seen. Lastrea Oreopteris was the only uncommon
plant found on the hill. Heavy rain set in as I rode back to
Lanesborough, but I did some desultory botanizing on both
sides of IyOUgh Ree during the afternoon, getting Teucrium
Scordium abundantly everywhere, though in Barrington and
Vowell's report it is stated to become rarer towards the north end
of the lake. Early next morning I migrated to Ballinamore in
L,eitrim, and spent the day round Garadice L,ough. Plants
were few and rain heavy, but the day's work was accomplished
in the filling of fifteen blanks in the Iyeitrim list. Polygonum
minus grew abundantly here, not only on the lake-shore, but
in the potato fields. The Calp limestone produces a strongly
calcifuge flora, as was well shown in the potato fields, which
were choked with a luxuriant crop of Senecio sylvaticus, Bidens
tripartita, Galeopsis Tetrahit, and Polygonum Hydropiper. On
the 23rd I took train to Drumshanbo, and sampled the south-
end of L,ough Allen amid continual thunder-showers.
Polygonum minus was met with again, though not recorded
in Mr. Stewart's report, and other calcifuge species. Passing
through Drumshanbo, I came eastward towards Ballinamore,
but the lakes, which here form the best ground for botanical
operations, were hopelessly high, and at Lough Scur my five
years' field-work came to a conclusion amid lightning and
deluges of rain.

National Library, Dublin.

42 The Irish Naturalist. February,

THE GREAT AND SOOTY SHEARWATERS
ON THE SOUTH COAST.

BY R. J. USSHKR.

The Great Shearwater, and still more the Sooty Shearwater,
have been recorded so seldom round Ireland that every
occurrence of these antarctic-breeding birds is of interest.
The former has indeed been observed in large numbers on
the Kerry coast by Chute in 1854, and speaking of Ireland
generally, it is off the South and South-West that both
species have been chiefly met with ; while August and
September are the months when most of the occurrences of
Great Shearwaters have taken place, and all the occurrences of
Sooty Shearwaters that are known. The only preserved
Irish- taken specimens of the latter are — one at Chute Hall,
and a second in the possession of Mr. Eloyd Patterson. Our
Dublin Museum does not possess one.

As Great Shearwaters have been repeatedly taken on fishing-
lines, and will readily seize refuse thrown to them, it is to be
hoped that new specimens may be obtained to afford fresh
evidence as to the state of the internal organs and the season
when these birds breed.

In 1899 I was favoured by Mr. H. Becher with observations
of both species made that autumn off the coasts of Kerry and
Cork ; and I am happy to be able to give the following account
received from him of notes made during his cruise in
September, 1900, when he found these birds surprisingly
numerous off the coasts of Kerry, Cork, and Waterford : — ■

" My brothers and I had a cruise of about ten days this year
in our boat ' Zulu,' starting from Queenstown, going to
Dingle Bay and back to Kingstown : we were sailing about
six or seven days, and I think except on two days I saw Sooty
Shearwaters and Great Shearwaters every day. The first
occasion was on the nth of September; we had sailed from
Baltimore, and had got near the Bull Rock in the afternoon,
when one Sooty Shearwater passed. On September 13th when
returning from Dingle Bay a Great Shearwater passed the
' Zulu ' near the Skelligs. The next morning we were off

1901. USSHKR.— Shearwaters o?i the South Coast. 43

Crookhaven about 4 a.m., but a good way off the land ; and
between 4.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. (when we got into Baltimore)
I saw about ten or twelve Sooty Shearwaters, chiefly near the
Fastnet Rock. All these birds were either single or in pairs,
they did not go in flocks at all, and during the same time I
saw nearly as many Great Shearwaters, about eight or ten.
Of course they soon fly out of sight, so that the same birds
may have passed us more than once, but I am sure there were
a great number of both kinds about that day.

"On the 16th September we left Baltimore for Kingstown ;
there was very little wind all day, so that we only got off the
Old Head of Kinsale at 10 p.m. Both Sooty and Great
Shearwaters kept passing at intervals all day : I must have
seen half a dozen of each.

"The next day, 17th September, we were off Mine Head
about 6 a.m. and between there and the Saltee Islands I saw
seven or eight Sooty Shearwaters and rather more of the
Great Shearwaters. I did not see any of the Sooty further
east than the Barrels lightship, but I saw one Great Shearwater
nearly as far up the channel as the Blackwater Bank off
Wexford.

" We tried very hard to get a shot at these birds, but I do not
think they will come near enough to a yacht of any size, as
the sails must frighten them. A Sooty Shearwater is a very
eas}7" bird to identify at a distance, and it is very easy to tell
either it or the Great from the Common Shearwater on account
of the more frequent beat of the wings in the smaller bird.

" I saw very few other birds, in fact I think there were fewer
Common Shearwaters than Great Shearwaters. I should say
that the Sooty Shearwater cannot be nearly so rare about the
S.W. coast of Ireland as is supposed, because I have only
cruised there five or six times, and nearly every time have seen
either it or the Great Shearwater, but I find that no one I
have come across in that county seems to know either bird ; in
fact very few people seem to know the Common Shearwater."

Cappagh, Co. Waterford.

44 The hish Naturalist. February,

REVIEWS.

THE LIFE OF AN INSECT.

The Structure and Life-History of the Harlequin Fly
(Chironomus), byL. C. Miaxi,, f.r.s., and A. R. Hammond, f.vs.
Pp. viii. and 196; plate and 129 figures in text, Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1900.

It has been known for some time past that Prof. Miall was engaged
on a thorough study of Chironomus plumosus, one of our commonest and
most familiar insects, whether in its winged adult form as a midge or
in its larval form as a "blood-worm." The results of Prof. Miall's re-
searches, conducted with the able collaboration of Mr. A. R. Hammond,
and the gracefully acknowledged help of Miss D. Phillips and Mr. T. H.
Taylor, are now published in the well-printed and attractive volume
before us.

After an introductory chapter sketching the life-history of Chironomus
in outline, briefly describing its near allies and discussing its relation-
ship to other Diptera, we find a very full and excellently illustrated
account of the larva. A somewhat brief description of the midge comes
next, as the intermediate pupal form depends so much on the structure
of the adult. Then follows a description of the growth of pupa and
midge within the larva, and an account of the full}7- formed pupa. In a
type like Chironomus, which has a comparatively highly-developed larva
and lowly-developed imago, the metamorphosis is simpler and much
more easily followed than in such intensely specialised Diptera as the
Blowfly and its allies, whose maggots are correspondingly degraded.
Consequently, the " Harlequin " fly serves as an excellent introduction
to the study of metamorphosis among the higher insects. The con-
cluding chapter deals with the growth of the embryo of Chironomus
within the egg up to the time of hatching. Thus the whole life-cycle
of the insect is worked through in detail, and although the order in
which the various stages are taken is not that in which they occur in
the life-history, few students can doubt that it is the best that could be
chosen from an educational standpoint.

Like all Prof. Miall's work, this book is at once thorough, exact,
interesting, and stimulating. Details of structure are everywhere made
alive by the light which they are shown to shed on the function of the
insect, or on some fascinating question of morphology or affinity. The
organs of Chironomus are constantly compared with those of other
Diptera, so that the study of this single type becomes a means of
obtaining general knowledge of the group to which it belongs, and this
is surely the true end of the " type-system " in zoological teaching. ' In
the Preface we find a wish that we are glad to echo — that " members of
Naturalists' Clubs, and other non-academic biologists, should take up
the study of life-histories." Biologists, whether academic or otherwise,
could find no better guide to their study than this excellent book.

G. H. C.

1901. Reviews. . 45

A SCIENTIFIC ANNUAL.

"Knowledge" Diary and Scientific Handbook for 1901.

Pp. 408 and 120. London: Knowledge Office. Price, 3^. net.
The publishers of our contemporary, Knowledge, have started the new
century with an " Annual," which, though primarily intended for the
use of students of astronomy, will be found of value to scientific readers
generally. The diary gives the whole of a large page to each day, and
may be made a storehouse of MS. notes. There is a comprehensive
history of the past century science, in which biology and geology find
their full share of recognition, illustrated by portraits of Darwin, Lyell,
and Huxley. The star-maps for each month, and the other astro-
nomical information will enlarge the outlook of the naturalist by
inducing him to take an interest in the heavens above as well as in the
earth and sea and all that in them is. We note that a total solar eclipse
is to be visible in eastern Ireland in 1927 ! We hope that we ourselves,
Knowledge, and the new Annual may be here to see it.

IRISH MAMMALS.

I. On Geographical and Individual Variation in IVtus
sylvaticus and its allies. By G. E. H. Barrett- Ham ii/Ton,
F.z.s. 2. On the Variable Hare (Lepustimidus). By G. E. H.

Barrett- Hamilton, f.z.s. (Proc. Z00L Soc, 1900.)

In an able paper on the geographical variation of the Long-tailed
Field Mouse, Mr. Barrett-Hamilton distinguishes nineteen forms or
races of that widely-distributed species. Five of these (besides an
extinct form, Mus Lewisi, known only in a fossil state from Ightham
fissure) occur in the British Isles ; but in Ireland only two have been
found, to which Mr. Barrett-Hamilton applies sub-specific names as
Mus sylvaticus intermedins and M. s. celticus. The former is the generally
dominant race throughout the British Isles and Western Europe, and
probably prevails throughout all the eastern and midland counties of
Ireland. In parts of Kerry and Galway, however, it is replaced by a
small dark mouse, which was first noticed by Jenyns in 1S41 ; and on
this little animal Mr. Barrett-Hamilton bestows the appropriate name of
Mus sylvaticus celticus.

It is of great interest to find from the paper before us that this mouse
of the western parts of Ireland has been ascertained to occur also in the
islands of Lewis and Skye. Thus its distribution would appear to be in
some sense analogous with that of our Irish Black Rat (Mus hibtrnicus,
Thompson), which is met with outside this country in several of the
Outer Hebrides. As a tendency towards melanism has been traced in
other animals, both in Ireland and the Hebrides, the probability of a
positive climatic stimulus in this direction is at first sight considerably
strengthened by the addition of Mus celticus to the Hebridean fauna
Mr. Barrett-Hamilton himself inclines to the opinion that this dark

46 The Irish Naturalist. February,

form has been independently evolved in its Irish and Scottish habitats,
and possibly also in Portugal, where a specimen, apparently referable to
the same variety, has been obtained.

On the other hand, the island of Lewis possesses another sub-species,
Mus s. hebridensis, found as yet only in that island and Barra, which
varies from the prevailing British form {Mus s, intermedws) in an opposite
direction to Mus celticus : — for M. hebridensis is a larger animal than
M. intermedins, with relatively smaller ears, and has the colours of its
upper and lower surfaces less contrasted ; whereas M. celticus is smaller
than M. intermedins, has relatively larger ears, and is even more strongly
contrasted in the hues of its upper and lower surface.

The co-existence of two such unlike varieties in a small area like that
of the island of Lewis, throws difficulties in the way of imagining a
direct climatic stimulus towards the M. celticus type in the Outer
Hebrides. Moreover, the Field Mouse of St. Kilda (Mus. hirtensis,
Barrett-Hamilton) closely approaches M. hebridensis, and is, therefore,
widely divergent from M. celticus. These facts undoubtedly possess a
high zoological value, and Mr. Barrett-Hamilton deserves much credit
for having worked them out in so painstaking a manner ; but we think
it would be premature, in the present state of our knowledge, to draw
conclusions as to their interpretation, since the influence of the
Hebridean climate can hardly be held answerable for two sets of varia-
tions running in diametrically opposite directions, and without the
exertion of some such influence it is difficult to conceive of the same
variation being independently evolved in several scattered localities.

In a shorter paper Mr. Barrett-Hamilton treats of the various forms of
Lepus timidus, the Variable or Mountain Hare. He maintains that there
are two very distinctly-coloured groups of this species. The form to
which the Scottish and South Scandinavian mountain-hares belong he
distinguishes as Lepus timidus tjpicus, and the Irish hare as L. t. hibemicus
It is curious that the latter should find its nearest ally (Z. t. altaicus) in
the distant regions of the Altai mountains. Its reddish-brown (rather
than dark brown) colour, slightly larger size, and general absence of a
complete white winter coat, are the principal characteristics of the
Irish Hare as distinct from that of Scotland. The point of interest for
Irish naturalists is the question how these differences may have
originated ; whether by evolution within the limits of this island since
its severance from Britain, or otherwise — as from two different races
having immigrated into the British area at different periods. As the
points of distinction are not very decisively marked, the former solution
seems the more probable ; but, as in the case of the Field-Mouse, the
materials do not warrant a positive conclusion.

Naturalists who shrink from excessive ,r splitting" will be shocked
to learn that Mr. Barrett-Hamilton bestows a third or quasi«subspecific
name {Lepus timidus lutescens) on the Hare of the Mqlahide district,
Co. Dublin — which, he thinks, " may perhaps be best regarded as a very
conspicuous aberration on the verge of becoming subspecific."

C, B. M,

190 1. 47

OBITUARY,

FREDERICK WILLIAM EGAN, B.A.

Frederick William Egan, B.A., L.CE-, T.C.D., of the Geological
Survey of Ireland died on the 6th January, 1901, after a severe illness,
which by his medical attendants was attributed to internal injuries
received in a car accident during his official duties some eighteen months
ago. Mr. Egan was born in Dublin in 1836, and was educated at Trinity
College in that city. Having taken out his degree of B.A. and diploma
in Engineering, he commenced his professional career as civil engineer
in connection with the Irish railways then in course of construction.
This work, however, he relinquished when, in 1868, he was appointed
Assistant Geologist on the staff of the Geological Survey of Ireland, on
the nomination of the late Prof. Jukes, F.R.S. In 1890 he was promoted
to the grade of Geologist by the present^ Director-General, Sir A.
Geikie, D.C.L., F.R.S. Although Mr. Egan did not contribute in-
dependent papers on geological subjects, he nevertheless rendered con-
siderable service to that science by the great care he bestowed on the
work entrusted to him, as is evidenced by his maps and official memoirs.
Uniting his knowledge as an engineer to the experience gained on the
Survey, he was an excellent authority on many economic questions, e.g.,
water supply, while no deposits of any useful material escaped his
observation. During early years on the Survey his work lay chiefly
in Gounties Down and Antrim, among Silurian, Mesozoic, and Tertiary
formations, and he afterwards took part in the survey of the interesting
volcanic district of Slieve Gullion in County Armagh. In Tyrone and
Derry he surveyed the complicated area comprising Slieve Gallion and
Cookstown, devoting special attention to the remarkable iron-ore
deposits near that town, the industrial development of which was then
being attempted by the Barrow Mining Company. Northwards, Mr.
Egan mapped the Calciferous Sandstone, Triassic, Cretaceous, and
basaltic rocks east of Dungiven and L,iinavady, and, ultimately, joining
his colleagues in Donegal, he mapped the districts about Killygordon.
in the Finn Valley to the south, and Horn Head and the coast to the
Bloody Foreland in the north.

The primary work of the Survey being now accomplished, Mr. Egan
was one of the staff retained to carry out revisions, and, with his colleague
Mr. M'Henry, he re-surveyed for this purpose the Silurian tracts in the
north-east and east of Ireland, and was indeed engaged in this work
when he met with the accident which resulted in his lamented death.
Mr. Egan was of a singularly affable, obliging, and kindly disposition,
which won the affection of all who knew him, and in an especial degree
of his fellow- workers on the Geological Survey, who much regret the
removal from among them, after an intimate association of over thirty
years, of so genial and agreeable a friend and companion.

Joseph Noi^an.

48 The Irish Naturalist. February,

CURRENT LITERATURE.

Violets.

The Journal of Botany for January contains a paper on " Some British
Violets," by B. G. Baker, F.L.S., of the British Museum, which tends to
the elucidation of some difficult plants. Brief reference is made to one
(Co. Sligo) Irish form.

Irish Fossil Cephalopods.

The 1900 volume of the Palaeontographical Society (vol. liv.), lately
issued, contains an important instalment — the third part — of Dr. Foord's
" Carboniferous Cephalopoda of Ireland."

Marine Insects.

In the January number of Knowledge G. H. Carpenter publishes the
first of a series of articles on " Insects of the Sea." He commences with
the Bristle-tails, or Thysanura.

The Co. Down Railway Guide.

The County Down Railway Company's " Guide to County Down,"
written by Mr. Praeger, has reached a second edition. The scientific and
other portions have been revised to date.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

Honour to an Irish Geologist.

The Council of the Geological Society of London have awarded the
balance of the proceeds of the " Lyell Geological Fund" to Alex.
M'Henry, M.R.I.A., of the Geological Survey of Ireland, in recognition
of the very valuable work which he has done on behalf of Irish geology.
Mr. M'Henry is to be congratulated on the honour which the Society
has conferred on him, and we need not remark that a more worthy
recipient would be difficult to find.

Robert Smith.

. With much regret we note the untimely death of Robert Smith, the
pioneer in these countries of the study of botany in its widest aspect of
vegetations as a whole, and the plant associations which compose them.
Inspired by the teaching of Prof. Flahanlt, of Montpellier, he commenced
mapping the botanical topography of Scotland, and had the great
advantage of the warm support of Prof. Patrick Geddes, whose
demonstrator he was. His death, at twenty-seven, will be widely
deplored.

1901. 49

NOTES.

BOTANY.

Elymus arenarius in Co. Dublin.

The valuable note contributed by Mr. Joseph Meade to last month's
issue of this journal has conclusively shown the worthlessness of my
recent record for Elymus arenarius in Co. Dublin. Though fully alive to
the many possibilities of an accidental introduction of the grass, the
thought of a wilful sowing in stiff clay soil of the seeds of a plant having
a well-known predilection for loose sands never once entered my mind.
So far as our present knowledge goes, Mr. Meade is quite justified in
saying that the claims of this grass to be considered native in Co. Dublin
seem to be slender. Such a statement would be true of a large number
of plants which are yet fully entitled to a place in the county flora ; and
it seems not unlikely that further research may strengthen the claims
of this particular species. Smith, in the 2nd edition of his English Flora,
1828 (vol. i. , p. 177), says of this grass that it rarely flowers on the British
coasts and is often overlooked for Arundo {Psamma) arenaria ; and I suspect
that barren plants of what appeared to be a robust form of Psamma
observed by me last year in wild stations near Portrane and Portmarnock
may really belong to Elymus. Mr. Meade's note, while it expunges my
recent County Dublin record, at the same time raises the whole question
of the standing of Elymus arenarius in Ireland. May it not have been
sown as a binder of shifting sands in some of its stations on the coasts of
Wexford, Sligo, and Donegal, and may not some reader of this journal
be in possession of evidence on this interesting point.

Nathaniel Coi,gan.
Sandycove.

Carex aquatilis, Wahlb. in County Dublin.

In June, 1896, while botanizing in Glenasmole I gathered by the shore
of the Rathmines waterworks reservoir a peculiar-looking sedge, which
after a hasty examination was laid aside as an abnormal form of Carex
vulgaris. Four years later, in June, 1900, I visited this locality again and
found the sedge still there in no great quantity, but much more luxuriant
in growth. Specimens gathered on this last occasion, some of them up
to 4 feet in height with lower bracts fully 17 inches long, were sent to
Mr. Arthur Bennett for examination, and were pronounced by him to be
Carex aquatilis, Wahlb. This boreal species, first added to the Irish flora
by Mr. S A. Stewart in 1884, is now on record for no less than nine of
our counties, Donegal, Antrim, Tyrone, Cavan, Roscommon, Gal way,
Kerry, Meath, and Dublin, and judging from its wide dissemination in
Ireland may be expected to occur in a majority of its thirty-two counties.

Nathaniel Coi^gan,
Sandycove.

5°

The Irish Naturalist. February,

ZOOLOGY.

Snowy Owl in Co. Donegal.

A female -Snowy Owl {Nyctea scandiaca, Iy.) was shot on 15th December,
1900, by Mr. John Olphert's keeper at Ballyconnell House, Falcaragh.
It was on the grassy sheep-downs beside the sea, and the keeper thought
it was an enormous sea-gull ! It measured 4 feet 10 inches from tip to
tip of wings, and 24 inches from tip of tail to top of the head, and the
remains of a rabbit were in its stomach. It was in perfect plumage, and
is being preserved by Mr. Rohu, of Great Brunswick-street, Dublin, to
whom I am indebted for some of the above particulars.

Robert Patterson.
Belfast.

King-Eider Duck in Co. Down.

On November 10th, 1897, a mature male King-Eider {Somateria specta-
bilis, Iy.) was shot in the Foreland Bay, off Donaghadee, by Mr. Wm. H.
Shaw. It was accompanied by another bird which, from Mr. Shaw's
description, must have been a male L/Ong-tailed Duck. Although fired
at several times the latter bird managed to escape by its splendid diving
powers. Mr. Shaw had the King-Eider preserved, and very kindly sent
it to me last month for my inspection. It agreed in every particular with
the coloured plate in Morris, except that the white patch on the flank was
nearer the tail and larger than in the drawing. I exhibited this bird at a
meeting of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club on 19th December last, and
Mr. Welch kindly photographed it.

Robert Patterson.

Belfast.

A Young Cuckoo on Migration.

Early in December I received from Skulmartin lightship, Co. Down,
the leg and wing of a young Cuckoo., which was killed striking the
lantern on November 26th. The bird was quite dead when picked up,
and Mr. Charles H. M'Cabe, the master of the light-vessel, states that
he would have sent the bird entire had not he thought it was a young
hawk. It was labelled " Sparrow Hawk" — a bird, by the way, which
has never yet been sent from an Irish light-station.

The occurrence is very remarkable, and a further instance of the
absolute necessity for producing specimens when very unlikely events
are chronicled by unskilled observers or beginners.

Richard M. Barrington.
Fassaroe, Bray.

1 9oi. Notes. 51

Winter Flight of Bats.

Not only as marking the extreme mildness of the season, but also as
a curious incident in itself, it may be worth notice that yesterday evening
(January 2nd), about six o'clock, a bat (of what species I cannot say) flew
close overhead and directly between me and the moon, which was shining
brightly at the time.

W. E. Hart.

Kilderry, Co. Donegal.

Is it unusual for bats to fly at this season ? I was out walking on 1st
December, at 4.40 p.m. I observed a bat fly over my head ; it returned
several times, passing over my head almost within reach, but I failed to
catch it. I tried to attract it by throwing up my white handkerchief. It
was too dark to make an attempt at identification. While in sight it
covered a distance of about thirty yards, and during its course would
make several short turns to right and left — perhaps to secure flies. A
manure heap was convenient, and flies were likely to be on the wing.
The evening was dry and very mild.

Hugh I,. Orr.

Belfast.

The Vision of Whales.

Some years ago, while yachting on the west coast of Scotland, we
noticed one of the whales which the crew called a Finner, coming
towards us. It seemed to be about fifteen feet long, and when a
few yards off it came up to the surface, then dived, and we all watched
it sink down, go under the keel and come up on the other side. It was
so close to us before it dived that I could see the blow-hole quite
distinctly— it was the shape of a fleur-de-lys. I think this animal
must have seen us, for if it had not, it would scarcely have had time to
clear us at the pace it was going. We have seen this happen more than
once ; small whales coming up, having a look at the boat, then diving
under her and going away. The one I have described dived twice under,
no doubt thinking the yacht was some strange monster of the deep.

When steaming through the Straits of Gibraltar, one nearly always
sees the Dolphins playing about the bows of the ship. When I was there
in 1895, about eight of them came up and played about the bow of the
steamer, shooting out of the water within three feet of her stem ; she
was going about twelve knots an hour, they seemed to spend at least quite
as much time above water as under it. Now I do not know how these
animals could get along if they did not see pretty well above water, their
lives would be in great danger of the ship's bow cutting them, and I have
never heard of such a thing happening. I think this goes some way, at
any rate, to prove that whales see pretty well above water.

W. H. Workman.
Belfast.

52 The Irish Naturalist February, 1901.

IRISH SOCIETIES.

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a number of Golden Orfe from Mr. J. N.
Lentaigne, a Chacma Baboon from Constable J. M'Cormack, a pair of
Ichneumons from the Hon. G. W. Hety-Hutchinson, a Heron from Mr.
P. G. D. Warren, a Pheasant from Mr. Norman Sloane, a Barn Owl from
Mr. Barnet, and a pair of Cockateel from Miss Perry. Three lion cubs
were born in the Gardens on December 12th.

5,764 persons visited the Gardens in December.

BELFAST NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL

SOCIETY.

DECEMBER it.— Mr. J. Brown (President), occupied the chair, and
there was a fair attendance. Mr. J. H. Davies read a paper on the
botany on the shores of Lough Neagh, and illustrated his subject by
specimens. Mr. Davies is to be congratulated upon the amount of careful
study he manifested in his paper. An extract from the paper, dealing
with the best plant found by him, will appear in our next issue. Mr.
W. H. Patterson, M.R.I. A., gave an account of some of the objects com-
prised in Lord Deramore's recent donation, principally antiquarian. Mr.
W. Swanston, F.G.S., read a note on some clay concretions from
Connecticut Valley, U.S.A., which were exhibited. Mr. Swanston and
Mr. S. A. Stewart joined in the discussions, at the conclusion of which
the usual votes of thanks were passed. The receipt of the following
donations was announced by the secretary : — Snake from West Africa,
presented by Miss Perry, Wellington-place ; marine shells, Island of
Herm, Channel Islands, presented by Miss Macaulay, Charnwood-
terrace. A vote of thanks to .the donors was passed, on the motion of
Mr. W. Swanston, F.A.S., seconded by Mr. W. H. Patterson, M.R.I. A.

December 20. — A meeting was held in the Museum. A paper was
read by Rev. A, R. Crawford, M.A., Kirin, Manchuria, on " Some Side
Lights on the China Question," illustrated by special limelight slides,
maps, &c.

January 8. — A meeting was held in the Museum. The following
papers were read: — John Brown (President), " Report as Delegate of the
Society to British Association Meeting, Bradford." Lynden Macassey,
C.E., B.A., LL.B., " Irish Railways and the State,"

}J

sh Naturalist, Vol. X.

Plate 3.

3.

-7

$££' ^

4.

..■^■>

■ *-•***<;

5.

'" '".'^

NV

^??ji*

6.

2.

1.

0 y«« />. 53.

The Grey Phalarope.

March, 1901. -• -■ - , - 53

THE NATURAL HISTORY
OF THE GREY PHALAROPE

(PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS.)
BY CHARGES J. PATTEN, B.A., M.D.

(Read before the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, March 13, 1900.)

(Pi,ATE 3.)

This beautiful little bird attracts the attention of the observer
for many reasons. Its elegant movements both on land and
in the water meet with the highest admiration, in addition to
which, its many structural peculiarities afford no small amount
of interest to the student of morphology.

The Grey Phalarope has been classified as a wading bird.
Systematists have, during more recent times, placed it in the
order Limicolce, and have further considered its affinities
sufficiently close to the Plovers, God wits, Curlews and others
so as to include it in the large family of Charadriid<z. But the
Phalarope is not a type of this family. In many ways, in its
habits of life, in its movements and general demeanour, and
in its structural characters, it is quite aberrant, and it seems
to represent a species which, speaking generally, may be said
to link together wading birds with the aquatic or web-footed
forms. Its low and somewhat undulating form of flight, its
rapid movement of the wings, its great speed and activity
displayed when on foot, are all features common to the
typical wading birds, but unlike these the Phalarope is a most
capable swimmer, and may be seen, perhaps far out at sea,
resting on the surface of the water as buoyant as a cork. In
this situation this little bird appears almost more at home than
is a sea-gull or a tern.

External structural characters : — Correllated with its aquatic
habits the Phalarope has acquired a very dense covering of
feathers. These are particularly well seen about the breast
and abdomen. The latter regions are also thickly coated with
down. In shape the breast greatly resembles that of the gulls.
It is full and rounded, and owes this contour, not to any
modification in the form of the pectoral muscles or sternum,
as compared with the same in a typical wading bird, but to
the great curvature of the feathers, which in most wading birds

54 The hish Naturalist. March,

are straighterin shape. (Plate 3, figs. 4, 5, 6.) The foot, which
is partially webbed, is rather peculiar. The entire space
between the adjacent toes is not occupied by a membrane
as it is in gulls, ducks, and others. The web only stretches
between the toes near their roots {i.e., proximal phalanges),
the lower ends being free and edged with a series of
membranous lobes. The number of these differ according
to the toes to which they belong. Thus the outer edge of the
outer toe is fringed with four lobes (a. Fig. 2), whereas on
its inner side only one lobe at the lower end is visible. There
are two lobes on either side of the lower end of the middle toe
(b. Fig. 2.) On the outer side of the lower end of the inner
toe there are two lobes, the upper of which passes outwards,
forming the lower border of the web between the adjacent
toes. Only two large lobes fringe the inner edge of the inner
toe (c. Fig. 2.) The hallux (d) is not united by a membrane
to the other digits. The adjacent web between the outer and
middle is more extensive than that between the middle and
inner proximal phalanges. Iyike the sea-gulls the Grey
Phalarope is light in weight for its size.

Habits : — The Grey Phalarope frequents the Irish coast as
an occasional visitant, principally in autumn and early winter,
and it is generally found in localities which abound in mud-
flats and sandy beaches. It may also be sought for in shallow
pools (to which it is very partial) formed in flooded fields,
after a heavy rainfall, especially if these be near the coast.
Less frequently it occurs on inland waters. As before-
mentioned it may be seen on the deeper waters of the open
sea. It is, as a rule, a tame, confiding little creature,1 and
allows of the near approach of man. It is for this reason that
many writers have had opportunities of making close obser-
vations on its habits. It may be said with truth that there is
not a more interesting bird to watch. Its movements are
most engaging. On the 19th November, 1899, I watched a
Phalarope for a considerable time on the North Bull, Dublin
Bay. I came across it quite unexpectedly. I first saw it

1 Exceptional cases, showing the shyness of the Phalarope, are recorded
by Thompson. Two examples, seen late in the autumn prior to 1837 in
the north-west of Donegal, were so difficult to approach that only one
could be obtained. (" Nat. Hist, of Ireland," vol., ii., page 338.)

1901. Patten. — The Grey Phalarope. 55

away in the distance, when I did not identify it. I knew,
however, that it was something out of the common. Ap-
proaching cautiously, I brought to my aid a binocular, which
I invariably take with me when out observing. Presently I
recognised what the bird was, and knowing its tameness to
be proverbial, I advanced closer and closer until I halted at
about fifteen yards' distance from it. I was so near that there
was no further occasion for the use of my field-glass. The
Phalarope took no notice of me, never minded me, or even
looked at me. It appeared quite unconcerned at my intrusion.
It was really a great treat to watch its movements. Bright
and lively the little creature appeared to be as it pattered
about on the grass bank at a rapid rate in a zig-zag course,
now and again retracing its steps. Clpse by was a shallow
pool of clear water, the result of a recent heavy rainfall. To
this the Phalarope often resorted. The area of the pool was
but a few square yards, nevertheless I was able to form some
notion of the habits of the bird as it swam about. The agility
with which it quitted the bank and rushed into the water was
truly amazing, and when swimming it displayed a greater
buoyancy and grace than many other kinds of web-footed birds.
It hardly seemed to touch the water, its breast showing full and
round above the surface. The day was breezy, and so the
water was agitated into ripples or wavelets. These the
Phalarope crested with the lightness of a cork. Food was
procured chiefly from the surface of the water, from which
objects were picked up with great rapidity. The nodding
movements of the head were very apparent. Many observers
have on other occasions noted this rapid motion of the head
as the bird seeks for food. Twice I saw it snapping at flies. To
try and capture the insects it rose, on each occasion vertically,
for about twelve inches from the water, and having gained
its end, it flopped back again on to the surface of the pool.

Once I saw the Phalarope turning sharply round, apparently
in pursuit of some aquatic insect. Mr. Ussher1 describes this
movement graphically. He says " It sometimes sweeps round
like a feather whirled by the wind." I continued to watch
this interesting bird until darkness set in, and with the last

1 " Birds of Ireland," p. 267. (1900.)

A 2

56 The Irish Naturalists .... March,

glimmer of daylight I left it peacefully swimming about in the
centre of its favourite little pond. I must have been a good
half hour making observations, during which time the bird at
irregular intervals quitted the water, but it never wandered
far from the edge of the pool.

The confidence of the Grey Phalarope in allowing man to
approach closely to it is remarkable. Some authorities
endeavour to explain the reason straight away by saying it
results from the bird being bred in the arctic wilds. But there
are many other wading birds which have been bred in a similar
locality, e.g.t Sanderling, Knots, Curlew, Sandpipers, &c.
These are often very tame in the early part of the season when
the southern migration is going on (August and September),
especially if the birds are immature, but they become more
difficult to approach later on. According to most observers the
Phalarope remains tame at all times of the year, with few
exceptions. Why this should be so is hard to say. To look
at it, as it runs or swims about, one would say without
hesitation that it is a much less nervous bird than, say, an
immature Sanderling or Dunlin. You may practically
approach to within a few feet of a Phalarope, and it takes no
notice. It goes on feeding as though you were not there at
all. If you observe a tame Sanderling or Dunlin from the
same distance it will look at you with astonishment, and will
often stop picking until you retreat a bit. If your gaze
becomes too scrutinizing it will run away from you, or perhaps
rise and fly. Thus the Phalarope differs from many of the
more typical waders in that it possesses a less neurotic
temperament. Another thing about the Phalarope is this, it
is very fond of settling on a smalt pool of water, preferably near
the coast, as already mentioned. This it appears to become
partial to, disliking at the same time to change its quarters,
especially if another pond is not at hand ; and so as it paddles
about in the little pool it can be closely approached.

The question of its tameness is more difficult to explain in
the case of the Phalarope frequenting the open sea. It is also
worth noting that many of the Phalaropes touching on our
coasts arrive in a semi-exhausted state. Several specimens
examined in the flesh appear to have been in a poor and very
thin condition.

i901- Patten. — The Grey Phalurope. 57

Many accounts have been given by Irish ornithologists of
the habits of the Grey Phalarope, and much interesting infor-
mation is to be found in the late Mr. Thompson's " Natural
History of Ireland." From the pages of his book I derive the
following extracts as being of special interest : — " A Phalarope
shot near Belfast as long ago as 1818 was wounded in the wing
and came into the possession of Mr. John Sinclaire. He kept
it on his pond for some months. It was fed on worms, was
very tame, and its buoyancy on the water met with the
highest admiration."

In 1 83 1 the late Mr. Montgomery wrote ''The first one I
saw close by the edge of a river, and knew it to be a stranger by
its graceful movements ; it dipped it shead often and seemed to
be feeding, was very tame, and showed no fear when we came
within twenty yards." The same writer afterwards observed
a pair of these birds, and said " I was amused with their liveli-
ness in sipping the water and playing round each other in a
circling and graceful manner." About the same time Mr. T. W.
Warren obtained a Phalarope from Kingstown Pier, Dublin
Bay. We learn that " Ics beauty, together with the animation
and gracefulness of its motions attracted his admiration."
Thompson mentions an instance of a Phalarope observed in a
river near Belfast. "The bird beat very quickly with its feet
in swimming, and nodded its head very much." A fowler, in
1844, describes two Phalaropes, which he saw on the Conns-
water, as " proud-looking little birds, light as corks on the
water. Their movements were extraordinary quick as they
wheeled about from one side to the other to pick up objects,
quicker than an eddy of wind would waft a feather."

The late Mr. Watters1 drew attention to the fact that in
America the Phalarope is gregarious in winter. He states that
the American ornithologist, Audobon,- observed large flocks
frequenting the neighbourhoodof the Ohio and Arkansas rivers.
Hundreds were also to be seen far out at sea, assembling on
the banks of seaweed.

Summary on the occtirrences of the Grey Phalarope in Ireland.
— In no sense can this bird be considered as a really rare
species in Ireland. It is an occasional visitor in autumn and
winter. When it occurs it often comes in small flocks, and

1 " Birds of Ireland," 1850, p. 170. - Ornithological Biography, iir.,p. 404.

5 8 The Irish Naturalist. March,

considerable irruptions have taken place from time to time.1
According to Mr. Ussher there are one hundred and six
records from Ireland. They are distributed as follows : —

Kerry, 6. Wexford, 3. Fermanagh, 1.

Cork, 6. Wicklow, 1. Monaghan, 2.

Waterford, 5. Dublin, 20. Down, 20.

Tipperary, 4 Westmeath, 1. Antrim, 11.

Kilkenny, 1. Galway, 6. Londonderry, 4.

Carlow, 2. Mayo, 5. Donegal, 8.

Most records have been made from Down and Dublin. The
latter locality is the scene of my own observations. Dublin
Bay has been visited by the Grey Phalarope on several
occasions. My friend, Mr. A. Williams, writes to me as
follows : — " I as yet have only met with the Grey Phalarope
on one occasion in the Bay of Dublin. I was out boating
early on a foggy morning in the month of September, 1877.
As I reached the end of Clontarf Island I was surprised at the
appearance of what I first took to be a very small sea-gull,
swimming actively about and picking in the water all round.
The bird appeared very buoyant on the water, with head erect,
and tail and wings very much pointed up behind. The move-
ments resembled those of a Black-headed Gull. It was quite
silent, and allowed me to approach within a few yards of it.
I then knew it to be a Grey Phalarope. Finally it took wing,
and disappeared in the fog."

The late Dr. Cox shot one on the North Bull, Dollymount,
on the 9th September, 1879. He considered it the only one
obtained in the neighbourhood for many years.2 The details
of most of the other records of the occurrence of the Phalarope
from Dublin coast and its vicinities are to be found in the late
Mr. Thompson's work on the birds of Ireland. The whole
may be briefly tabulated as follows : —

1 Vide— Thompson : "Nat. Hist, of Ireland," vol. ii.,p. 336-343 ; also
Ussher : " Birds of Ireland," p. 267, and Barrington : " Migration of Birds,
Analysis of Reports," p. 203.

" Zoologist ', 1879, p. 480.

I9DI-

PATTEN. — The Grey Phalarope.

59

Table showing occurrences reported "of the Grey Phalarope on the
Dublin coast and its vicinity during the nineteenth century.

Number.

Bxact Locality.

Month.

Year

By whom recorded

i

Clontarf,

Nov. ,

1827

Thompson.

2

,, .

? Spring,

1828

ii

2

Pigeon House, .

PAutumn,

1831

>t

Several

Dublin Bay,

PAutumn,

183 1

Sinclaire.

i

Kingstown Pier,

PAutumn,

1831

T. W. Warren.

i

Portmarnock, .

Dec, .

1835

Thompson.

i

Malahide,

Sept., .

1836

Ball and Farran.

i

Dublin Bay,

Dec,

1B37

Thompson.

3

Malahide,

Nov.,

1838

>»

i

Pigeon House, .

Sept., .

1846

11

i

Raheny,

October,

1846

>i

i

Dublin Coast ?,

Dec,

1862

Blake-Knox.

5

Dublin Bay,

Sept., .

1866

11

i

Kingstown Harbour, .

October,

1870

11

i

North Bull,

Sept., .

1877

A. Williams.

i

North Bull,

Sept., .

1879

Cox.

2

Kingstown Harbour, .

October,

1886

?

2

Dublin Bay,

October,

1889

?

I

Dollymount,

October,

1891

Rohu.

I

Rockabill I.,

Nov.,

1892

Barrington.

I

North Bull,

Nov.,

1899

Patten.

_

In addition to this list of twenty-one occurrences from the Dublin coast,
three other records may be added from a foot-note by Thompson in his
book "Nat. Hist, of Ireland," vol. ii., p.*342. He states "December,
1849, I saw7 in the collection of Mr. J. Watters. jun., Dublin, three
Phalaropes, one of which was shot in the ba} there on the 13th September,
1847. The others were sent in a recent state to a bird preserver in that
city on the 28th February and 20th June, 1849, but whence I could not
learn. The last specimen is the only one I have known to be procured in
the summer."

Foot

60 The Irish Naturalist. March,

On 20th November, 1899, a fowler brought me a Grey
Phalarope. He shot it on the North Bull, Dollymount. It
was probably the same bird which I had observed the day
before. The specimen, a male bird, was in extremely poor
condition. It only weighed 7J drachms — less than an ounce.
The following were its measurements : —

Length from tip of beak to tip of tail, . . 8£ inches.

Expanse of wings, i6| »»

Length of beak, \\ ,,

Tibio-tarsus i\ ,,

Tarso-metatarsus, 1 inch.

rHind toe (hallux), \ ,,

Inner toe, f ,,

Middle toe, \ ,,

Outer toe § „

Sternum to cloaca, i\ inches.

Mid-back to mid-breast, . . . . if ,,
Breadth of breast \ inch.

The fat in the region of the breast was extremely scanty,
but the little that was present differed from the soft creamy
oleaginous fat of the typical L,imicol3e. In the Phalarope
the fat is of a firmer consistency (more like suet), dark yellow
in colour, and closely resembles the fatty tissue of sea-gulls.

Migration. — The recent researches of Mr. Barrington1
indicate that the Phalarope is an irregular visitant which,
since 1881 to 1897, has struck the lanterns of the Irish light-
ships or lighthouses on four occasions, viz. : —
1889. November 1. Slyne Head.

1892. August 22. Arklow S. Lightship.
„ November 4. Rockabill Island.

1893. October 17. Slyne Head.

Of late years it occurred in the autumns of- 1886, 1889, 1891,
1892, 1893, and probably in 1896 and 1897, in addition to the
occurrence recorded by myself in 1899. An analysis of
fifteen occurrences made by Mr. Barrington during these years
shows that nine were in October, four in November, one in
August, and one in December. The bird has occurred more
often on the west coast than elsewhere in Ireland, and it is
noteworthy that of the four examples which actually struck
the lanterns, two were obtained from Slyne Head, a western
lighthouse.

1 .<

Migration of Birds" : Analysis of Reports, 1881-1897, p. 203, 1900.

i9OT- Patten. — The Grey Phalarope. 61

Several Phalaropes visited the west coast in 189 1. In
October of that year seven specimens were received from
stations between Rathlin O'Birne and Slyne Head. Curiously
enough none of these visitants struck the lanterns.

According to Mr. Barrington also the Grey Phalarope has
not occurred at any light-station on the north coast, and only
twice on the east coast, in 1892, viz. : August 22, at Arklow
Iyightship, and November 4, at Rockabill, off the Dublin coast.
Only one occurrence is known from the south coast, viz., a
bird shot at Dungarvan in 1886.

On the migration of the Phalarope to Ireland, I may add
that I have little doubt that the number of birds mentioned by
Mr. Barrington as having occurred at lighthouses and light-
ships afford a rather full record of the total ?iumber of this
species visiting these districts since the migration reports of
1 88 1 to 1897. Some examples, no doubt, have escaped the
notice of lightkeepers, but owing to the confiding nature of
the Phalarope as it swims on the open sea, together with its
attractive movements and pretty plumage, the tendency that
it should be overlooked is minimised.

In captivity. — Many years ago the late Mr. R. Ball1 remarked
that "asa general rule the wildest birds become soonest tame,
and that the tamest, such as the Robin and House Sparrow,
bear confinement with the greatest impatience." The Grey
Phalarope is an interesting exception. In a state of nature it
permits of familiar approach, and is soon reconciled to
captivity. In the year 1835 the same writer saw a Phalarope
which got entangled in fishing nets spread out to dry. A few
hours after capture it fed upon fragments of fish from the
hands of its owner.

If not too severely wounded by gunshot the Phalarope will
often live in captivity for months and even years. It will be
quite contented and happy if carefully attended to and given a
little pond to swim about in.

I have already referred to an instance of a Phalarope which
was wounded in the wing and which came into the possession
of Mr. John Sinclaire in the year 1818 (see p. 59). On the
other hand there are times when this species has died shortly
after being made a captive, even when quite uninjured by

1 Thompson : " Nat. Hist, of Ireland," vol. ii., p. 339.

62 The Irish Naturalist. March,

gunshot or other form of violence. The emaciated condition
which the bird is often found in when taken would tend to
shorten its days if it were subjected to captivity. A case in
point is that recorded by Mr. R. Davis.1 A servant of his
brought him a live Phalarope caught in his yard in the centre
of the town of Clonmel. It fed freely on worms placed in
water but " pined away after three or four days." The writer
states; — " It was much emaciated when taken. The weather
had been extremely wet and stormy for some days previously."

Food. — Like many other birds the Phalarope partakes of a
mixed diet. Marine animals of various kinds are eaten, such
as Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Insecta. This bird will also
pick the parasites off the back of whales and other cetaceans
(Saunders).

The late Mr. Thompson examined the stomachs of several
specimens. One shot on 20th September, 1839, near Porta-
ferry, contained in its stomach principally larvae and perfect
insects together with a few seeds of plants. Two shot
on 6th December, 1844, on Conswater, Belfast Bay, were
examined and in their stomachs were found small Crustacea
{Idotece)y univalve mollusca (Paludina muriatica, Lam.), and
one insect larva.

Dr. Scharff has kindly favoured me with the following report
on the contents of the stomach of the Grey Phalarope which
I recently obtained (November 20, 1899), from the North Bull,
Dublin Bay : — " The gizzard of this bird contained mostly
sand with small sharp stones, the largest measuring Jth of
an inch in length. As for the food it consisted entirely of two
species of Invertebrates. The last meal was about a dozen
* maggots ' or larvcz of a fly such as might be found along
river banks. They were very slender and nearly half an inch
long. A previous meal consisted of about the same quantity
of a small gasteropod shell, probably Hydrobia ulvce, which
occurs abundantly round the coast of Ireland in brackish
water. The surfaces of the shells were much worn, and must
have been in the gizzard for some time, while the maggots
were quite fresh."

It is interesting to note that no remains of the perfect fly
(imago) were detected by Dr. Scharff although the larvae were

1 Thompson : " Birds of Ireland," vol. ii., p. 341.

i901- Pattkn. — The Grey Phalarope. 63

present. Assuming that the gizzard of the bird which he
examined belonged to the same individual which I saw the
day before, one might have expected on examination to find
flies present in the gizzard, inasmuch as I saw the bird
snapping at them. Perhaps the insects wTere not captured, or
if they were they may not have been swallowed, or again they
may have been swallowed and have undergone digestion ?

Geographical distribution. — According to Mr. Saunders the
breeding-range of the Grey Phalarope is circumpolar. He
states:— ''It is common on the lyiakoff Islands and at the
L,ena delta ; while its eggs have been taken by Middendorf in
the Taimyr district, by Mr. Popham at the mouth of the
Yenesei, and by Col. Feilden on Spitsbergen, and many have
been sent from the districts of Upernavik and Egedesminde
in Greenland. Westward, Arctic explorers have noted the
bird as far North as 82° 30', and it is abundant in summer
on the shores of Alaska, as well as on the Asiatic side of
Bering Sea. In winter its migrations extend to Chili and
New Zealand, and China seems to be visited regularly, but
there is much to be learned respecting the lines of passage in
Asia, for the bird is rare on the Pamirs, and has only once
been obtained in India (Calcutta, May, 1846). In Europe
though seeming to miss the Volga valley, it is found on many
inland waters and on the coasts down to the Mediterranean ;
it also visits North Africa.1"

Sexual difference in size and plumage.- —With one exception,
namely the Ruff {Machetes pug?iax) sexual dimorphism cannot
be said to exist to any great degree among the Charadriidce
which frequent the Irish coastiands. The general rule is that
the female is slightly the larger of the two.

In many species the adult male and female plumages are
alike (Sanderling, Dunlin, Stints, &c). In others, such as
the Godwits, although the plumage markings are alike in
patte?n, yet the females are duller than the males. The
summer plumage of the male Turnstone is much brighter and
more varied than that of the female, and of a somewhat different
pattern.

In the case of the Grey Phalarope the female bird is not
only larger than the male but she is more gaily attired in her

1 Saunders: " Manual of British Birds," latest edition (1899), p. 566.

64 The Irish Naturalist March,

summer dress. She is more active, carries on the major part
of the courtship, and omits to take on herself the task of
incubation.

It is often difficult to explain adequately the reasons why-
some birds differ sexually in size and colour. The following
is a short paragraph which I take the liberty to quote from
J. T. Cunningham's recent work on " Sexual Dimorphism."1
With reference to the Grey Phalarope he writes : — " The
females are larger and in their summer plumage more gaily
attired than the males, and according to Professor Steenstrup
the male of Phalatopus fulicarius alone incubates. The females
do not appear to fight, and their greater size must be attri-
buted to their greater activity, for the sex which incubates is
necessarily the more sedentary. The more intense colouring
of the female is probably merely due to its greater sexual
excitement, as it is difficult to perceive anything in the
external influences, such as light or food which could affect
the sexes differently " (p. 155-156).

To sum up : from the preceding remarks we find that the
sexual features of the female Grey Phalarope as contrasted
with the male are these : —

1. larger.

2. Brighter in colour.

3. More active in habits.

4. Displays greater sexual excitability.

5. Female never incubates.

Taken together, these five characters belong to the vast
majority of male birds. With the Phalarope for some unknown
reason, the males seem to have become effeminated, leaving
the active part of the courtship to be conducted by the
females. Relative to this subject Darwin2 stated, when
treating of the subject of sexual dimorphism in general in
birds, that here " sexual selection would do its work, steadily
adding to the attractions3 of the female ; the males, and the
young birds being left not at all or but little modified."

Sexual Dimorphism of the Grey Phalarope with reference to
protective colouration. — I do not think that the male is more

1 London, 1900.

2 " Descent of Man," p. 480.

3 Greater size, strength, activity, superior colour, vocal power, &c.

1901.

Patten. — The Grey Phalarope. 65

protected when hatching than the female would be were she
to take on the duties of incubation. The difference in the
plumage is not distinct enough. In both sexes the pattern of
the plumage {i.e., the markings) is the same ; it is simply more
intensified in the female. Again, the parts of the hatching
bird which catch its enemies' eye are the back and head, for
the breast is for the most part hidden from view. Now in
both the male and female Grey Phalarope the upper parts of
the breeding plumage (feathers of the forehead, crown, and
back), are brownish black, the back feathers bordered with
buff. These in themselves are most protective colours,
harmonising with the natural surroundings of "spongy peat
and moss " where the eggs are laid. Indeed with the exception
of a white patch on the cheek, the female Phalarope in nuptial
plumage is anything but a conspicuous bird. The under parts
(feathers of the breast, side of neck, and abdomen) are reddish
chestnut in thet nuptial plumage and duller in the male, but
even if they were brighter they would not be noticed if the
bird were hatching. To complete the description of the
nuptial plumage I should mention that the wings and tail are
blackish, the lesser wing coverts being margined with white.
The bill is yellow with a black tip. The legs, toes, and lobed
webs are also yellow.

Winter plumage. — In winter the breast and abdomen have
become white ; the top of the head and forehead also white
Behind each eye is a black streak and another at the back of
the head. The back of the neck, the back, and most of the
wings a beautiful pearl grey resembling the back of an adult
Common Gull. The smaller wing coverts are grey edged with
white. The flight feathers of the wings are black, the large
tail feathers (rectrices) brownish grey margined with white.
The bill is very dark brown.

Any specimens of Grey Phalaropes which have been obtained
on the Irish coast that I have .seen displayed the transition
plumage from autumn to winter or the full winter plumage.
Through the kindness of Dr. Scharff I have had the opportunity
of looking over the entire collection of skins and stuffed
specimens in the National Museum, Dublin. Space will not
permit me to describe each .specimen as fully as I should like
to have done, but the following brief and tabulated account

M

66

The Irish Naturalist.

March,

of the dates of capture of some specimens, with a note on their
plumage1, may be given : —

Number.

Date of Capture.

Locality.

Plumage.

i

October 20, 1870, .

Aughnaniullen
Lake, County
Monaghan.

Full winter.

i

September, 1878, .

Portrush,

Almost full summer.

i

October 10, 1885, .

Cashel Bog,

Transition (mature)

Connemara.

from autumn to win-
ter, showing remains
of chestnut feathers
on the breast.

i

October 5, 1S91,

Dollymount,

Transition (immature)

Dublin Bay.

from autumn to winter,
showing many autumn
feathers.

5

October 5, 1891,

Dunkineely

Four in transition

Lighthouse,

plumage from autumn

Co. Donegal.

to winter. One of
these showing only
very few autumn
feathers on back.
The fifth bird in full

winter plumage.

With reference to these data the points of most interest
are : — Firstly : — Most of the birds were obtained in October,
in which month transition and full winter plumages occur.
Secondly : — A specimen was obtained in September in almost
full summcf plumage^ a great rarity on the Irish coast.
Thirdly : — Most of the birds in transition plumage appeared
to be immature, only one specimen showing the remains of
the chestnut feathers (summer or nuptial dress) about the
breast. This is an adult bird.

I have examined the plumage of two other immature Grey
Phalaropes both obtained on the North Bull, Clontarf.
Number 1 :— Shot by the late Dr. Cox in September, 1879.
This bird is in the possession of Mr. Williams of Dublin. The
plumage is in the transition stage from autumn to winter

1 The immature birds resemble the adults in autumn plumage. In the
former however the upper parts and breasts show some tawny feathers.

1901.

Patten. — The Grey Phalarope.

67

about half way on. Number 2 : — My own specimen, shot
November 19, 1899 The plumage is in the transition stage,
but showing some more winter feathers. I have not had the
opportunity of examining any other specimens shot as late
in November as the last-mentioned one, but I should think
that the majority of Phalaropes would have assumed their full
winter plumage by that date.

References to the occurrences of the Grey Phalarope in
Ireland recorded in the Irish Naturalist : —

Time of Year.

Locality.

By whom recorded

Refer-
ence.

November, 1893, .
October 26, 1894, .
September 28, 1899,

Lough Ennell,
Mullingar.

Inch, Lough Swilly,
Near Lurgan,

J. Taylor,

D. C Campbell, .

W. Keatley and H.
W. Marsden.

ii-, 25.
iii., 262.
viii.,251.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 3.

Figure 1 represents a Grey Phalarope resting on the water. The
original drawing has been executed by Dr. C. K. Bushe (for which I am
much indebted to him) from a rough sketch which the author made
from nature as he watched the bird at the North Bull, Dublin Bay, on
19th November, 1899. The attitude of the bird is as described in the
text, resting buoyantly with head erect, and breast, wings, and tail well
raised out of the water. The plumage is transitional, the dark spots on
the back are a few of the summer feathers.

Fig. 2 is a drawing of the right foot of the Phalarope (natural size),
viewed from the dorsal aspect. The four lobes on the free edge of the
outer toe (a) are seen. On either side of the middle and inner toes are
two lobes (J> and c). Note also the connecting membrane between the
toes, (d) is the hind toe unconnected to the others by a web. The
drawing has been made from a tracing by the author taken from the
foot of a recently killed Phalarope. (Note. — After death the foot soon
shrivels up and dries so much that its proper form is veiy much obscured).

Fig. 3. Breast feather of the Grey Phalarope.

Fig. 4. Breast feather of the Dunlin.

Fig. 5. Breast feather of the Sanderling.

Fig. 6. Breast feather of the Knot.

Observe how the curvature varies in these feathers.
Trinity College, Dublin.

► Natural size.

68 The Irish Naturalist. March,

POLYGONUM MITE AT LOUGH NHAGH.

BY J. H. DAVIES-

(Extract from a paper ''On the Botany of the Shores of Though Neagh,"
read before the Belfast Nat. Hist, and Phil. Society, December nth,
1900).

The interest belonging to the occurrence of Polygonum
Mite, Schrank, at Lough Neagh — where it was my good
fortune to meet with it this year (1900) on both the County
Antrim and Count)' Armagh margins — consists in its being
a very rare plant in Ireland. When the second edition of
Cybele Hibernica was published there was only one .station,
Lough Ramor, Co. Cavan, where, in 1897, -it was discovered
by Mr. Praeger ; but the same botanist has since met with it
hi Co. Leitrim (Jr. Nat., vol. ix., p. 144). It is also a scarce
plant in England, being recorded in Topographical Botany for
only sixteen 1 of the one hundred and twelve counties and vice-
counties of Cybele Brilannica; and it is not known in Scotland
nor in Wales. Between the mouth of the Sixmilewater and
Shane's Castle, on the Co. Antrim shore, there is an extent of
sandy and gravelly ground, on which, in August last, I
noticed a plant which I suspected to be this species ; but it
was so stunted in growth, by reason of being half-buried in
sand thrown up by the waves, as to make identification un-
certain. Revisiting the place about three weeks later, when
the water that had been raised to an unusually high level by
recent floods had subsided, sufficient specimens were obtained
to satisfy me that it was the plant at first supposed. Later,
in the month of October, when rambling round Raughlan
Point, on the Co. Armagh side of the lake, I was further
rejoiced to meet with it in soil having much the same
character as that on which it was first seen ; the plant, in the
present instance, being very plentiful and well developed.
The nature of the ground there seems conducive to the
growth of Polygon a. In a very small area there were no

1 The latest census (London Cat., 9th ed.) says twenty vice-counties,-^
Eds.

1901. Daviks. — Polygonum Mite at Lough Neagk. 69

fewer than seven species, one of them being P. minus, also a
scarce plant. P. Mite, unless sufficiently studied, is a plant
that may very easily be passed over. As has been said by
Watson, it is "an ill-understood plant, quite distinct from
mi?ius, with which it has been confused, but very near to
Persicaria." In order to show that some care has been taken
to avoid mistake in the identification of so critical a plant, it
may be stated that examples have been most kindly examined,
and the name confirmed, by Mr. S. A. Stewart, F.B.S.E-, Mr.
Nathaniel Colgan, M.R.I. A., and Mr. Arthur Bennett, F.LS.

Lisburn.

THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY.

Some important changes have recently been made in the
bye-laws of the Royal Irish Academy, which, considering the
eminence of that learned society, should prove of general
interest to scientific students. Hitherto, candidates for
membership have been ballotted for at any meeting of the
Academy, the names of the candidates duly proposed and
seconded having been exposed in the Academy rooms for a
month previously. Now, however, new members will be
chosen only at one meeting in the year — in March — when not
more than twelve names out of those nominated during the
year will be proposed by the Council for election into the
Academy.

Another noteworthy change concerns the selection of the
Council. Hitherto, the senior member of each of the two
Committees of twelve (Science, and Literature and Antiquities)
into which the Council is divided, has retired annually. In
future the two senior members of each Committee will retire,
and the circulation of eligible members through the Council
will thus be accelerated.

We congratulate the Royal Irish Academy on the adoption
of these changes which will, we have no doubt, tend to main-
tain and, indeed, to strengthen the high standing of that body
-r-the leading home of Irish philosophy and science.

70 The hish Naturalist. March,

VARIATION IN MOUAJSCA.

A Committee, consisting of Messrs. J. R. B. Masefield, F.
Taylor, R. J. Welch, and A. E. Boycott, has been appointed
by the Council of the Conchological Society of Great Britain
and Ireland for the purpose of conducting a collective in-
vestigation of phenomena connected with the variation and
life-history of British Land and Freshwater Mollusca. The
object of the investigation is to enquire into points liable to
general uncertainty, and to local or other variation, and into
the diffusion and dispersal of species, by collecting the results
of the individual experience of many naturalists. A certain
small number of subjects for investigation will be published
each year, and it is hoped that an abundance of replies will
be received , so that the results m ay be thoroughly representative.
The following five subjects have been selected for 1901 : —

(1.) How far is the smell of "garlic" constantly associated
with Hyalinia alliaria ? Under what circumstances, and at
what seasons of the year, is it most noticeable 1 Does H.
alliaria seem to escape destruction by other organisms more
than the rest of the genus % Ts the smell of " garlic" found in
other species, and under what circumstances ?

(2.) Have you in any case found any species or variety of
land snail constantly associated with any particular plant ?

(3.) Is any preference shown by (1) H. aspersa, (2) H.
rufescens, for the neighbourhood of human habitations and
buildings ? If so, what explanation do }'ou consider probable ?

(4.) What localities produce the largest specimens of
Anodonta ? Describe the nature of the water, soil, geological
formation, &c, and give dimensions, if possible, weight.

(5.) In the genus Helix, where not indigenous, when and
how were any of the species introduced ? It is desired to put
on record, as far as possible, the date of introduction of any
species into any given locality, both from abroad into the
British Isles and from one part of the country to another.

The locality for which each answer is recorded should be
carefully given, with any details of geological formation,
altitude, vegetation, &c, &c, which may suem desirable. All
returns should reach the Secretary (A. E. Boycott, The
Grange, Hereford), by September 1st, 1901.

1901. 71

CURRENT LITERATURE.

Dogs from the Crannoges of Ireland.

Under the above title Prof. Studer gave an interesting lecture before
the Natural History Society of Berne, in Switzerland, which has now
appeared in print (Mitth. d. Naturforsch. Gesellsch. Bern, 1900). Prof.
Studer's researches were made partly in Dublin and t'lso on dogs' skulls
contained in the Dublin Museum, casts of which were forwarded to him.
It is interesting and worthy of note that as far as the skull is compared
the ancient Irish Wolfhound agrees, according to Prof. Studer, with a
modern breed now in the possession of Mr. Walker, of St. Moritz, in
Switzerland. Although closely related to the Scottish Deerhound the
ancient Irish variety has a shorter snout and appears to have been a
more muscular dog. Both of these forms belong to a large race of dog,
remains of which have been discovered in the lake-dwellings on the
Ueberlingersee in Switzerland. This race has been described by Studer
under the name of Cam's Leineri, and it evidently lived in Switzerland
during the latter part of the Stone age.

But this is not the only race of dog known from the Stone age. Sir
William Wilde discovered a skull of a small dog at a crannoge at
Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, which according to Prof. Studer agrees with
Canis palustris of the Swiss lake-dwellings. This seems to have been a
dog of the type of the Pomeranian breed.

Another dog's skull examined by Prof. Studer was one which was
found in the lake deposits of Lough Gur, near Ljinerick. It somewhat
resembles a type of dog from the Bronze age first described by Prof.
Waldrich, of Vienna, under the name of Cams intermedins, which was a
dog of middle size like the shepherd's dog.

We possess therefore in Ireland the same three old' races of dogs as on
the continent, viz., C. Leineri, C. palustris, and C. intermedins, from which all
later varieties appear to have been evolved.

R. F. S.

Trinity College Herbarium.

We have received No. 4 of Notes from the Botanical School of Trinity
College, Dublin, The part contains five papers by Dr. Henry Dixon, two
of them reprinted from the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,
three brief papers by Dr. B- P. Wright, various short notes, and an
obituary notice of the late Dr. G. J. Allman.

Plant Architecture.

To the February number of Knowledge Mr. Praeger contributes the first
of a series of botanical papers, the subject of the present article being
the architecture of plants as seen in roots and stems.

To Professor Haddon.

Our warm congratulations to Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., on his election
to a Junior Fellowship of Christ's College, Cambridge.

72 The Irish Naturalist. March,

NOTES.

ZOOLOGY.

Vanessa io in the West.

I see in the January number reference made to Vanessa io. I have seen
it on Slieve Anierin, in Co. L,eitrim, and also numbers of the caterpillars
in the crag land in Co Clare, one of which changed into the chrysalis on
12th July, 1900, and into the butterfly on 27th July, 1900.

P. H. Grierson.

Lehinch. Co. Clare.

Clausilia bidentata with two mouths.

In the Journal of Conchology for October, Mr. Hugh L. Orr records the
above curious case of shell-repairing in a specimen found by him on Cave
Hill, Belfast. He suspects that the injury was inflicted by Cole Tits or
Blue Tits.

Tawny Owls in Co. Down.

Towards the end of January I was informed by a gentleman who takes
some interest in ornithology that in June last year he procured from the
New Forest nine living Tawny Owls which he liberated in Co. Down.
This satisfactorily explains the appearance of the one I recorded in the
Irish Naturalist for January, but it is anything but satisfactory to think
that these nine birds were introduced six months before and no intima-
tion was sent to local ornithologists, local papers, or the Irish Naturalist.
Any interference with the natural fauna of a country should be always
recorded in the proper journals, so that other workers may not be
misled. I examined and dissected a second female Tawny Owl shot
near Holywood on December 31st, 1900, and a third was shot atSaintfield
on February 13. Therefore there are still six Tawny Owls at large in
the neighbourhood of Belfast. I wish also to place on record the fact
that the same gentleman liberated twelve Jays in Co. Down last June,
though I have not heard of any having been shot. They were likewise

procured from the New Forest.

Robert Patterson.
Belfast.

[Mr. Patterson mildly censures the anonymous gentleman to whom he
refers for introducing these birds into Co. Down without informing
naturalists of what he had done. In our view this omission only
heightens the far worse offence of deliberately " falsifying the
geographical record." Any occurrence of these two species in the north
of Ireland henceforth will be suspect, on account of this utterly needless
interference with the native fauna of our island. Our views on this
question of introduction are well known to our readers, and we can only
repeat what we said several years ago in connection with a similar case —
the introducer is almost as great an enemy to science as the exter-
minator.— Eds.]

190X. Notes. 73

The Migration of Birds.

My friend, Mr. Ussher, has said so many kind words abont the volume
on the Migration of Birds, which I published with the assistance of Mr.
Moffat, that I scarcely like to find fault with anything in his review. He
has, however, I think, over-estimated the value of classification in the
study of migration. The book is not intended to teach, and never will
be looked to as any guide whatever in classification. The standard
work of Yarrell, fourth edition, began with the birds of prey ; the early
migratory reports followed this now disused system, and the later migra-
tion reports were written for the sake of uniformity on the same lines.
To Copernicus and Galileo we are much indebted in astronomy for a
system which supplanted that of Ptolemy. There is a great gulf between
the two ; but in ornithology we have no such widely different systems
which naturalists can clearly recognize as right and wrong. An in-
teresting summary of the various methods of arrangement is given in
Newton's " Dictionary of Birds." During the past century almost every
great writer had a theory of his own, and" at present widely different
views are held as to the affinities of genera and species. Bach genera-
tion explodes the ideas of the previous one. Classification is therefore
in a condition of unstable equilibrium, and to say that any system is
final or essential in the study of migration is, with every respect to my
old and valued friend, going a step too far.

Fassaroe, Bray. Richard M. BarringTon.

[An author can hardly expect a reviewer to agree with him absolutely
on every point, and in this particular instance we think the author has
been treated by the reviewer with an appreciation that is seldom attained,
and which shows how thoroughly in sympathy Mr. Ussher is with the
work of Mr. Barrington. There is no suggestion of misrepresentation on
the part of the reviewer ; it is merely a difference of opinion. The
question appears to us to be not whether classification is of importance
in migration, but whether classification is of importance in a book of
reference ; and we have little doubt as to which way most of our readers
would answer it. — Eds. ]

Irish Hare entering a Burrow.

The fact that the Irish Hare (LeJ>us limidtis hiberuiais, Bell), occasionally
" goes to ground " (to use a sporting expression) is well known to those
who are familiar with the ways of the animal. Yet the existence of such
a habit in a hare seems to excite so much interest in those who are
acquainted only with the Brown Hare, Lepus europaus, Pallas, that I
think it worth while to place on record the most conspicuous instance
of the kind which has come to my notice. This occurred on the 15th of
January of the present year, during the meeting of the Kilmanock
Coursing Club. On this occasion a hare when hard pressed by a brace
of greyhounds deliberately entered a rabbit burrow in the presence of
the whole field, and thus saved her life.

G. E. H. Barrett-Hamii/ton.

Kilmanock, Arthurstown.

74 The Irish Naturalist. March,

Common Dolphin in Belfast Lough.

On the 18th and 19th inst. there was hanging up at Messrs. Sawers,

Fishmongers, Belfast, a specimen of the Common Dolphin, Delphinus

delphis, sl feet long and stated to have been captured off Trooper's-lane,

that is between Greenisland and Carrickfergus on the Co. Antrim shore

of Belfast Lough. I have not seen this species here before nor have I

any record of its capture in this lough.

R. Lloyd Patterson.

Holy wood, Co. Down.

Probable occurrence of the Lesser Rorqual on the coast of

Co. Wexford.

Through the kindness of Mr. Thomas Gould, Station Officer, Coast-
guard Station, Ballymoney, Co. Wexford, I am enabled to record the
stranding of a cetacean, almost certainly Balcenofitera rostrata, on the
coast south of Duffcarrick, Co. Wexford, on October 8th, 1900. The
length of the animal is said to have been thirty, its circumference
twenty feet. The colour was dark above, but the stomach and underside
of the tail were white. Although I have not seen this specimen or any
portion of it, Mr. Gould's description is so clear that there can hardly be
any doubt as to the species to which he alludes. As may be learned by
a reference to Dr. Scharff's paper in the Irish Naturalist of April, 1900,
p. 86, the Lesser Rorqual is "probably common all round the Irish
coast." I have myself recorded the stranding of specimens on Kerry
(/. Nat., October, 1891^, and Cork (May, 1898) coasts.

G. E. H. Barrett-Hamii/ton.

Kilmanock, Arthurstown.

BOTANY.

Irish Hawkweeds.

Among some recently collected Hawkweeds kindly named for me by

Mr. F. J. Hanbury, F.L.S., is H. proximum, F. J. Hanb., which is on

record from Donegal only (Hart's Flor. Don.) I gathered it last June at

Poulaphouca on both banks of the Liffey (Wicklow and Kildare) and

traced it down the stream to the falls above Ballymore Eustace (Kildare) ,

The plant grows plentifully in these stations. Another rare form is

H. sciaphilum, Uechtritz, hitherto recorded from only one Irish station

(Saintfield, Down). I have it from Cahir, S. Tipperary, 1900, and railway

bank at the Curragh, Kildare, 1897. Additional district-records for

Cybeh are given by the following: — H. iricum, Fr. — V. Carlingford

Mountain, Louth, 1893, H. lasiophyllum,YLoo.h.. — VI. Menlo, N.E. Gal way,

1899 ; VIII. Lough Corrib near Bleanoran, West Galway, 1899 ; the

previous records of this plant were confined to Ulster. H. murorum, L.

pt. — III. Maryborough, Queen's Co., 1896. H. stenokpis, Lindeb. — IX.

Lough Gill, Co. Leitrim ; and (apparently this) from Carrowkee Hill,

Sligo, 1897. H. vulgatum, Fr., Maryborough, Queen's Co., 1896 — the var.

inaculeatum.

R. Li<oyd PraEGER.
Dublin.

1901. Notes. 75

Influence of Latitude on Plant-Life.

In the December number of the Geographical Society's Journal is the
following notice of experiments made in Germany on the influence of
latitude on plant-life : —

" Prof. Ihne, of Darmstadt sets forth, in the seventh number of the
Geographische Zeitschrift, the results obtained as regards the influence of
latitude on the dates at which spring is announced by the bursting into
flower of various typical trees and shrubs. By the method adopted,
which is described at the outset of the paper, the first appearance of the
leaf (though recorded in the observations) has not been taken into con-
sideration, owing to thegreater difficulty of obtaining a trustworthy record
of this than of the dates of flowering, while, given careful observation,
the results arrived at may be taken to be the same. Mathematical
accuracy is, of course, not to be expected, and the results as a whole are
not invalidated by the impossibility of selecting stations at which obser-
vations for a sufficient number of years have been carried out, and where
other factors besides latitude — longitude, altitude, exposure, soil, &c. —
are the same. In his present investigation Prof. Ihne has chosen
localities differing as little as possible in these respects. All lie more or
less in a line from north to south, the average difference of longitude
being only 46 kilometres (28^ miles) ; and from his previous researches
into the influence of longitude on the phenomena in question, which
showed that for stations of moderate elevation in Central Europe, the
advent of spring is retarded by 0.95 day for every in kilometres (60 geo-
graphical miles) in an easterly direction, Prof. Ihne shows that such a
difference may well be left out of consideration. From the differences
observed in the case of eight pairs of stations, which, when reduced
to the unit of i° of latitude (in kilometres), show intervals of time for
that distance varying from 3.4 to 4.6 days, Prof. Ihne arrives at the con-
clusion that for every additional degree of latitude the advent of spring
is retarded by about four days."

There can be 110 doubt that a repetition of these German experiments
in other places would be of considerable value, and though Ireland is not
so well adapted for the purpose as countries which extend over many more
degrees of latitude, it seems to me that we should at least make a trial,
and that in our Field Clubs we have an excellent organisation for carrying
out this work. By means of our members and their friends scattered
throughout the country we should be able to get the results of observa-
tions at a large number of places on parallels of latitude at every degree
or half degree, for instance, those on a line from Clifden through Tuam,
Newtown- Belle w, Auburn, Mullingar, and Dunshaughlin to Lusk, would
give statistics for latitude 53° 30', and from these observations we should
also perhaps be able to formulate the effects on vegetation of distance
from the eastern or western coast line of Ireland. Of course, the obser-
vations must be made very systematically, and continued for several
seasons, that fair average dates may be obtained, and I hope the Field
Clubs will consider this matter worthy of serious consideration.

G. T. Pl,UNKETT.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

j6 The Irish Naturalist. March,

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the Society was held at the Royal College of
Physicians, Dublin, on February 5th, when a highly satisfactory report
of the past year's working was presented by Prof. D. J. Cunningham,
F.R.S., the honorary secretary. During 1900, 156,012 persons visited the
Gardens, paying £2,365 is. 8d. for admission, an increase of 8,500 visitors
and ^225 receipts as compared with 1899 ; while the amount received
from members and subscribers was £673, an increase of £76. Conse-
quently despite the allocation of ^1,000 towards the erection of a new
house for the Carnivora, a balance of over £300 remains to the credit of
the Society after allowing for all outstanding liabilities.

Very special attention has been paid to the preparation of plans for
the new Carnivora (" Lord Roberts ") House, in the design of which
help has been obtained from the directors of the London as well as the
leading European and American Zoological Gardens. The new house,
which will be connected with the old Lion House, and showing its
principal elevation opposite the Haughton House, will contain ten new
dens and three or four large open-air dens, roofed over, floored with
wood, and with a southern aspect. The cost of the new house will be
considerable, but in addition to the ,£1,000 already allocated by the
Society, ,£1,000 has been collected, and a further sum will, it is thought,
be raised with little difficulty.

A fresh impetus to the "Irish Lion industry," which is dealt with at
length in this report, may confidently be looked for. For the four years
1895-9S, only eighteen cubs were born in the Gardens and only six of
these were reared. But in the last sixteen months fifteen cubs have been
born whereof eleven are still in the Gardens. There is no fear therefore
of a decline in the famous Dublin lion-breeding as a whole, though there
has been a curious falling off in the average number of cubs in a litter —
two or three now as against four prior to 1886. Among the cubs now in
the Gardens are two — a male and a female by Caesar, the only Dublin-
bred adult lion still in the collection. There is every hope therefore that
the old Dublin strain may be preserved.

After the completion of the " Roberts House " the Council hope to
erect a new Bear House and pit where all the bears may be gathered in
proximity to one another, and so make comparison easy to visitors.

The various acquisitions to the Gardens through the year have been
duly chronicled in the pages of this Journal. Several unfortunate deaths
of animals are mentioned in this Report — the Sea Lion, two Cheetahs, the
male Ostrich, the male Bactrian Camel, and a Chimpanzee, the last
named loss depriving the Gardens for the present of any representative
of the man-like Apes. Appropriate reference is made to the great
interest of the Horse and Zebra hybrids lent in the summer by Prof.
Ewart of Edinburgh. The Society's photographic medal has been
awarded to Mr. Greenwood Pim.

icpi. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 77

DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB.

December 6. — The Club met at Leinster House.

Mr. Greenwood Pim showed Beech leaves from Straffan, thickly
covered with Phylloctinia guttata (Wallroth) { = P. suffulta of Tubeuf).
It forms white patches on which are dotted the conceptacles which
contain the asci and spores. As in all the other Erysiphece the con-
ceptacles are furnished with appendages in this genus ; these form long
and sharp needles with swollen bases. It is common on Hornbeam,
Hazel, Ash, &c.

Mr. A, J. BECKETT exhibited, under a magnification of 275 diameters,
a specimen of muscle from a case of "equine hemoglobinuria" —
showing the peculiar waxy degeneration of the muscle fibre. Individual
fibres were to be observed in which the normal striation was altogether
lost and the sarcous substance was split up into homogenous masses or
clumps. Other fibres showed plainly an intermediate stage.

Dr. PeThybridge exhibited pure cultures* of a pink yeast (Toruld) on
sterilised potato and on nutrient gelatine. These yeasts, of which
several species are known, are strictly aerobic and do not produce
spores. The colour of the colonies varies slightly according to age and
according to the substratum on which they grow. The colouring
matter is soluble in water and is probably extracellular, no trace of a
pink colour being visible in the cells themselves, when observed in a
hanging drop at a magnification of 1,000 diameters.

Mr. G. H. Carpenter showed the paired structures attached to the
base of the tongue in Machilis maritima. These organs, present in most
of the Thysanura and Collembola, are believed by Hansen to be a pair of
jaws homologous with the first maxillae of Crustacea. If this view,
which has much evidence in its favour, be accepted, four pairs of jaws in
the primitive insect head must be recognised.

Mr. M'ArdeE exhibited Mastigophora Woodsii, Hook., which he collected
last June on Mount Brandon, Co. Kerry. It is a rare hepatic not found
in any other county in Ireland, and there very local ; difficult to detect
on account of its moss-like appearance, as it grows fiat on the ground
or on the shelving rocks. Dr. D. Moore, in his work on Irish Hepaticce,
p. 635, writes concerning it : — " This fine species grows in large patches
lying flat on the ground and appears at first sight to resemble patches
of Thuidium tamariscinam." Mr. M'Ardie showed a dried specimen
mounted on card-board, and a microscopic slide showing portion of the
stem with the curious unequally two-lobed leaves, the segments of
which are ciliato-dentate, the large stipules cleft into two, which are
spinosely dentate, the round cells, distantly placed in the leaves, which
are of a dull purplish brown colour, and becoming duller near the base
of the stem. The fructification is unknown. The plant was first found
on Mangerton mountain by Mr. Joseph Woods in 1809, and he sent
specimens of it to Hooker who figured it in British Hepaticce (p. 66).

Mr. F. M. SEVENS exhibited portion of a frond of Athyrium F.-f. unco-
glomeratum mounted in a preparation of glycerine.

j 8 The Irish Naturalist. March,

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

December iS, 1900. — The chair was taken by Mr. Praeger, in the
absence of the President. Forty members and visitors were present.
Mr. A. L. Otway read a paper entitled " Notes on Irish Red Deer,"
illustrating his remarks by diagrams which he drew on the blackboard.
Photographs of the head and antlers of the Red Deer were exhibited,
and handed to the members for inspection. The paper will be
published in full in an early number of the Irish Naturalist.

Mr. Shackei/TOn remarked that the term " Elk" is not a correct one
to apply to the ancient Giant Deer of Ireland. This animal had
affinities with the modern forms of true deer (Fallow deer, &c),
whilst its relationship to the Blk proper were very remote.

Mr. Edward Wieeiams described the boglands in the Dublin Hills
where he had excavated the remains of the Irish " Elk. " He also gave an
account of the way in which these great animals lost their lives, and
became immersed in the mud. Mr. Williams brought down to the
meeting many bones of the fossil " Elk," which he described one
by one, and demonstrated to the members the differences between these
bones and those of the Red Deer.

Mr. Praeger described the deposits underlying Belfast, where *' Elk"
and Red Deer remains were found.

Dr. C. J. Patten (Hon. Sec.) suggested that, owing to the depth at
which the Red Deer remains were placed, it might be difficult to obtain
them. These bones have seldom been obtained by excavation, whereas
those of the " Elk" have been frequently secured. Still the Red Deer in
past times was probably as common an animal as the Irish Elk. Dr.
Patten asked Mr. Otway if he thought that lime salts or other chemicals
present in the soil ever split the bones from which apparently the marrow
had disappeared ?

Colonel Pi^uNKETT, and Messrs. Seymour, Nicholson, and Hinch
also spoke on the paper.

Mr. Edward Wieeiams regretted he could not exhibit his,
Pectoral Sandpiper, as on the agenda paper, as the specimen had not
arrived from London, where it had been sent to Mr. H. Saunders for
identification. He promised to exhibit the bird at a subsequent meeting.

Colonel Peunkett read a short communication relative to the
influence of latitude on the time of flowering of plants, which will be
found on p. 75.

Mr. Praeger and Miss Bernard spoke on this subject.

The following members were elected ;— Caryl T. W. Fiennes, Alex.
Williams. Three nominations for membership of the Club, and the
Committee's suggestions as to nominations for officers, &c, for 1901,
were announced.

1 90 1. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 79

LIMERICK FIELD CLUB.

January 8.— Annuai, Meeting and Conversazione.— The eighth
annual meeting and conversazione of the members of the Limerick
Field Club was held in their rooms, Glentworth-street. A large and
interesting variety of exhibits was on view. A good exhibit was that in
the Microscopic section, in the living examples of Volvox globator, Melicerta
ringens, Hydra viridis, and H. fusca, salmon ova, circulation of protoplasm
in leaf cells of pondweed {Anacharis alsinastrwti). A collection of stone
implements was exhibited by Dr. George Fogerty, R.N., and others.
These clearly demonstrated the existence of prehistoric man in the
district of West Clare. There were also flint implements from the North
of Ireland. In the Entomological Section there was a fine display of
cave spiders (JMeta Menardii) and the Convolvulus Hawk-moth {Sphinx
Convolvult). The botanical specimens were numerous and well arranged,
These included some recent plant finds in the County Limerick, and
some hitherto unknown in the country itself ; a fine collection of mosses,
and a display of alpine plants. A specially noticeable feature was the
large series of sketches of wild flowers exhibited by Miss Laird. These
were the work of Miss Shackleton, of Dublin, and were deservedly admired.
In the Geological Section were specimens of ores and minerals,
and a series of examples of rocks, while the majority of the work of the
members of the Photographic Section was valuable from a historic
point of view. In the bank room a series of lantern slides was shown
by Mr. B. Barrington, explanations of the slides being given by the
members who took the photographs. Specially interesting were the
three short illustrated lectures given by the President, who dealt with
plant structure; Dr. G. Fogerty, who showed some photographic slides
of the Lisdoonvarna district, and Mr. P. J. Lynch, C.F,., who dealt with
the historic ruins of Cashel and district. The business portion of the
meeting was brief. The President, Dr. W. A. FogerTy, MA., called on
the Secretary, Mr. Francis NEAiyE, to read the annual report, of which
the following is an abstract : —

The time covered by this report is only nine months, as the last
annual meeting decided that the commencement of the Club year should
harmonise with the opening of the winter session in October. Your
Committee are glad to say that the interest in the Club seems unabated,
and that the change of the amount of the annual subscriptions payable
by members is working really well. A considerable number have as
was expected fallen away, the net loss amounting to 118, but the working
power of the Club has not suffered in any way, nor has its revenue
diminished. There were 152 names on the list of members at the end of
the year, as compared with 270 in 1899, and yet there is a largersum to
the credit of the Club in the Treasurer's hands than on any similar
previous occasion. In addition to the publication of the Club Journal
during the year, the following meetings have taken place: — January 2nd,
1900, photographic lecture on ' Plates and Printing Papers ' ; January 9th,
seventh annual meeting ; January 23rd, ' Irish Geological Notes ' ;

80 The Irish Naturalist. March, 1901.

February 6th, illustrated lecture on ' Photographic Portraiture'; March
6th, 'Outdoor Photography,' illustrated by lantern transparencies;
April 3rd, exhibition of prize lantern slides; April 26th, excursion to
Lin field, Pallasgrean ; June 28th, excursion to Paradise, Kildysart; July
10th, excursion to Lough Gur; July 19th, excursion to the Rock of
Cashel. With one exception all the winter evening meetings on the
programme were carried out, but three of the summer excursions did not
take place owing to unfavourable weather. The various sections of the
Club — Scientific, Photographic, and Archaeological — have each done
some share of work during the period now under review, the botanical
members having been specially fortunate in adding quite a number of
fresh records to the plants of County Limerick, several examples of
which are now on view here this evening. Your Committee keep on
hoping for an increase in the working members of the Club as a natural
result of its operations.

In moving the adoption of this, Mr. H. Sams congratulated the Club
on the successful year it had enjoyed. The Rev. T. F. Abbott briefly
seconded the adoption of the report, which was carried with acclamation,

Mr. Joseph Stewart (Hon. Treasurer) presented his balance sheet,
which showed that while at the end of last year there was only a balance
in hand of $s. \d. that had increased to £9 7s. gd. (applause). This also
was adopted.

The Chairman congratulated the members on the present condition of
the Club, both financially and otherwise.

Mr. Wm. M. Beauchamp having been called to preside, the election of
officers and committee for the ensuing year was proceeded with. The
following is the list : — President — Dr. W. Fogerty ; Vice-Presidents — Mr.
J. Grene Barry, J. P., D.L., and Rev. Timothy Lee, Adm. ; Hon. Treasurer —
Mr. Jos. Stewart ; Hon. Secretary — Mr. F. Neale ; Committee — Miss
Bennis, Miss A. Doyle, Miss Ebrill, Mr. B. Barrington, Mr. P. J. Lynch,
C.E., Mr. P. E. O'Donuell, Mr. C. Scott; Hon. Secretary of Natural
Science Section — Mr. J. F. Windle, C.E. ; Hon. Sec. of Photographic
Section— Mr. G. F. Fogerty, R.N. ; Hon. Sec. of the Archaeological
Section — Rev. James Dowd, B.A.

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

December 19 .— W. F. Fenneee, M.R.I.A.I., contributed a paper on
" Where the Masters Wrote," with lantern illustrations, which was
followed by a paper on " Symbolic Ideas of the Ancients concerning
Trees and Plants," by John Vinycomb, M.R.LA.

Botanicae Section. —November 2. — The first meeting for the
winter was well attended. " Fungi" was the subject for study, and the
members brought in a large number of species for examination.

Botanicae Section. —December 7.— Rev. C. H. Waddeee gave a
lecture on British Ferns.

April, 1901. 81

RECENT OBSERVATIONS
ON OLDHAMIA AND HISTIODERMA.

BY PROF. GRENVIIXB A. J. COLE, M.R.I. A., F.G-S.

The most elaborate and beautifully illustrated paper ever
devoted to Oldha?nia is undoubtedly that by Prof. W. J. Sollas,
F.R.S., published in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological
Society of London, volume lvi., 1900.1 If, in summarising it,
I add one or two comments of my own, it is merely to show
that the subject is still under discussion, and that we may
agree with the author (p. 284) that ''the nature of Oldhamia
cannot yet be regarded as definitely ascertained. That it is

of organic origin seems scarcely to admit of

doubt ; whether the organism were animal or plant, and in
what manner it imprinted its traces on the rocks, are questions
that still await a definite solution."

Ichnium Wattsii, described in the same paper, is " a radiate
system of continuous, undulating, bifurcating furrows,"
occurring in a red shale, half a mile south of Bray Head.
The photograph given shows it to have a general resemblance
to Oldhamia radiata. Prof. Sollas compares it with Nathorst's
figure of the radiating impressions made by a living worm,
Glycera alba, and shows (p. 277) that it "does not present
a single feature by which it can be distinguished from the
track of a recent worm."

Oldhamia, however, is not near enough to Ichnium to
warrant the same conclusion. The author describes, more
completely than has been before attempted, the two well-
known species from Bray, and illustrates them with photo-
graphs, which are fortunately printed as separate plates, and
which are veritable works of art. Prof. J. Joly2 pointed out,
in 1886, that, on the upper surface of any bed, Oldhamia
radiata appears as a depression, while O. a?itiqua is in relief.
Prof. Sollas, with characteristic ingenuity (p. 282), explains
this by supposing that the upper surface of O. antiqua was
more resisting than the lower ; that the lower part decomposed,

1(1 Fossils in the Oxford University Museum. III. Ichnium Wattsii, a
Worm-track from the Slates of Bray Head : with observations on the
Genus Oldhamia.''' Q.J.G.S., vol. lvi., pp. 273-286.

2 " On a peculiarity in the nature of the impressions of Oldhamia antiqua
and 0. radiata." Journ. R. Geol. Soc. Ireland, vol. vii., p. 176.

A

82 The Irish Naturalist April,

therefore, while the upper part formed an arch or tunnel into
which the mud flowed up from below, remaining as a mould
of each filament or rod ; while O. radiata simply decayed
away, leaving a depression, into which the next mud-layer
sank from above.

The impressions, however, are often continuous through
several layers. There is no difficulty in accounting for this
in the case of Oldhamia antiqua. The author suggests that,
in the case of O. radiata the lowest impression is the original
dimple formed by the filament resting on the mud ; the
overlying and now sunken layers were deposited before the
filament decayed ; and, when it did so, they all bent down
into the hollow as it was vacated by the organic matter.

The facts certainly seem at first opposed to any annelid-
theory of Oldhamia. If the markings were produced by
movements of tentacles, or of the body of a worm, round
about its burrow, these traces would probably not be identical
in successive layers. But maj^ we not accept Prof. Sollas's
suggestions gratefully, and yet see in the markings of O.
radiata a record of the ultimate positions of extended crowns
of tentacles, which at first resisted, and then decayed away as
he has supposed ? Were it not for the remarkable observation
of Prof. Joly, it would be tempting to see in O. antiqua similar
crowns of tentacles swept over sideways and killed off by a
rush of water bearing the mud that formed the succeeding
layer. The fan-like or tassel-like form would thus be ex-
plicable, as anyone may realise by experiments on the
appendages of an ordinary window- blind ; and the fact that
O. radiata occurs in one stratum, which would be, on this
theory, a quiet-water stratum, and O. antiqua in another,
would then seem natural enough. Prof. Joly's discovery,
however, points to a genuine specific difference between the
two ; and the regularity of arrangement in many specimens
of O. antiqua also opposes the above suggestion.

The annelid-theory, however, deserves closer attention,
owing to modern researches in America. Mr. G. F. Matthew1
has described from the Cambrian of St. John, New Brunswick,
a number of tracks and markings, which he attributes to

1 ♦'Illustrations of the Fauna of the St. John Group, No. V." Tram.
Roy. Soc, Canada, Section iv., 1890, pp. 123-166,

1901. Coi<K. — Observations 071 Oldhamia and Histioder 771a. 83

annelids, and which seem to illustrate, at any rate, the
structure of our own Oldha77iia. His Frcena ra77iosa (p. 159) is
described as " clustered passages running mostly in one
direction, and spreading as if branched, some raised for a
distance of 5 to 10 mm. above the level of the layer on which
they occur, others mining the layer .... The passages
have a dark skin or coating." The genus Frmia is due to
Iyinnarsson ; but Matthew's species, despite its large size,
reminds one of the more disjointed specimens of Oldhamia
radiata, such as that figured by Dr. J. R. Kinahan1 in 1858.
The most striking traces of annelids that are discussed by Mr.
Matthew are, however, those placed under Torrell's genus,
Monocraterio7i. The tentacles of Mo7iocraterion tentaculatum,
from the Cambrian of Lugnas in Sweden, have a maximum
length of 34 millimetres ; those of Matthew's M. mag7iificu7n
(p. 160), are "from 8 inches to a foot in length" (200 to 300
mm.). Matthew's description is significant, as bearing on
what has been said with regard to the constancy of the
Oldhamian ridges in successive layers. " In the lapse of time
the sand accumulated around the funnel in which the animal
lived, making the depressed, trumpet-shaped opening, for
which old burrows are remarkable. Their disinclination
to change their location is also shown by the constancy with
which the tracks of the tentacles maintained their course ;
for they scarcely deviated from a certain direction through
the different layers of half an inch or more in thickness. It
would appear that they did not often turn in their burrows."
On p. 161, Mr. Matthew says that the tracks are traceable on
successive layers for a thickness of an inch or more. Does
not this suggest a magnified example of the phenomena
observed in Oldha77iia radiata ? The explanation of the
persistence of the markings may, at any rate, be the same in
both, whether we accept the reading of Mr. Matthew in 1890,
or of Prof. Sollas in 1900. Of course, the burrow is a con-
spicuous feature in Monocraterion, while, as Sollas shows, it is
obscure, to say the least, in Oldhamia ; but the relative
dimensions of the various parts may have differed in genera
none the less allied.

1 Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., vol. xxiii., p. 557.

A Z

84 The Irish Naturalist. April,

Mr. Matthew discusses the relation between Monocraterion
and Histioderma (p. 162), the type-specimens of which are now
among the collections of the Geological Survey in the Dublin
Museum.1 On this point, I may quote from an interesting
letter that I received from Mr. Matthew, dated 8th March,
1900. At that time we had not the advantage of discussing
more than the preliminary abstract of Prof. Sollas's paper, and
our correspondence had arisen over Histioderma. Mr. Matthew
wrote, "I have not noticed anything in the nature of
a reticulation within the burrow of Monocraterion. The
impressions of the supposed tentacles can however be traced
for some distance down the slope of the burrow along its

sides, evidently continuous with the furrows outside

I have seen areas of surfaces of the flags, so pitted with these
burrows that the tentacles would have come in contact at
their extremities."

It would now be highly interesting to hear from Mr.
Matthew whether the internal tentacular markings run up to
the top of any given series of lateral and radial markings,
and thus across successive layers of the rock in which these
radial markings occur. If they do so, Prof. Sollas's ingenious
suggestion would not apply in their case, while the case of
Oldhamia might again deserve consideration.

Prof. Sollas has accidentally passed over American work,
since he merely quotes Barrois for the statement that " a form
of Oldhamia is said to occur plentifully in the Potsdam Sand-
stone (Upper Cambrian) of Wisconsin," while no American
references occur in his otherwise admirable bibliography. A
short but stratigraphically important paper by Mr. C. D.
Walcott2 formed the subject of a notice in the Irish Naturalist
for 1896 (p. 254). In that paper, Walcott discussed James
Hall's species Oldhamia fruticosa, from the Trenton Limestone
of Wisconsin, which was described in 1865. He also pointed
out that Lap worth3 mentions a form of Oldhamia in Upper
Cambrian slates at Farnham, Province of Quebec. Lapworth,

1 See G. A, J. Cole and J. W. Evans, letter in Geol. Mag., 1900, p. 48.

2 " Discovery of the genus Oldhamia in America," Proc. U.S. National
Museum, vol. xvii., 1894, P313.

3 Trans. R. Sac. Canada, vol. iv., 1887, section iv., pp. 180 and 183.
(Walcott quotes the date as 1877.)

1901. CoivK- — Observations on Oldhamia and Histioderma. 85

it may be remarked, thought that the object might prove to
be Dictyonema ; but Walcott, who has examined a poorly pre-
served specimen, agrees that it is an Oldhamia, though of
doubtful species. At the same time, he is inclined to reject
Hall's Oldhamia fruticosa.

Walcott then describes a new species, Oldhamia {Murchiso-
nites) occidens, an ally of O. antiqua, from beds of Upper
Cambrian or L,ower Ordovician age. The locality of these is
not clear to the outsider, as they occur in the " Troy Sheet" of
the Survey, and there are some ten towns called Troy, not
to speak of villages, in the United States. Nor can we
quite overlook the extraordinary references to previous
authors that disfigure Mr. Walcott's paper. Not only is Dr.
J. R. Kinahan called " Kinnehan" and "Kinnahan" at pleasure
but it is stated that "Prof. Brady"- discussed Oldhamia in
1865, and proposed the new genus Murchisonites. The
reference given is to the " Geological Magazine, 1865, p. 6."
Brad)*, however, is represented in that volume only by an
ahstract on p. 223, in which Oldhamia is not mentioned. H. R.
Goppert,1 as Prof. Sollas knows, was the real author of the
proposal to rename O. antiqua as Murchisonites Forbesi ; this
proposal was combated by Salter, to whom Walcott actually
refers, without noting his full discussion of the subject.
After this, we may pass over minor slips that occur in this
series of references, which seem to have been got together by
someone other than the author of the paper. If Mr. Walcott's
Oldhamia occidens is to stand as a species, some forms from
Bray will have to be included in it, such as one figured by
Mr. W. H. Baily in 1865.

So far as I am aware, Sollas3 was the first, in 1893, to observe
that Oldhamia was " strikingly similar to the radiate branching
markings which may sometimes be seen on muddy flats
extending from the mouth of the tubes of burrowing worms."
In proportion as the view of the sertularian or algal affinities
of Oldhamia declines in favour, I think we must seek more

1 Acad. Caes. Leop. Nova acta, Bd. xxvii., i860, p. 441.

3 " Cambrian Rocks of the British Islands." Geol. Mag., 1S65, p. 394,
fig 4c

3 " Geology of Dublin and its neighbourhood." Proc. Geol. Assoc, vol.
xiii., 1893-5, p. 94.

86 The Irish Naturalist. April,

and more in the direction of the worms. The field may now
be safely left to Prof. Sollas and Mr. Matthew, two dis-
tinguished observers in opposite hemispheres, whose work,
forming the basis of the present paper, is here gratefully
acknowledged.1
Royal College of Science, Dublin.

NOTES ON THE ALG^S OF LOUGH NEAGH.

BY WM. WEST, F.L.S., AND G. S. WEST, B.A., A.R.CS.
(Provisional Report to the R.I. A. Fauna and Flora Committee).

Last spring Mr. Praeger wrote to us on behalf of the Fauna
and Flora Committee of the Royal Irish Academy, inviting us
to undertake an examination of the aquatic flora of Lough
Neagh, and offering assistance in the shape of a grant of
money, and also the use of a steam launch, kindl}r placed at
the disposal of the Committee by the River Bann Fisheries
Commission. We availed ourselves of this excellent oppor-
tune of studying the algae of the largest fresh- water area in
the British Isles, and in June Wm. West spent twelve days on
and around the lough, being much assisted in the work by
several members of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club.

The algae collected in Lough Neagh have turned out to be
very interesting. A large number of species were obtained, some
of them being very uncommon. Many species occurred in
countless profusion miles away from the shores, floating in
what seemed to be perfectly limpid water ; these were obtained
by tow-netting, the result by this method being much greater
than was anticipated.

The tow-nets were of a conical form with somewhat rounded
apices ; they varied in size, being from 5 to 12 inches internal
diameter at the base and from 18 to nearly 30 inches in length.
Stout rings of copper were covered with broad bands of

1 Waageu {Mem. Geo/. Surv. India, Pal indica, ser. xiii., 18^7, p. 403;, has
described a genus of brachiopods under the name of Oldhamina. It is
unfortunate, but almost inevitable, that this has been quoted, both in
Zittel's M Grundziige der Palaontologie" and in its American paraphrase,
as Oldhamia. The point is worth noting, since Oldhamia thus appears in
the indexes of these works, while the genus is not in reality discussed
in them.

i9Qi. WEST. — Notes on the Algcs of Lough Neagh. 87

sailcloth, and to these were sewn the nets made of the best
miller's silk. These nets were attached to the sides of the
launch towards and at the stern by ropes several yards in
length. The speed used varied from a half to two or even
three miles an hour. After about an hour's towing the nets
were taken in and the water allowed to drain out naturally.
By this means, on turning the nets inside out, a fine greenish
sediment was obtained which was scraped off and transferred
to small wide-mouthed bottles. The nets were then washed
in water contained in a large vessel, and this water was
then transferred to large bottles and allowed to stand so that
the material desired should be concentrated by subsidence.
Total subsidence did not always take place, and the bulk of
the material had then to be killed, various means being
adopted, chromic acid, trinitrophenol and phenol generally
being used for the purpose. Some of the material was kept
alive for examination.

The chief rivers flowing into the lake were also tow-netted,
boats having to be used in most cases. The various islands
were visited and the algae bordering upon them were collected.
Many parts on the borders of the lake were also visited on
foot, a boat being sometimes also brought into requisition.
Some of the small lakes adjoining were also visited.

The weather was favourable, and the twelve days spent
there were in consequence fully utilised. Nevertheless the
time available was insufficient for the completion of the
investigation. It is, therefore, arranged that the examination
of the lough shall be resumed next summer at a different
period — or at different periods — of the year, in order to obtain
a more efficient result, as well as to visit those parts of the
lake — especially the shores — not yet examined.

Much time has been given to the examination of the
material, and about two hundred species have so far been
determined ; a number of these might be termed pseudo-
pelagic, occurring in great profusion about the centre of the
lake. The investigation shows that there is no lack of minute
organisms in all parts of the lake ; these serve as food to larger
animals and these to still larger ones, so that eventually there
is an ample supply of food for the fish.

Bradford.

88 The Irish Naturalist. April,

RISSO'S DOLPHIN:

A CETACEAN NEW TO THE IRISH FAUNA.

BY PROF. D'ARCY W. THOMPSON, C.B.

In the beginning of September, 1900, I heard in Galway
that a "porpoise" had been cast ashore some little while
before at the bathing place of Blackrock, close by the town.
I had not time then to go and look for the animal, but at
Christmas time I did so and found it. It turned out to be a
young specimen, a little over five feet six inches in length, of
Grampus griseus, Cuv., Risso's Dolphin or Grampus, the form
known as Grampus rissoanus being now generally conjoined
with it as one and the same species. This Dolphin is very
easily recognised by the entire absence of teeth in the upper
jaw, and by the presence of a small number of large ones
at the extremity of the lower jaw, which is much swollen to
contain them. It is also remarkable for certain very curious
striae or scratches that are very generally present on its skin,
and which M. Chaves of Ponte Delgada and M. Jules Richard
have lately shown to be in all probability the traces of
encounters with very large Cuttle-fishes. I looked for but
failed to find these markings on this small and by this time
much decomposed specimen. The largest specimen of which
I have found a record is a male captured in the Mediterranean
by the Prince of Monaco, which measured 3.40 metres, or about
eleven feet four inches. A cetacean of about this size came
ashore near Galway last summer, in July or August, but its
carcase was immediately towed out to sea and sunk ; it is
very likely indeed that this was a parent of the young
Grampus.

The species is a rare one, though it appears to have an
enormously wide distribution throughout the warm and
temperate oceans. It has been taken several times in the
South of England ; a shoal of six was captured in Shetland
in 1889, two were got in the Solway Firth in 1893, and a
skull was brought up in a trawl-net off the Isle of Man in
1899, but it is new to Ireland.

The skull and the somewhat imperfect skeleton of the Galway
specimen are now in the Museum of University College,

igoi. Thompson. — fiisso's Dolphin. 89

Dundee. Some teeth are missing, but there seem to have
been four on each side, or perhaps three on the left and four
on the right. The dentition of the species is very variable.
M. Richard describes, in the two specimens taken by the
Prince of Monaco, five teeth 011 the right side and four on the
left of a female from the Azores, and four teeth on the right
side and two on the left of the large male from the Mediter-
ranean. Every intermediate number from two teeth to six
appears to have been recorded, the individuals with the larger
number of teeth having been generally ascribed to G. rissoanus.
I may mention also, in parenthesis to this note, the fact
that we have in this Museum a skeleton of Laocnorhynchns
albirostris, Gray, the White-beaked Dolphin, which I obtained
some twelve years ago near the same spot where I found the
Grampus griscus. Dr. Scharff in his "I^ist of Irish Cetacea "
published last year, is able, I see, to record only one certain
and one somewhat doubtful instance of the occurrence of this
species in Ireland.

University College, Dundee.

ABNORMAL DENTITION IN THE DOG.

BY PROF. RICHARD J. ANDERSON,. M.D.

A small three-year-old terrier was shown to me some time
ago, because of the peculiarity of the dentition. It was of a
wire-haired, short-legged breed, and presented for examination
the following variety. Whilst the incisors of the upper jaw
were in range, and three on each side, those in the lower
jaw show only two on each side in range in front. Two
additional teeth appear behind the four, one on each side, so
as to suggest to a casual observer the existence of a double
row of teeth. The two posterior teeth appear to be inter-
mediate incisors, although the presence of additional teeth in
some animals in this region results from persistence of the
milk teeth. Several bears and their allies show receding
intermediate lower incisors, and this peculiarity is not con
fined to modern types. Several carnivores (e.g., seals) show a
fewer number than the normal. It is quite evident the

A3

90 The Irish Naturalist. April,

narrowing of the jaw would be advantageous in many cases,
but besides this it may be assumed that the double row would
also serve certain breeds. If the lower jaw were undershot, as
occurs sometimes in man, the enamel of the upper incisors
might produce a groove in the dentine of the lower incisors.
The accessor incisors in the upper jaw of certain rodents are
familiar ; and Owen called attention to the condition of the
crowns in the upper intermediate incisors of the hyaena. There
is in each of the latter a transversely cleft crown, and a
division of the posterior prism vertically, so that the crown
has a trefoil appearance, and the hollow between the three
parts of the trefoil receives the pointed cusp of the tooth
below. The second and third incisors of the lower jaw are
indented externally, but " have not the posterior notched
ridge like the upper small incisors" (Odontography,^. 483.)
Bateson mentions the absence of the lower incisors in a dog,
with the presence of eight incisors (four on each side) in the
upper jaw. He notices also a C. vulpes pcnnsylvannica (B.M.)
with 1.2 — 2 in lower jaw, a C. vulpes with five incisors in the
mandible with no socket for a sixth (Schaeff.) In tame dogs
he records one incisor tooth absent on each side in the upper
jaw. It is much rarer to find an increase in the number of
the lower incisors than in the upper (Nehring quoted by
Bateson). The case of a bulldog with a wide-crowned second
incisor is mentioned. The main cusp was partially bifid. An
incisor is rarely absent in the dog ; a case is given by Hensel
(Bateson), in which there were two on each side as in seals.
It would be interesting to know whether the variety above
recorded occurs more frequently in certain breeds of dogs.
Queen's College, Galway.

CURRENT LITERATURE.

Lepidoptera of Co. Westmeath.

A note by Mr. B. L> Middleton in the current number of the Entomologist
(vol. xxxiv., p. 102) shows that there is still work to be done in Irish
Lepidoptera even in so comparatively familiar a field as Co. Westmeath.
Among various interesting species recorded, we note with especial
satisfaction Leitcoma salicis and Eurymcne dolobraria, whose known range in
Ireland had been hitherto confined to Clonbrock, Co. Galway.

190 r. Current Literature. 91

Malarial Mosquitoes in Ireland.

Everyone who lias scanned with any care recent scientific or even
general literature, knows that researches during the last few years by
Ross, Grassi, and others have established the fact that the protozoan
parasites whose presence within human red blood-corpuscles causes
the various forms of ague and malaria, are passed into the system by the
bite of the female gnats or mosquitoes of the genus A/iofiheles. The
asexual development of the parasite is carried on in the human body,
the sexual generation within the body of the insect. It is highly
probable that malarial infection is only conveyed by the bite of Anopheles,
and could this genus of gnats be exterminated, malarial disease would be
completely stamped out. In the first number of the newly-issued Journal
of Hygiene are two papers illustrated with maps and plates on this
very interesting subject. Drs. Nuttall and Cobbett and Mr. Strange-
ways-Pigg write on the distribution of Anopheles in the British Isles in
relation to the former distribution of ague^while Dr. Nuttall and Mr. A.
E. Shipley describe in much detail the structure and habits of the larva
of A. maculipennis. The species of Anopheles are shown to occur in all
those parts of the country which were formerly malarious, but they also
inhabit other parts where there is no record of the former prevalence of
the disease. It seems therefore that Grassi's suggestion that the
distribution of Anopheles and of malarial disease would be found to
correspond throughout the world cannot be sustained. Still there is a
very general agreement between the English counties where ague was
formerly prevalent and those which Anopheles still inhabits. Dr. Nuttall
and his companions believe that the disappearance of ague from these
countries is due to a reduction in the number of Anopheles together
with a reduction in the human population of those low-lying, marshy
districts which were the centres of malarial infection in former times.
The distribution of Anopheles has been tabulated with great care, and
except for Haliday's Co. Down record of the three British species, in
1833, the only Irish entry is a recent capture at Harold's Cross of a female
A. nigripes, which is now in the Dublin Museum,

Underground Crustacea.

In the Linnean Society's Journal {Zoology) vol. xxviii., 1900, pp. T40-
162, pis. 16-18, Dr. C. Chilton gives an interesting account of the
subterranean Amphipoda of the British Isles. There are four species —
three of Niphargus and one of Craugonyx, found in deep wells and other
underground waters. It is remarkable that all seem restricted to the
southern counties of England except Niphargus kockianus, Speuce Bate,
specimens of which, recently collected by Mr. Farrau in wells near
Dublin, were examined by Dr. Chilton. This species occurs also in
Hampshire and Wiltshire in southern England, and at Munich, Bavaria.

9-2 The Irish Naturalist. April,

NOTES.

ZOOLOGY.

Entomological Notes from Abbeyleix.

During the past few months I have made in spare intervals some
acquaintance with the beetles of this neighbourhood. The district is
rather flat and very well wooded, the large demesne belonging to Lord
De Vesci being thickly and widely timbered, and containing many
ancient oaks and hawthorns said to be remnants of the primeval forests
of Ireland. x

In such a locality the wood-boring beetles might be expected to be very
prominent, and notable amongst these are four of the Longicornia: —
Grammoptera ruficomis, G. tabacicolor, Rhagium inquisitor, and Leiopus
nebulosiis. The two species of Grammoptera abound upon the Cow-parsley
in the wood-openings, but tabacicolor is much rarer. Rhagium inquisitor
appears to be common, as I swept three specimens from the hawthorn
blossoms in the month of May. Leiopus nebulosus is represented by one
specimen taken upon the person of a youthful friend who had been
pulling flowers in the demesne. By far the most prominent insects in
the hot summer months were various species of Telephorida — the rarest
and most interesting of these being Telepkorus nigricans v. dUcoideus. I
took a couple of specimens of Podabrus alpinus in my garden, but did not
notice this species anywhere else- Rhagonychia limbata occurred in great
numbers on the Umbel liferae in the woods. Sweeping the hawthorn
blossoms afforded abundance of Malthodes bipustitlatus ; this insect
however seemed restricted to one spot in the woods, as any amount of
searching in other places proved quite disappointing.

Corymbites cupreus cannot be uncommon, as two specimens were taken
here, but a more striking find was made in Elater pomorum which I dug
out of a damp rotting tree-trunk.

I have taken but two species of Silpha — rugosa and at rata v. subrotundata.
The variety of the latter is most abundant, but of the type I have not
seen a specimen. Of the Lamellicornia two examples are prominent.
Melolontha vulgaris simply abounded in May and early June, and the
grubs might be dug out of the ground in quantities. Scrica brunnea might
be taken commonly after rain under the elm trees or in vessels of water
left in the open.

The most remarkable finds amongst the Rhynchophora were Barynotm
Schonerii under a stone at Ballyroan ; Cionus horlulanus, one specimen by
sweeping ; Hylobius abietus, several specimens and apparently very far
from uncommon.

Out of some half-dozen species of Coccinella I notice Halygia xiv. -guttata
as the most remarkable. I found one specimen in an oak opening in
the demesne.

J. Montgomery Browne.

Abbeyleix.

1901. Notes. 93

Corn-Crake in January.

On the 8th January, 1901, a Corn-Crake (jCrex pratensis, Bech.) was

caught alive, not far from the sea at Sydenham, Co. Down. It was turned

out of a hedge by a dog, and only captured after a long chase. It was in

excellent condition when caught, but was so injured by the dog that it

only lived a few days. I examined it in the flesh. It was the cause of

a somewhat humorous correspondence in one of the local papers.

Robert Patterson.
Belfast.

Black-tailed Godwit in Co. Wexford.

In Wexford the Black-tailed Godwit seems to deserve the reputation,
as given to it by Mr. R.J. Ussher (''Birds of Ireland," pp. 306-7), of being
an "occasional visitant" — "a scarce and uncertain bird, much rarer than
the Bar-tailed Godwit." Thus it does not seem to be at all well known
in this county, although Thompson wrote (".Natural History of Ireland,"
i., p. 226) that "in the first week of November, and at other times, a few
have been met with on the coast of Wexford," Of late years the only
record which I can lay hands on of the occurrence of this bird in the
county is that of my friend Mr. E. A. Gibbon, who {Irish Naturalist, 1895,
p. 319) reported one shot on August 24, and another on September 17, 1895,
both near Rosslare, the former on the same day as an Avocet. The last
two occurrences accord well with Mr. Ussher's statement that " August
and September are the months in which Black- tailed Godwits chiefly
find their way to Ireland." " In winter," he adds, " these birds are very
rare, and there is no record for February." It will, therefore, be of some
interest to Irish ornithologists to know that during the past winter
Black-tailed Godwits had been quite numerous in certain parts of the
south-east of Wexford. On December 10th the Rev. Paul F. Kehoe sent
me a specimen with the information that it was "shot in Kilmore last
week. They are very plentiful there at present, and they feed with the
Teal and Widgeon. The men around have not seen it previously, and
sent the specimen to me for identification." These birds seem to have
found congenial quarters in this country, for so late as the 24th January
my correspondent wrote me that having been at Kilmore on the previous
da}r he had seen "a flock of Godwits, numbering perhaps three hundred,
flying around with Plover in all directions-"

This visitation of Black-tailed Godwits seems to have terminated at
about the end of January, for my correspondent wrote me under date of
February 14th that they had " not been seen during the past fortnight."

Enniskillen. G. E. H. Barrett-Hamii/ton.

Smew on Lough Neagh.

Captain Bruce, of the Lodge, Toomebridge, Co. Antrim, has sent me
a female Smew which had been shot on Lough Neagh near that place
in the last week of February.

Holywood. R. L,i«oyd Patterson.

94 The Irish Naturalist. April,

OBITUARY.

GEORGE FRANCIS FITZGERALD, Sc.D., F.R.S.

George Francis Fitzgerald was born in 1851, and was educated privately
at home along with his two brothers until he entered Trinity College,
Dublin, at the early age of sixteen, where he soon showed that he
possessed remarkable ability. Although his name does not appear high on
the earlier honour lists of his class, before the close of his undergraduate
career he had outstripped all competitors, taking his degree as first
Senior Moderator in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, and also in
Experimental Science. In 1877 he was elected a Fellow, and three years
later was appointed Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy,
having been assistant to his predecessor in the chair for some years. His
reputation as one of the rising mathematical physicists of the day had
been by this time fully established in the scientific world by a paper read
before the Royal Society on the " Electro-magnetic Theory of Reflection
and Refraction." Of the many papers he published afterwards the most
important were of a similar description — namely, developing and
extending Maxwell's theory of electricity, especially in connection with
electrical radiation. It was more particularly in recognition of the value
of his researches in this class of work in the field of optics and electricity,
that one of the Royal Medals in the gift of the Royal Society was awarded
to him little more than a year ago.

By Prof. Fitzgerald's death the cause of education in this country has
been deprived of one of its warmest supporters. For many years he
strenuously urged and exerted himself to bring about that reformation
in its primary education, the necessity for which is now generally
acknowledged, and a serious endeavour made to carry out. But nowhere
will his loss be more keenly felt than in Trinity College with which he
was so closely identified for the greater part of his life. In addition to
occupying the chair of Experimental Physics he was Registrar of the
Engineering School— offices which brought him into close contact with
a large number both of the graduates and undergraduates, to whom he
gave every encouragement and facility in his power in their work. His
vast knowledge and rare power of suggestion were just as freely at their
disposal as at that of the most eminent scientist. Much of the important
work which has been done of late years by members of the Trinity
School of Physics owes a great deal to his encouragement and the
valuable advice and assistance which he at all times delighted to give.

Few men have done so much for the advancement and promotion
of science during the past twenty years as Prof. Fitzgerald. His
published papers, valuable as they are, are but a small portion of his
work. He was intimately acquainted with all the work which was done
in physical science, and was in constant communication with many of
the scientific pioneers of the day. His opinion and advice were
constantly asked for and ungrudgingly given. When questions of
difficulty arose, " ask Fitzgerald " was a common expression. It was a

typi. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 95

labour of love with him, and he seemed absolutely indifferent to personal
fame; to enrich science was his object independently of any considera-
tion of self. He practised to the fullest extent what he preached when
he wrote condemning the competitive character of certain examinations
that it "encouraged the motive, already too prevalent, the desire for
glory and gain, and thereby discouraged the more important, because
universally applicable, motive of the ambition to work as well as one
can from a sense of duty, regard for others and love of work."

J- P. J.

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include two Indian Antelopes from Lord Ardilaun, a
number of Pigeons from Mr. G. Patterson, a Badger from Mr. H.
Anderson, and an Oyster-catcher from Mr. R. Warren. Four striped
Hyenas, a Sea Lion, six Monkeys, a pair of Ocelots, and a pair of
Squirrels have been purchased.

DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB.

January 3.— The Club met at Leinster House. The President (Mr.
Greenwood Pim) showed a specimen of White Rust {Cystopus candidus)
on leaves of Cardamine sent to him by Mr. Praeger. The peculiarity
was the great number and very small size of the pustules, which seldom
exceeded ^-inch in length. They usually form on cabbage, &c, the
spots being comparatively few and large.

Mr. W. N. Ai^KN exhibited drawings of Scapania nimbosa and S. orni-
thopodioides, which were ,done ,by him for Mr. M'Ardle's Report on the
Hepaticse of the Dingle peninsula. Specimens of the plants were shown
by Mr. M'Ardle under a low power of the dissecting microscope. Cell
structure, leaf cilia, and budding cells at apex of shoot, under a high
power, to compare with the drawings, were also shown.

Mr. F. M. SEEEENS exhibited living specimens of Hydra viridis and
Hydra fusca obtained from a pond at Sutton, Co. Dublin.

Mr. Chas. Jumeaux (Visitor) exhibited two slides— (1.) Scapania
purpurea, mounted in glycerine jelly, under dark field illumination, with
a view to illustrate the advantages of this form of illumination in bringing
out the natural colours of the objects under examination. (2.) A pre-
paration of " Eno's Fruit Salt" crystallized and mounted in Canada
balsam, and viewed with polarized light.

February 7. — The Club met at Leinster House. Mr. F. M. Sevens
exhibited portion of a leaf of Deutzia scabra which had been bleached in
order to show the stellate hairs by polarized light, and portion of the
back of the leaf of Anchusa Milleri showing peculiar spiked hairs.

March 7. — The Club met at Leinster House. Mr. SEEEENS exhibited
the Sting of a Hornet with poison duct stained.

g6 The Irish Naturalist. April,

Mr. M'Ardi«E exhibited Lejeunea microscopica, Taylor, the minutest of
the British Lejeuneae, which he found in June last, on Mount Brandon,
Co. Kerry, where it was growing on Diplophyllum albicans. He also showed
Dr. Taylor's excellent figure of the plant, which was published in
Hooker's Journal of Botany, p. 97, tab. 20, when he first recorded the
plant as Irish, having collected it near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, growing on
the leaves of Hypnum loreum, 29th January, 1835.

BELFAST NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL

SOCIETY.

February 5 — A meeting was held in the Museum, when a lecture
was given by Professor W. B. Morton, M.A , on the subject of " Colour,"
with experimental illustrations.

March 5. — A meeting was held in the Museum, when a lecture was
given by Mr. Seaton F, Milligan, M.R.I. A., F.R.S.A., on the subject
"Scenery and Antiquities of Sligo. Connemara, and Clare."

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

January 21. — Mr. R. Patterson exhibited a specimen of the Common
Dolphin, taken off Trooper's L,ane last week, and the first recorded
specimen from Belfast Lough. Its length was 5 feet 10 inches. The
chair was taken by the Vice-President (Mr. W. H. Philips). The Hon.
Secretary (Mr. Gray) submitted his report as delegate to the British
Association at Bradford. The report gave a detailed description of the
origin, development, and the present modes of procedure of the British
Association.

Mr. FENNEiyi/ submitted some notes on the work done by the British
Association, and placed on the screen some views of Bradford, and called
attention to the Technical School, its cost and equipment, as forming a
favourable model for the Belfast Institute in man)' ways. The election
of new members brought the meeting to a close.

February 19.— The President (F. J. Bigger, M.R.I. A.), in the chair,
Mr. Henry J. Seymour, B.A., F.G.S., readapaper on" The microscopic
minerals occurring in sands." The paper was confined chiefly to the
examination of sands for mineral constituents, which still possess their
original crystaline outlines, and hence may be recognisable to a beginner
with little or no knowledge of the science of mineralogy. The classes
recommended for stud}- were sea sands, river gravels, and decomposed
rock material occurring in joints in rock masses. By means of lantern
slides the best types of localities for collecting were indicated. On the
sea-shore it was pointed out that the most suitable material for research
was the " black sands," which occur in patches on shores of the Velvet
Strand type, and while consisting chiefly of magnetite, often contained
other heavy minerals, many of them of considerable interest. Mr.
Seymour described the best method of collecting the material for
examination and the various precautions to be observed so as to ensure
that the sample is as concentrated as possible. He also described the
apparatus needed, and the treatment of the samples with a view to the
isolation and determination of the various crystals composing it. A list

1901. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 97

of some of the rare minerals which had been isolated by the writer of
the paper was given, and photo-micrographs of the actual specimens
were thrown on the screen. Some of the crystals were almost ideally
perfect, and much more so than is usually the case with larger specimens
visible to the naked eye. Amongst other rare minerals found by Mr.
Seymour in the sea sands of County Wicklow was gold. Some of the
sands were so rich in this metal that at least one speck could be isolated
from every handful. Though he stated that it did not now occur in
paving quantities, he saw no reason to doubt that it was capable of
profitable extraction by our early predecessors. Mr. Seymour pointed
out the bearing which its proved wide distribution in Irish sands would
have on the vexed question as to the origin of the gold from which our
famous ancient ornaments were made, and urged the members of the
B.N.F.C. to take up the study of sands on the lines indicated, which
might lead to some interesting and unexpected results. Samples of the
sands before and after treatment were exhibited, the apparatus necessary
for research, and mounted specimens of "the minerals obtained in the
form of perfect crystals.

The President exhibited and described some old sun dials, and
suggested that all that is known of the existing old sun dials in the
North of Ireland should be collected and recorded. With this view he
invited descriptive particulars from the members and friends of the Club
who may have, or can procure information about sun- dials of any form
still existing throughout the country.

After a discussion on the two papers submitted, the election of new
members closed the meeting.

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

January 15. — Annual Meeting. — The annual general meeting was
held in the Royal Irish Academy House, Mr. Greenwood Pim (President)
in the chair. Forty-six members and visitors were present. The
minutes of the previous meeting were read and signed. The Committee's
report for 1900 was read ; the following is an abstract : —

Your Committee beg to submit herewith the Fifteenth Annual Report.
At the beginning of the year the Club numbered 177; at the beginning
of 1901 the membership stands at 175, 27 new members having been
elected, and 29 removed from the list. The Winter Business Meetings,
seven in number, have been well attended, the average attendance being
much as in previous years. As usual the papers were fully illustrated
by specimens, microscopic preparations, and lantern slides. The Winter
Session opened with a Conversazione held on November 6th, attended
by 202 members and visitors, including representatives of the Belfast
Club. Of the Summer Excursions arranged for, the attempt to land at
Lambay Island was not successful on account of the roughness of the
sea, and the excursion to Clogher Head was abandoned. The reports
of the Winter meetings and excursions have appeared from time to time
in the pages of the Irish Naturalist. It is a matter of regret that the
work done on the excursions of the year has not been as great as in
many previous seasons, and that those members with leisure do not take

98 The Irish Naturalist. April,

a more active part in the prosecution of some special branch of natural
history. Your Committee acted during the year 1900 on their powers
under Rule XIII., and offered prizes for competitions for collections of
scientific objects. The}7 are glad to report that the response, as regards
the number of candidates, was satisfactory ; but members competing in
future should bear in mind that a stricter adherence to rules is necessary,
and a higher quality of work desirable. The proceedings at both the
Summer and Winter meetings of the Club continue to be reported in
the pages of the Irish Naturalist, and a number of the papers read have
appeared in extenso in that journal. The Committee would again urge
on members the necessity of supporting this Irish Natural History
magazine, by subscribing to it regularly. The Committee regret that
the state of the Club's finances does not allow of a grant being at present
made towards defraying the expenses of publication during 1900, but
they trust that they may be in a position to do this before the end of
the year. The best thanks of the Committee are due, and are hereby
tendered, to the Council of the Rojal Irish Academy for again granting
the Club the privilege of meeting in their House during the year.

The Treasurer's Report showed that all the Club debts for 1900 have
been paid, and that the balance to the credit of the Club at the beginning
of 1901 amounts to ,£8 14*. \\<L, being a decrease of £6 i<\s. 3^. upon the
year.

In moving the adoption of these reports Professor Haddon urged on the
members the importance of subscribing regularly to the Irish Naturalist,
as a firmer financial basis would be established by increasing the
circulation of this magazine. Professor Haddon hoped that the
excursions would be better attended during the coming year, and that
members would avail themselves of the opportunity of doing good and
useful work in the field. Mr. Hinch seconded the adoption of these
reports. The President remarked that on the whole the Reports
were satisfactory. The evening meetings during the year were well
attended and much good natural history work was done.

The officers and Committee for 1901 were elected as follows, no further
nominations having been received : —

President — Greenwood Pirn, M.A., M.R.I.A. ; Vice-President— W. F.
De V. Kane, D.L., M.A., M.R.I.A. ; Hon. Secretaries— C. J. Patten, B.A.,
M.D.; A. L. Otway, B.A. ; Hon. Treasurer— H. K. G. Cuthbert ; Com-
mittee—N. H. Alcock. M.D. ; G. H. Carpenter, B.Sc. ; G. P. Farran, B.A.;
A. H. Foord, Ph.D.; Miss Hensman, Miss Massy, Miss Mahaffy, Miss
M'Intosh, R. LI. Praeger, B.A., B.F,.; J. E. Palmer, H. J. Seymour, B.A.,
F.G.S.; W. J. de C. Wheeler, B.A.

Mr. Seymour proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing officers, Dr.
Foord (Vice-President), and Dr. Alcock (Hon. Secretary), for the services
they had rendered to the Club during the past year. Mr. Cunnington
seconded this motion which was adopted.

Dr. C J. Patten (Hon. Sec.) moved that the best thanks of the Club
be given to the Council of the Royal Irish Academy for so kindly
permitting the Club to hold their winter meetings in its House. The
motion was carried unanimously.

T901. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 99

Mr. Praeger referred to the triennial conference of the Irish Field
Club Union which would take place next June in Dublin.

At the close of the formal business lantern demonstrations were given
as follows:— Mr. Seymour— Three photographs of sea-gulls taken
from nature during the severe snowy weather of February, 1900. Mr.
Praeger — A series of botanical photographs executed (from nature) by
Mr. Welch of Belfast. Professor Haddon — Two series of lantern slides
(a) a series of photographs showing the various positions the wings of
birds assume during flight ; (£) a larger series of photographs of coral
reefs and corals including the peat " barrier reef" of Australia, 1,200 miles
long and 30 miles broad. The following members were elected : — Lady
Shaw, Miss Annie Shaw. R. J. Ussher. J. P.

January 29.— The chair was taken by Professor A. C. Haddon in the
absence of the President. Sixty-one members and visitors were present.
Short papers were communicated by Professor Haddon and Messrs.
Seymour, Praeger, and Haebkrt, the cubject being " Derc Ferna,
the Cave of Dunmore." Mr. Seymour commenced by giving an account
of the structure and formation of caves in general, including those
formed by marine erosion, by wind action, and other agencies. Lantern
slides illustrating the different kinds of caves were thrown on the screen.
Mr. Praeger dealt mainly with the literature of the Dunmore Cave. He
also gave an account of an excursion to Dunmore Cave by Messrs.
Haddon, Seymour, Halbert, and himself last December. Mr. Halbert
described the fauna of the cave, chiefly corresponding to the species
which inhabit Mitchelstown Cave, including spring tails, myriopods, and
spiders ; Professor Haddon spoke on the human remains for which the
cave is celebrated.

These papers will appear hi extenso in the Irish Naturalist.

The papers were discussed by Professor Coi,e, Dr. Patten, Mr.
CunningTon, and Dr. PeThybridge. The following exhibits were
shown: — Mr. Edward Williams— A Pectoral Sandpiper; Dr. G. H. Pethy-
bridge— (a) Pink Yeast ; (b) Fluorescent Bacterium ; Mr. A. L. Otway —
Eggs of Testuck Marginata; Dr. C. J. Patten — Grey and Golden Plover.

Three candidates were nominated for membership.

March 5. — Mr. J. DE W. Hinch read a paper on the High-level Shelly
Drift of the Dublin mountains, which will appear in our pages.

Dr. C. J. Patten contributed some observations on the habits of the
Knot, Tringa canutus. The papers were discussed by Messrs. E.
Wieeiams, A. h- Otway, and R. Lx. Praeger.

The following exhibits were shown and discussed : —

Mr. H. R. Nelson — Various minerals ; Mr. A. Wixuams — (a.) Speci-
men of Spirula peronii from Achill Island ; (b.) Specimens of Scaphander
li^narius from Portmarnock Strand and Dollymount; Mr. E. WiiyiyiAMS —
Specimen of House Sparrow (female), showing abnormal development
of the beak ; Dr. C. J. PaTTEN — Magpie with supernumerary hallux.

Mr. J. H. O'Connell and Miss C. L- Adams were duly elected into the
Club,

ioo The I?ish Naturalist* April, 1901.

REVIEW.

ZOOLOGY OF THE INVERTEBRATES.

Text-book of Zoology, treated from a Biological Standpoint. By
Dr. OTTO Schmeii*. Translated from the German by Rudolph
Rosenstock, M.A. Edited by J. T. Cunningham, M.A. Part III.
Invertebrates. Pp. viii. and 188, with numerous illustrations.
London : A. and C. Black, 1900. Price $s. 6d.

Dr. Schmeil's Text-book in its English dress has been brought to a
commendably prompt conclusion with the issue of the present part, in
which the whole of the invertebrate animals are dealt with. Of course
in the space allotted, only the outlines of so vast a subject can be
sketched, but the descriptions of the animals selected as typical — the
White Butterfly, the Crayfish, the Snail, and the Starfish for example —
are fully up to the standard of the vertebrate sections of the book, the
structural details being brought out with great clearness, and special
stress being laid on the uses of the various parts in the living animal.

From the systematic point of view this part seems to be more
satisfactory than Part 2. The invertebrate Phyla of the animal kingdom
so generally reviewed, are dealt with in turn from the Arthropoda to
the Protozoa, the Sponges being rightly regarded as a Phylum in-
dependent both of the latter and of the Ccelenterates. Certain details
of arrangement, such as the juxtaposition of the Lepidoptera and
Coleoptera at the head of the insects and the intercalation of the
Hydrozoa between the Scyphozoaand Anthozoa among the Ccelenterates
might reasonably be objected to. Perhaps the weakest chapter is that
on the " Worms," only the Annelids, Threadworms, Tapeworms, and
Flukes being mentioned without a hint that there are large and important
classes altogether neglected.

It is unfortunate that several of the insects chosen for detailed
description are scarce or unknown in our islands. This is unavoidable
in such a translation, and as far as the moths and beetles are concerned
the student is warned not to expect to meet these particular species in
his insular rambles. Unhappily the other orders have been less carefully
edited in this respect, and the statement that " on sandy soil . . . we
often come across " ant-lion pits (!) will not commend the trustworthiness
of the book to those who, ignorant of British entomology, begin to use
it practically. Neither will the information that " the most familiar
species [of Hemiptera] is undoubtedly Pyrrhocoris apterus." !

These, however, are minor defects, and the book as a whole, both on

account of its thoroughly "live" treatment of the subject and the

excellence of its illustrations may be warmly commended to students of

animals.

G. H. C

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May, 1901. IO 1

IRISH RED DEER.

BY A. I.OFTUS OTWAV, B.A.
[Read before the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, iSth December, 1900.]

At the present day, though Red Deer exist in the British
Islands in their native haunts, they only do so under strict
preservation, and the race tends to be modified by the influence
of man in some respects. Where shootings are let by the year,
as they often are in Scotland, the lessee naturally desires to
get the best value for his money, or, in other words, to secure
the finest heads, and accordingly he endeavours to kill the
largest stags. A gentleman, who had taken a shooting in
Scotland for a year, proceeded to kill off the animals with the
finest antlers, without caring for the future state of the pre-
serve. The following year, on his inquiring for a shooting of
a London agent, the very estate which he had taken the 3'ear
before was offered to him, and was highly recommended by
the agent ; but the client immediately declined to take what
he had shot over the previous season, saying that he was
tolerably certain that no heads worth having were left there.
Such a practice upsets the natural rule of " the survival of the
fittest," according to which those members of a herd that were
most formidably armed had the best chance of holding their
own and of perpetuating their kind ; the race thus tended to
become finer and better equipped. Under the present
artificial conditions the reverse is the case, as it is the inferior
individuals which are spared ; and it is onl}r by introducing
new blood that the race is saved from deterioration. Owners of
deer-forests and parks are bringing in Wapiti and other allies
of the Red Deer in the hope of improving the native breed,
and, it is said, in some cases, with considerable success.

This leads to the consideration of the importance of the
antlers in determining the character of the race. The fights
between Red Deer are of a very determined and sanguinary
character. Combatant stags retire to a distance of twenty
or thirty yards, and then with lowered heads charge each other
with intense fury, their antlers meeting with a crash. They then
proceed to wrestle, each endeavouring to assail his adversary

102 The Irish Naturalist. May,

with his many-pointed horns, while warding off the attack of
the latter. After a time the charge is renewed ; and it has
occasionally happened that their antlers have got so inter-
locked that the exhausted animals could not disengage them,
and the)r died thus united. Two pairs of antlers have been
found so entangled suggesting this fate.

The combats of the stags have been immortalized by great
painters, as in Landseer's masterpiece, " The Challenge," where
a magnificent Red Deer stands on the water's brink in the
clear night, awaiting the onset of his foe, who is shown in the
distance swimming to encounter him.

The Red Deer delights in great solitudes and wild rocky
fastnesses, where it can not only see no human form, but
where the breeze is untainted by the scent of man. In
Scotland deer-forests exist, as large as whole counties of
Ireland, where many miles may be traversed without meeting
with a human habitation ; but though Ireland possesses great
tracts of mountain and other unreclaimed land, there are
hardly any districts at the present day that do not boast of
some peasants' cottages, however few and scattered these may
be. Accordingly, the descendants of the Irish Red Deer only
survive among the wooded mountains that adjoin the Killarney
lakes, which are strictly preserved, and on the estate of Lord
Maurice Fitzgerald in Wexford. These animals existed in
Co. Mayo up to the time of the famine, but in 1847 the
survivors of this splendid species were killed for food by the
famine-stricken people.

There are records of Red Deer among the papers in Lismore
Castle which show that it was hunted on the Knockmealdown
Mountains in the eighteenth century, both on the Tipperary
and Waterford slopes of the range. There is a tradition that
a lad}7 who owned estates in the latter count)7 used to be
entertained by each of her tenants in turn, when a Red Deer
had to be provided for her from the adjoining Comeragh
Mountains. The former abundance of this species in Ireland
is shown by the presence of its remains in nearly every
kitchen-midden (or ash-pit) of the ancient inhabitants, and in
the alluvial deposits of estuaries, rivers, and bogs.

Mr. R. J. Ussher has found bones and portions of antlers
among the remains of domestic animals and objects of daily

i9oi- Otway. — Irish Red Deer. \ox

o

use in many raths in the Counties of Waterford and Cork, in
the Ardmore crannoge, a lake-dwelling now swept by the
inroads of the sea, and among the sand-hills of Tramore Bay.
The rath-dwellers made much use of deer's horn to form pins,
knife-handles, .spindle- whorls, and other objects, in the manu-
facture of which they were so industrious that antlers are only
to be found in raths in a fragmentary state. Special cooking-
places are scattered over the country which are called by an
Irish name signifying " the roasting of the deer." These are
marked by a blackened patch where the soil, on being turned
by the plough, is found full of charcoal ; and an oven dug in
the ground and lined with sandstone slabs was found at
Cappagh. In such ovens the venison was baked, swathed in
rushes, as is done by savage nations at the present day.

Cooking-places of another type, which are always near
spring-water, are marked by large heaps of burned stones
used as pot-boilers, while the hearth on which the fire was
lighted, and the oak trough in which the venison was boiled,
have been discovered in Co. Waterford.1

The antlers found in the muds and sands of rivers and in bogs
appear to have become embedded entire, and many beautiful
examples are preserved in different parts of Ireland ; but in
some cases the tynes and branches have been worn off, as
though the}* had been exposed longer than the other portions.

In the Ballynamintra bone-cave a considerable number of
Red Deers' bones were found in the grey earth of the second
stratum that contained the remains of the Irish Elk, associated
with human relics'2 ; but the few cervine remains from the
stalagmite which formed the fourth stratum in the above cave,
appear to belong to Reindeer, and in that stratum were also
found bones and teeth of Grizzly Bear.

In the Shaudon bone-cave the principal finds of Red Deers'
remains were in Cullen's chamber, ^where the bones were less
infiltrated with calcareous matter, were lighter in weight, and
had a more recent aspect than those of Mammoth and Rein-
deer from the breccia.8

1 Journal AY. Hist, and Archaol. Assoc.. 1886, p. 390.

2 Sci. Trans Royal Dublin Soc. (2) vol. i., part xiv. , 1880, p. 199.

3 Trans. R. Irish Academy, vol. xxvi., 1S76, pp. 223,224.

A 2

104 The hish Naturalist. May,

Professor A. Leith Adams, who reported on them, remarks
that though remains of Red Deer have been found in the
shell-marl and other sub-turbary deposits in Ireland, they
are far more abundant in the peat, which indicates that this
species became numerous during the deposition of the latter.
The same writer observes that he had not seen Irish antlers
of the size attained by horns from English cave and river
deposits1 though many of the former are very symmetrically
shaped.

During the making of excavations in 1900 in the reclaimed
alluvium south of Wexford Harbour, a remarkable pair of
antlers were discovered about a mile and a half from the
sea, three feet below the surface of the ground, in a bed of
peat containing oak-stumps. Upon this lay sea-mud of a
depth of twelve inches, and above that again nine inches of
surface-soil. Though these antlers (Plate 4) were alone,
several bones and a separate antler were found at another
neighbouring spot ; while not far from the latter a third
find was made of a pair of antlers and a number of bones.
The average depth where the several remains occurred was
four feet, and in each case the)7 were in the layer of peat with
logs of oak in it. The special feature of the first pair of horns
(Plate 4), found in Co. Wexford as mentioned, consists in the
exceptional thickness of beam, which is two and a half inches
in diameter. That of a head in the Science and Art Museum,
measured by Dr. Scharff, is only one inch and a half, while a
very fine pair of antlers with nineteen poins, in the possession
of Messrs. Williams and Sons, have a beam of but two inches
wide. The Wexford specimen even exceeds antlers of Wapiti
in this respect, which have beams two and a quarter inches in
diameter.

It rarely happens that when fossil remains are found, a
record is kept of their position and of the nature of the deposit
in which they are embedded, and thus their place in the
history of the past is left unascertained. Moreover, the
smaller bones, such as those of the carpus and tarsus, and
loose teeth, which are so valuable for determination, are
almost always overlooked or rejected.

Trinity College, Dublin.

1 /'/w, R, LA. (2) Science, vol. iii., 1877, p. 93.

1901. 105

IS THE HOLIvY DKECIOUS?

BY THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH.

In his charming "Memories of the Months'1 Sir Herbert
Maxwell makes the somewhat startling statement that " the
Holly is, as everybody knows, dioecious," or words to that effect.
As I happened not to be one of the everybody who know, I
laid down the book when I came to the passage and resorted
to such authorities as were at hand. As, however, I found in
these no confirmation of Sir Herbert's view, I ventured to
write to him, and to ask him the authority for his statement.
In reply he referred me to Darwin's " Forms of Flowers,"
p. 297. As the passage contains several noteworthy state-
ments I transcribe all of it that refers to the Holly: —

In the several works which I have consulted, one author alone
(Vaucher) says that the Holly is dioecious. During several years I have
examined many plants, but have never found one that was really
hermaphrodite. I mention this genus because the stamens ill the female
flowers, although quite destitute of pollen, are but slightly, and some-
times not at all, shorter than the perfect stamens in the male flowers.
In the latter the ovary is small and the pistil is almost aborted. The
filaments of the perfect stamens adhere for a greater length to the
petals than in the female flowers. The corolla of the latter is rather
smaller than that of the male. The male trees produce a greater number
of flowers than the females. Asa Gray informs me that Ilex opaca, which
represents in the United States our Common Holly, appears (judging
from dried flowers) to be in a similar state ; and so it is, according to
Vaucher, with several other but not with all the species of the genus."

It is not quite clear what Darwin means to convey by
introducing the word "really" before "hermaphrodite." I
take it, however, to be intended to contrast the latter word
with " pseudo-hermaphrodite," which is what the Holly is
according to his description.

With so cautious and practised "an observer, the fact that
Darwin found the authorities all but unanimously opposed to
him only makes it the more probable that he is right, for it
would certainly tend to make him very cautious and exhaustive
in his experiments. At the same time it makes one anxious
to know the result of subsequent investigations carried out
with a full knowledge of the conclusion at which Darwin had
arrived.

106 The Irish Naturalist, May,

Another point to which I wish to draw attention is the
statement that the stamens in the female flowers are " quite
destitute of pollen." This greatly simplifies the primary
question, for it might have been necessary to prove by very
careful and delicate experiments not onl}- that the stamens
produce pollen-grains, but that these are fertile. Now, if it
can be shown that a tree which has borne a single perfect
berry has also produced a single pollen-bearing stamen, the
plant may be monoecious or it may be polygamous, or any of
the modifications of these, but it is not truly dioecious.

It is, perhaps, hypercritical to remark that though Darwin
certainly implies that the Holly is dioecious, speaking, as he
does, of male and female trees, he nowhere states that such is
the case, his only positive statement being that he had never
found one that was really hermaphrodite.

It is notable, too, that the paragraph immediately following
that which I have transcribed begins with the words — "The
plants hitherto described either show a tendency to become
dioecious, or apparently have become so, within a recent
period." May it not well be that the Holly belongs to the
former rather than to the latter category ? In the preface
(p. xvi.) Darwin quotes Mr. Hibberd to the effect that
hermaphrodite plants do occur amongst cultivated varieties
of Holly.

The following are the dicta on the subject of such authorities
as I have at hand : —

Sowerby (vol. ii., p. 221), says of the Ilex " flowers generally
perfect," and of Ilex A qtti folium (the Holly) " flowers frequently
imperfectly dioecious."

Asa Gray, in his " Structural and Systematic Botany," under
the heading, "Suppression or abortion of parts" (p. 261), does
not mention the Holly, but this goes for very little.

In Smith's " English Flora", vol. i.,p. 227, the Holly is stated
to belong to the Linnsean order Tetrandia Telragyuia, which
is, of course, a hermaphrodite one ; but he modifies this
by adding — " sometimes the flowers are 5-cleft, and the germen
is often wanting in some that are 4-cleft. The earlier flowers
least perfect."

Gillet and Magnc, " Nouvelle Flore Franeaise," p. 95,
"Ilex, Fl. reguliere, herni."

1901. Cooke-Trench. — Is the Holly dicccious ? 107

Hooker and Arnott, "The British Flora," p. 272, "Some
flowers destitute of pistil." This agrees with Smith's state-
ment, and would be what Darwin calls andro-dicecious, of
which he says, speaking generally at p. 299, that such plants
are extremely rare or hardly exist. In the preface (p. xviii.)
he gives three exceptions to this rule, but the Holly is not one
of them.

Perhaps the most valuable addition of late years to works
on systematic botany has been Kerner's " Natural History of
Plants." He wrote subsequently to Darwin, and therefore,
with a full knowledge of his researches and consequent
theories; he devotes no less than thirteen pages to an
inquiry into the distribution of sexes. It will, by the way, be
a surprise to some to learn that hermaphrodite flowers, which
many of us have been accustomed -to look upon as the rule,
really comprise little more than a third of all the species of
phanerogamous plants. The remainder, being more or less
unisexual, he divides into no less than fifteen groups, giving
numerous examples of each, but in none of them does he
mention the Holly (half-vol. iii., pp. 288 to 300.) He twice
mentions the Holly in the course of the book, but both times
in relation to its leaves, not to its flowers.

I wonder whether any of the readers of the Irish Naturalist
would join with me in making, during the present season, a
careful search amongst trees that have borne berries for flowers
with pollen-bearing stamens? It would be well that the
grains should be examined under the microscope, in order to
ascertain that they had at least the appearance of being perfect
grains.

Darwin's conclusion that the Holly is dioecious is, as I have
pointed out, founded on his experience that the stamens on a
berry-bearing tree are " quite destitute of pollen." If, there-
fore, it can be shown that this is not always the case, his
foundations are destroyed, the superstructure comes to the
ground- and we are free to consider the question discharged of
the great authority that attaches to his name. But it does not
therefore follow that he was wrong. Writing of pseudo-
hermaphrodite flowers, Kerner mentions a number of such,
and adds, " they have plain well-developed ovaries, and
stamens in whose anthers pollen-grains are found in greater or

108 The Irish Naturalist* May,

less numbers ; but experiments with this pollen have shown
that when deposited on the stigma it emits no pollen-tubes,
and consequently the flowers are not truly hermaphrodite, but
only apparently so . . . their stigmas are not capable of
exciting the emission of pollen-tubes in the ripe pollen
deposited on them." In order to prove that the Holly is not
dioecious, it is necessary to show that pollen-grains from a
berry-bearing tree are capable of emitting pollen-tubes. This
can only be ascertained by experiment, but to this the Holly
lends itself in a singular manner. The blossoms are near the
ends of the twigs — they are axillary and almost, if not altogether,
sessile. Nothing could be easier than to cover a number of
these terminal twigs with gauze bags ; the leaves would keep
these at a sufficient distance from the blossoms to make the
visits of insects impossible. The bags should be put on before
the flowers open. It will then be impossible for these to
become fertilized, except by the pollen of blossoms from the
same twig, or by pollen artificially conveyed to them. When
the flowers are fully expanded, the bags should be removed for
the purpose of applying with a camel's-hair brush the pollen
from another berry-bearing tree, and the bags immediately
replaced. After an interval of a day or two the applied grains
should be carefully examined under the microscope, and if they
are found to have emitted pollen-tubes ; or, better still, if in the
autumn any of these flowers are found to form berries, we may
safely assert that the Holly is not dioecious.

We must, however, be careful not to found too much upon
negative results. The Holly is, from some cause of which
I am ignorant, often a very shy fruiter. This is very
noticeable in the New Forest, where thousands of acres are
covered with Holly, forming as it does the natural underwood
of the Forest. Here occasional trees are laden with berries,
showing that from some source they must have received an
abundant supply of pollen, while their neighbours, for many
yards around, are but sparsely sprinkled with fruit.

The statement of Smith that the earlier flowers are the least
perfect should be borne in mind by experimenters, the later
blooms being selected where practicable. I hope that careful
experiments may throw more light upon the subject.

Millicent, Co. Kildare.

1901. 109

ARMADILLIDIUM PULCHEUAJM, BRANDT.

A WOODEOUSE NEW TO THE BRITISH ISLANDS.

BY R. F. SCHARFF, PH.D., B.SC

(Collected for the R.I.A. Flora and Fauna Committee).

This species belongs to the group sometimes called the Pi 11-
woodlice, owing to their being able to roll themselves into a
perfect little pill-iike ball. The ordinary Irish Pill-woodlouse
(Armadillidium vulgarc) was figured and described in my
paper on the Irish Woodlice {Irish Naturalist, vol. iii., 1894)
Since that date two other species of the same genus, viz.,
A. nasatum and. A. depression, have been discovered in England,
but not in Ireland. I now add a fourth to those already found
in the British Isles.

A. pulchellum in the first instance* differs considerably in
size from those mentioned above, being less than half as long
as any of the other species. Then it is very prettily marked,
the colour being brown with a series of light yellow spots on
the back, while the other species are more or less uniformly
grey. In order to show some of the minor characters by
means of which this species may be distinguished from others,
I herewith give an illustration.

I

I discovered this species in April close to the village of
Ballymote (Co. Sligo) when visiting the district for the Royal
Irish Academy Fauna and Flora Committee. I found about
a dozen specimens, all full grown — about 5 111111. in length —
under stones on the top of a mud- wall. It was there in

no The Irish Naturalist. May,

company with the very common Grey Woodlouse, Porcellio
scaber. The next day we kept a good look out for the species
in the neighbourhood, but only met with some of the common
kinds.

A. pulchellum is a distinctly northern species, having been
taken in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and Belgium.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

NOTES ON THE MOEEUSCA OF CO. EEITRIM.

BY P. H. GRIERSON.

When I began work in April, 1899, I knew nothing about the
subject, and sent all my specimens to Dr. Scharff for iden-
tification, but these few notes may be of interest.

Co. Leitrim is a long rather narrow county with a low rocky
coast-line of nearly three miles between counties Sligo and
Donegal, and extending in a south-easterly direction for
about fifty miles. It is chiefly limestone, covered in most
places with deposits of drift. There are some Coal-measures,
which proved very unproductive from a conchological point of
view. The northern part is very mountainous, and so is the
south-eastern shore of L,ough Allen, where Slieve Anierin
rises to over 1,900 feet; the rest of the county is undulat-
ing with low hills. Lakes and rivers are very numerous,
especially in the southern part. The River Shannon bounds
it for perhaps twenty miles on the south-western side. A very
considerable portion of the county is covered with bog.

During a ramble one afternoon between Mohill and Feenagh
I found the following slugs — most of them were in Feenagh
Churchyard: — Avion atcr^A. subfuscus,A. hortensis, A. circum-
scriptus, Liviax maximus, and Agriolimax agrestis ; later on near
Cloone I found Avion minimus. Vitrina pellucida was common
in the districts of Manorhamilton and Cloone. Of the
Hvali?iice I found H. draparnaldi and H. crystalline/, at Manor-
hamilton, H. alliaria and H. nitidula at Dromahaire, H> pura
at Glencar, H. fulva at Mohill, H. nitida near Dromod, at the
Shannon ; H. ccllaria is common in many places. Of the

1901. GriKRSON. — Notes on the Mollusca of Co. Leitrim. 1 1 1

Helicidcz, H. rotundata is common in most damp places under
stones and leaves, H. rupestris on nearly all the limestone
walls in the southern part of the county, H. pygmcsa under
withered leaves at Mohill and other places. Under a
stone near Cloone I came across two specimens of H. aculeata.
H. aspersa I found at Mohill, Dromahaire, and Carrigallen.
H. nemoralis is common everywhere ; a variety with white lip
is common at Glencar. I found several broken shells of
H. arbustorum at Glencar, but could not find a live specimen.
H. rufescens at The Alt, near Dromahaire. H. hispida common
everywhere.

Buliminus obscurus is to be found in a wall at Lough Gill ;
the only other places I have taken this shell are Ballysadare,
Co. Sligo, and Ballynalacken, Co. Clare, on limestone in each
case. Pupa anglica I found at M-anorhamilton and other
places in wet moss ; P. cylindracea is common everywhere. I
found the following species of Vertigo near Mohill : —
V. pygmcsa, V. edc?itata, and V. substriata. Balea perversa
occurred near Feenagh in a limestone wall ; Clausilia bidentata
is common on walls and trees. Cochlicopa hebrica and Cary-
chium minimum in wet situations, the latter on the roots of
grass. Succinea putris and S. elegans I found near Mohill,
but there is an uncertainty in distinguishing between them.
I found good specimens of Physa fontinalis at Lough Rinn.
The following species of Pla?iorbis were taken between Mohill
and the Shannon: — P. albus, P. spirorbis, P. vortex, P. cari-
natus. P. umbilicatus and P. eontortus ; P. parvus was found
in a limestone quarry near Mohill. In most of the lakes
and rivers are to be found Limncea peregra, L. ovata,
L. stagnalis, L. pa/ustris, L. truneatula, Ancylus ftuviatilis and
Sphcerium corneum. Velletia lacustiis I found in the stream
at Glencar and other places. In the Shannon I took Neritina
flnviatilis, Bythinia tentaeiclata, " Valvata piseina/is, and
V. cristata. The species of Pisidium which occurred com-
prise P.foniinalc, P. milium, and P.pusillum. Anodonta cygnca
is common in the lakes and canals in the southern part of the
county ; the finest specimens I got were from a pond at Mohill
Rectory.

Clondalkin, Co. Dublin.

ii2 The Irish Naturalist. May,

NOTES ON IRISH CLADOCERA.

BY W. F. DK V. KANE, M.A.

The publication of that most valuable work " Cladocera
Suecica" by Wilhelm Lilljeborg will give a great stimulus to
the study of this group of the Entomostraca, illustrated as it
is by 87 plates of large and beautifully- executed figures. No
less than 21 plates are devoted to the most perplexing genus
Bosmina. A cursory examination of the text and plates
induces me to send a short memorandum relating to certain
Irish species, which during the past two years, I have met with.
Prof. Lilljeborg has sunk the specific name of Bosmina
Lilljeborgii G.O.S., and made it a varietal name of B. mixta
(nov. nom.) of which he describes another variety humilis;
and byre-examination of a number of the specimens collected
in Lough Erne it would seem that the Irish form offers some
characters of specialization, and on the whole approaches
more nearly to the new variety humilis than to that named by
Sars after Lilljeborg. The distinctive characteristics of the
latter are set down as having the shell as high as it is broad ;
a concavity in the contour behind and above the head ; and
the rostra as long or scarcely shorter than the length of the
shell. The Lough Erne Bosmina rarely shows the concavity,
and is frequently of greater breadth than height, and the rostra
usually are not of the prescribed length. On the other hand
it differs from both varieties, especially humilis, in having the
postero-ventral shell-spines almost absent, thus approaching
the species B. coregoni Baird.

Another Lough Erne cladoceran, Bythotrephes Lilljeborgii
(now B. Cedcrstroemii Schoedler), is most exhaustively
illustrated, and there can be no doubt of the identity of our
species. Similarly, Lilljeborg throws further light upon the
two species of Diaphanosoma, hitherto named with some
hesitation ; and it would appear that both have been correctly
recorded from Ireland, D. brandtianum now being referred
to D. leuchtcribergianum Fisch. A notable feature of fche book
is the careful distinction made between the varying forms of
the Bosminidcz and other genera at different seasons of the
year. If these seasonal variations prove to be relatively

i9or. News Gleanings. 113

constant, the study of certain members of the group may
become more hopeful of results. It is therefore most
satisfactory to find a long series of illustrations of Bosmina
longispina and B. lo?igirostris, so that we may henceforth hope
to get some firm footing when trying to differentiate these
unstable forms. The same may be said of the Cejiodafifmicz,
a genus which much required elucidation. The vexata qucestio
of the helmeted forms of Daphnia has also received careful
stud}7 ; D. lacustris G.O.S., Jardinii Baird, galeata G.O.S..
and kahlbergensis Brady, being grouped as sub-species or
varieties of D. hyalina, an arrangement as to which much may
be said and written ; and probably onry the careful comparison
of a large number of the various forms from various countries
may bring about any general consensus of opinion. In L,ough
Erne a well-marked race of D. lacustris var. galeata swims in
company with shoals of equally characteristic specimens of
D. kahlbergensis, the former being always at least double the
size of the latter.

Drumreaske, Monaghan.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

Royal Irish Academicians.

In the first batch of members elected into the Royal Irish Academy
under the new rules, natural science is well represented, zoology by Mr.
Robert Patterson, of Belfast, and botany by Dr. E. J. M'Weeney, of
Dublin. The other new members are the Right Hon. Justice Madden
and two well-known Fellows of Trinity College, Mr. M. W. J. Fry and
the Rev. W. K. Westropp Roberts.

Mr. F. Neale and the Limerick Field Club.

Mr. Francis Neale, so well-known to Irish naturalists as the Hon.
Secretary from its foundation of the Limerick Field Club, is leaving the
south-western city for Belfast. He has been presented with a substantial
and well-deserved testimonial by the members of the Club, whose success
has owed so much to his untiring energy. We wish him all prosperity
in his new sphere of work in the North, and we hope that the Limerick
Club will secure the services of as energetic an officer as he has proved
himself to be.

ii4 Ma>*»

NOTES.

GEOLOGY.
Erosion at Newcastle, Co. Down.

Eight }-ears ago I drew attention to the encroachment of the sea on
the north-west coast of County Down, as shown by the position of an
old windmill pump, near Cultra (ZrisA Arat., vol. ii., Nos. ] and 2, 1893).
It was then surrounded by the sea at high tide, but in 1825 it marked the
centre of a quarry of Triassic sandstone. The greater part of this old
landmark was blown down in the great storm of December, 1S94, and
only seven feet of the old shaft now remains. The same county furnishes
on its south-eastern coast another very small but interesting landmark
bearing testimon}' to considerable erosion.

As the tide recedes at Newcastle a band of wrack-covered stones about
a hundred feet wide, locally known as the Black Island, comes into view.
It is about four hundred feet long, and extends from opposite the
Constabulary Barracks to within three hundred feet of the ruined
harbour. This band of stones, I have been assured by more than one of
the oldest inhabitants of Newcastle, marks the position of laud on
which houses and gardens stood a century ago, with a sea-embankment
in front. The stump of a thorn tree, two feet high, and nearly a foot in
diameter, still remains, a solitary landmark, to recall for us the gardens
of the past. Its distance from the present sea-wall is 350 feet. Fairly
clear when seen more than a }rear ago, it is at present so covered with
sea-wrack as to be barely distinguishable from the surrounding boulders.
The first inroad of the sea is said to have been so sudden that a child
was washed away in his cradle, but was afterwards happily recovered
uninjured. The site of a house 120 feet from the present sea-wall has
also been pointed out to me, and its position is confirmed by an old map
of Newcastle, dated 1814, which shows houses on the sea side of the road,
near the Black Island, but not so far out. I am indebted to Mr. Moore
Garrett for above information regarding the map.

At low tide two semicircles of stones can be traced on either side of the
projecting point of contorted Ordovician, known as Black Rock, but
these are connected with former fisheries, and are quite distinct from
Black Island. Round the north and north-west coasts of Dundrum Bay,
the terrace of raised sea-beach shows evidence that the land has been
upraised in recent geological time, but the sea is again asserting its
power, and before it levels the old thorn stump I thought a note of its
position in Dundrum Bay might prove of geological interest.

Mary K. Andrews.
Belfast.

i9oi- Notes. 115

ZOOLOGY.

Vanessa io in Co. Sligo.

In reference to the note on V. io in the March Irish Naturalist, let me
say that in last September I saw this insect in greater numbers in the
district about Rosses Point (Co. Sligo) than I have yet seen in any part
of Ireland. Beneath the inland slopes of Ben Bulben, in particular, it
simply swarmed, and I have counted as many as six within a distance
of a few feet. James S. Starkey.

Rathmines.

Black-tailed Godwit in Co. Wexford.

On reading in the Irish Naturalist for April (p. 93) Captain Barrett ■
Hamilton's notes on the occurrence of the Black-tailed Godwit in Co.
Wexford, I was surprised at the large numbers supposed to have been
seen, and for many reasons am inclined to think that his informant has
been mistaken, and thought the large flocks flying about were Black-
tailed Godwits instead of the commoner and more numerous Bar-tailed ;
firstly, from the fact that we have no record of the Black -tailed
Godwit visiting Ireland in large numbers, only small parties being met
with, or solitary individuals seen amongst the Bar-tailed flocks ; and
secondly, from the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of distinguishing
them when associating with the Bar-tailed, unless sufficiently near
for the white base of the tail feathers to be seen or the black
baud across their ends. When in flight the white bar of the
secundarus across the wing is also a mark of distinction, but still is
not easily seen on a bird flying in the middle of a large flock of the other
species, Thompson does not mention any large flocks being met with
in his time. In this district the Bar-tailed Godwit is a very rare and
irregular visitor, and, although I have been shore-shooting and punt-
shooting for many 3-ears past, I have very few notes of its visits. In
March, 1859, when in my punt near the Island of Banuros, near Bartragh,
I saw a bird in company of some Bar-tailed Godwits, and my attention
was attracted by the white base of the tail feathers. In May, 1863, a
specimen in full summer plumage was shot by Mr. Hanly near Belleek,
on the tidal part of the river, and on the 6th of November, 1S76, I got a
shot at some Lapwings and Redshanks, picking up a Bar-tailed Godwit.
a Black-tailed Godwit in winter plumage, and thirteen Lapwings and
thirteen Redshanks. I did not recognise the Black-tailed until picking
up the dead birds after the shot.

On the 29th June, 187S, when down near Bartragh in my punt, I
observed a lovely pair of these birds in full summer plumage ; they were
among a lot of Bar- tailed Godwits.

The last occasion of a visit of this species was on the 3rd of September,
1881, when a fine specimen was shot near Rosserk Abbey by the late Mr.
Wm. Jackson, of Kelanly. Since that date I have neither seen nor heard
of any visiting this district, although Mr. A. C. Kirkwood is also
keeping a keen look-out for an}7 visitors to the bay or estuary.

Moyview, Ballina. Robert Warren,

n6 The Irish Natura list. May, 1901.

The Grey Phalarope.

I read with interest Dr. Patten's excellent article on this bird in the
March number of the Irish Naturalist ; and looking up my own notes I
find five records of it within the last twenty years, viz. : —

On 26th October, 1S81, Mr. Frank Griffin brought me one which had
been shot on the foreshore of the lough that day. It was one of two
together.

On 6th October, 1883, my nephews, Robert Patterson and W. E.
Praeger, brought me one which had been shot on the lough near Grey-
point that day.

On 18th October, 1891, Captain Bruce, of Toomebridge, sentmeone which
had been shot on Lough Neagh a day or two previously ; and he
mentioned that he had got a similar bird about five years before.

On the 20th October, 1891, Mr. D. C. Campbell, of Derry, wrote me that
he had seen two Grey Phalaropes, one shot on the shore of Lough Foyle
near Greencastle, Co. Donegal, on 10th October: and the other caught
alive " up the road" near the same place a few days later. It will be
noticed that all these occurrences took place in October, and the three
ast within a week ; one in Co. Down, one in Co. Antrim, and three in Co.
Donegal; one in fresh and four in salt water.

R. Lloyd Patterson.
Holywood.

IRISH SOCIETIES.

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a Godwit and a Knot from Mr. R. Warren, and
three White Swans from Sir J. F. Dillon.

BELFAST NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL

SOCIETY.

April 2. — A meeting was held in the Museum, when a lecture was
delivered by Grorgr Coffry, M.R.I. A., on the "Antiquity of Man
and the Dawn of Art."

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

March 19. — The Vice-President, Mr. W. H. Phillips, read a paper
entitled "My Hobby about Ferns, and its Results; Personal Remi-
niscences."

April 16.— Mr. A. M'l. ClRland read a paper on " A Recent Tour of
the Roman Wall," illustrated by lantern slides.

June, 1901. urj

A NOTE ON A BEAKED WHALE,

MksopIvOdon Hectori, Gray.
by professor r. j. anderson, m.d.

There is in the Museum of the Queen's College, Galway, a
skeleton of a Beaked Whale. The nippers are, however,
wanting. The vertebrae are C. 7 (3 fused), D. 10, L,. 11,
C. 17 + ? Seven ribs have two heads; there are seven
hypaxial (chevron bones) remaining, and four holes in the
sternum. The length is twelve feet four inches, the head
being two feet six and a half inches long (the entire length
before cleaning was fourteen feet). One conical slightly-
edged tooth remains in the right mandibular socket, which is
one inch long from before back, and.three-eighth inch wide ;
the tooth fills the socket anteriorly, and projects forwards.
There are no other teeth in the mandible behind this tooth,
but a marked seam-like groove runs back from the large
socket for the distance of one foot, that is for nearly half the
length of the lower jaw, which is twenty-five inches long. The
premaxilla would count twenty-four inches, allowing for a
portion which is wanting. The lower jaw-symphysis is five
inches long. The eburnated premaxillae reaching upwards
enclose at the sides, and partially above, the rostral groove or
canal, in which the vomer and mesethmoid cartilage appear.
The roof of the groove is incomplete above for the breadth of
a quarter — one inch. The vertical measurement of the groove
or antrum is two inches at a distance of two inches in front of
nares, one inch at eight inches in front of nares, and a quarter
inch at a distance of fourteen inches. Transverse measure-
ment is one and a quarter inches near the nares, and a half
inch at a point fifteen inches further forwards. The opening
is one quarter of an inch wide at fourteen inches in front of
the nares. Premaxillae are directed upwards, backwards,
upwards, and then forwards. The nasals are deeply grooved
or hollowed in front. The distance from the anterior end of
the frontal to the tip of the tooth is twenty inches. It is
eleven and a half inches from the outer edge of one maxilla to
the outer edge of the other. The nasal bones, which are not
united, differ in size ; the right is somewhat larger (longer,

A

n8

The Irish Naturalist.

June,

wider, and higher) than the left, and rises about one quarter
of an inch above the level of the premaxilla of its own side.
These bones are behind the premaxillae, which curl round the

Fig. I. Cranium of Mersoplodon Hectori from above. Fig. 2. Lateral view.
Fig. 3. From beneath. (The anterior fifth of the rostrum should have
been drawn with broken lines, to show the part that is wanting.)
Fig. 4. Cranium of Orca gladiator from above. Fig. 5. From beneath.

convex anterior inner surface of the maxillae. The pterygoids
unite in the middle line and have the palates appearing in
front and internal to them, so that the anterior ends of the

i9oi. Anderson. — A Note on a Beaked Whale. 119

pterygoids are external to the palatines. The free nasals seem
to point to a relationship different to that of Ziphius, although
the other characters, especially the number of the vertebrae,
bring this Beaked Whale under consideration into line with
the latter genus. The arching of the premaxillae over the
nares is slight, The nasals are small, and do not arch, and
other characters seem to preclude the Berardius type. The
apex of the tooth is directed forwards and slightly upwards.
Hyperoodon is excluded by the characters of the skull.

Mesoplodon Hectori, Gray, has one tooth at the apex of each
mandible, and a narrow rostrum. Therefore of the types of
Mesoplodon found in northern seas the above type approaches
most nearly Berardius and Ziphius, and is most like the
specimen here described. The tooth socket seems large for
the tooth. The ununited nasals would point to a resemblance
to an immature specimen of Ziphius eavirosfrum, Cuv.

The tooth of Mesoplodon bidens is situated near the hinder
end of the mandibular symphysis, and is compressed. The
vertebral formula is C. 7, D. 10, L- 10, Cau. 19.

Mesoplodon australis has a tooth near hinder end of
symphysis, and the palatines outside the pterygoids. In
M. dentirostris the tooth is on a prominence, and the palatines
surround the anterior end of the pterygoids. The only
Mesoplodon with apical teeth seems to be M. Hectori.

The specimen was at first supposed to be a Ziphius. The
works of Flower, Lydekker, and Beddard, and a paper by Gray,
have been examined, as well as Dr. Scharff's thankworthy
memoir, which has tempted me to send this note with the
accompanying outline sketches. A portion of the skull of a
Killer Whale is figured for comparison with the Duck Whale.
The former was forwarded here by the divisional officer of the
coastguards for Gal way, with the subjoined letter from Mr. C.
Barrett, of the Coastguard, Bally vaughan, Co. Clare : —

"Whilst on Cruit Island, Donegal Bay, in the year 1885, I discovered a
collection of bones. Prompted by curiosity, I made inquiries and found
that the bones had been there for a great number of years. An old
resident, who was 70 years of age, informed me that the said bones were
there when he was a small boy. Among the bones was one very much
larger than the others ; it was about twelve feet in length, said to have
been the back-bone belonging to some strange animal."

Queen's College, Galway.

A 2

120 The Irish Naturalist. June,

HIERACIUM SENKSCENS, BACKH.
IN IRELAND.

BY REV. C. H. WADDEUv, B.D.

I am glad to be able to report the occurrence of this rare
Hawkweed in Ireland. Early last season I spent a day in
Toliymore Park, Co. Down, 13th June, 1900. It was rather
early for Hawkweeds, and onfy three species were met with
coming into flower, Hicracium arge?ite7imy Fr., H. flocculosum ,
Backh., and H. senescens, Backh. My friend, Mr. S. A. Stewart,
named the two former, but did not know the last plant. It was,
therefore, sent to the Botanical Exchange Club, and Mr.
Hanbury kindly examined it, and says it is undoubtedly H.
senescens, and an interesting addition to the Irish Flora.

This species belongs to the Alpina group of Hawkweeds, the
headquarters of which is Scandinavia, and, in these isles,
Scotland ; and no member of this group has hitherto been
found in Ireland. The group is divided into two sections
Alpina gcnuina, smaller plants with solitary heads, and Alpina
nigrescentia intermediate between the true alpines and the
later groups, and remarkable for the dark pubescence on the
heads and peduncles.

H. sc7iesccns was described first by Backhouse in his Mono-
graph, and has not been found out of Scotland, where it grows
on alpine cliffs and by mountain streams in six counties —
Fife, Perthshire, Inverness, Forfar, Aberdeen, and Dumbarton.

It is strange that it should have so long escaped notice at
Toliymore Park, which has often been visited by botanists. I
can only account for the fact by its not being a very con-
spicuous species, unless to those well acquainted with the
group, and perhaps to its early season of flowering in this
sheltered place at a low elevation.

I collected four plants of it in flower on the Ordovician
rocks by the Shimna river in the lower part of the Park, but,
not knowing what it was at the time, did not trace out its
distribution'further.

Saintfield, Co. Down.

1901. 121

ON SOME FORMS OF RHINANTHUS NEW TO

THE BRITISH FLORA.

BY G. CI,ARIDGE DRUCE, M.A., F.I,.S.

A wKH-known Austrian botanist, Dr. J. von Sterneck, has
for some time been studying the genus Rhinanthus, for which
however he uses the name AlectorolopJms, and I have recently
sent him some of my herbarium sheets for his determination.
His examination of these shows that three, to which he gives
specific rank, are additions to the flora of Great Britain and
Ireland. The first of these is one which he identifies as
Alectorolophus stenophyllus Schur, Enum. PI. Transs. Index.
I collected it at Glengariff, Co. Cork, in 1890, and I have
specimens from Lough Owel, Westmeath, collected by W. R.
Linton in 1895, and from Bog of Lynn, Mullingar, collected
by H. C. Levinge in the same year. Both of these were
distributed through the Exchange Club under the name of
R. Crista- galli L-, var. fallax Wimm and Grab. Dr. von
Sterneck refers both of them to stenophyllus. I have also
stenophyllus from East Ross, West Ross, Easterness, Wester-
ness, and South Aberdeen, &c, in Scotland, and from
Berkshire, so that probably it is widely distributed. It is the
Rhinanthus Crista-galli var. angustifolius of my published
notes. According to our views of nomenclature it is
Rhinanthus stenophyllus Schur, Enum. PL Transs., p. 512. In
the "Index Kewensis" it is put as a synonym of Rhinanthus
minor Ehrh. Beitr. vi., 144 ; but under the genus Rhinanthus
in the same work, Rhinanthus Crista-galli Linn, is said to
equal major and minor, and R. minor is kept as a species apart
from R. major, while R. Crista-galli is simply put in italics ;
yet in treating of the genus Alectorolophus, while A. Crista-galli
Bieberstein is said to equal Rhinanthus Crista-galli (put in
Roman letters as a distinct species), Alectorolophus minor
Dumort. is said to equal R. minor, and A. mi?ior Reichb. is
said to equal R. Crista-galli. That is, under the genus
Rhinanthus, R. major and R. minor only figure as distinct, and
R. Crista-galli sinks to a synonym, yet under Alectorolophus
all three are given specific rank.

122 The hish Naturalist. June,

Alectorolophus minor Dumort. = Rhinanthus minor Ehrh.
Beitr. vi., 144, is a very widely distributed form in Britain,
which I have from Co. Antrim, West Ross, South Aberdeen
(as a narrow-leaved form growing at 800 feet), and it is the
prevailing plant in Anglesey and Carnarvon. A stout form
from Oxford and Berks is my var. fallax Koch, but which does
not appear to be recognised by Sterneck, who simply calls it
A. minor. It also is found in Buckinghamshire, Northamp-
tonshire, Bedfordshire, Middlesex, &c. The " R. major" of
Mr. Saunders' collection from Harlingtou in Bedfordshire is,
according to Sterneck, only minor, as are the Lincolnshire
specimens labelled R. major collected and distributed by J.
S. Rowse. R. minor ascends to 1,000 feet at L,lanberris and
800 feet at Ballater and Gloucestershire, but doubtless reaches
higher elevations. Dr. J. von Sterneck gives specific rank to
Dr. Buchanan White's variety Drummond-Hayi, which I have
from Forfar, Perth, and West Ross, and which ascends to over
3,000 feet in Perth.

1 have Alectorolophus major Reichb. (=Rhina?ithtcs major
Ehrh. 1. c.) from East Ross, from Bodorgan, Anglesey, and
with some doubt from Buckinghamshire. I found Alectoro-
lophus borealis Sterneck in " Ann. du. Cons, et du Jard. Bot. de
Geneve," 1899, p. 25 (=Rhinanthus borealis) at high elevations
2,200-3,000 feet on the mountains of Perth and Argyll, and
noted at the time "a variety, but not Drummond-Hayif
Alectorolophus monticola Sterneck {=■ Rhinanthus monticola) I
found on the Black Isle of Cromarty near the coast, and at
Invercauld, South Aberdeen, at above 1,500 feet elevation.

High-street, Oxford.

1901. 123

REVIEWS.

BRITISH BIRDS.

A Hand-book of British Birds, showing the distribution of the
resident and migratory species in the British Islands, with an index
to the records of the rarer visitants. By J. B- HarTing, F.L.S.,
F.Z.S., member of the British Ornithologists' Union. New and
revised edition, with thirty-five coloured plates, carefully repro-
duced from original drawings by the late Professor Schlegel.
London, 1901 : John C. Nimmo. Pp. xxxi. + 520. Price £2 2s.
net.
The second edition of Mr. Harting's hand-book far surpasses the first
edition both in size and general attractiveness. The number of pages
has been trebled ; and the addition of thirty-five coloured plates, repre-
senting the heads of 267 species, will make the book deservedly popular.
The plates are beautifully executed, and contain nearly 500 figures — so
as to show, where necessary, the distinction between old and young,
male and female, and summer and winter plumage. For the matter, Mr.
Harting's life-long services to zoology are a sufficient guarantee of its
general trustworthiness, and render superfluous any attempt to enumerate
the merits which are always discernible in what he writes.

The book is divided into two parts, of which Part I. is devoted to
" British birds properly so-called," while Part II. serves the purposes of
a capacious appendix, to which are relegated "rare and accidental
visitants." The dividing line between the two classes thus separated is
not an easy one to draw. Mr. Harting includes the Roller and Bee-eater,
Purple Heron, Night Heron, Little Bittern, and Glaucous and Iceland
Gulls, in the category of " British birds properly so-called"; and so treats
of them in Part I., while consigning to Part II. the Greenland and Iceland
Falcons, Snowy Owl (which he characteristically calls "Snow Owl"),
and Squacco Heron. The object of this arrangement — in some respects
an inconvenient one — is to separate those species of which it is worth
while to enumerate every occurrence from those that are treated of in a
more general way ; and from this special point of view there is a good
deal to be said in its favour. Yet it may well seem strange to readers in
Ireland, where the Purple Heron has occurred once, and the Snowy
Owl upwards of thirty times.

The classification followed is that of Yarrell's " History of British
Birds," fourth edition. To some this will appear like a perverse rejection
of the system more generally followed since the appearance of Saunders'
" Illustrated Manual," and the complaint that reference is rendered diffi-
cult by adherence to the older order, has recently been made in the pages of
this Journal with respect to another book. But it appears to the present
writer that so long as the fourth edition of Yarrell retains its recognised
pre-eminence as the best extant work on British birds, so long will it

124 The I? ish Naturalist. June,

remain a practical necessity for all ornithologists to be familiar with the
order followed in that work — as well as with that adopted by Mr.
Saunders ; and while this is so, they can experience no great difficulty
in consulting books in which either of these two orders is adhered to.
Mr. Harting, in his introduction (pp. xv.-xix.), gives reasons for his
retention of the older system— amongst others, that he cannot bring
himself to accept a classification which sets the Swallows and Swifts far
apart, when he believes them to be closely related.

Since there are so many reasons why Mr. Harting's book is sure to be
largely consulted, it is the more deeply to be regretted that his informa-
tion on Irish ornithology is by no means up-to-date. It is obvious on
the most cursory glance that a great part of the book was written with-
out any reference to Mr. Ussher's recent volume ; and from internal
evidence it can easily be gathered that the first 127 pages (Part I. to end
of Colnmbcc) had unfortunately been printed off before "The Birds of
Ireland" had appeared. Nor are the deficiencies confined to the birds
dealt with in those pages, for though Mr. Ussher is quoted with regard
to the Black Grouse and other Galli7nc, we suspect that from this point
to end of Limicolcc the proof-sheets had to be somewhat hurriedly
altered to suit printers' exigencies ; and it is only in dealing with the
ducks and sea-fowl that Mr. Harting has been able to avail himself fully
of Mr. Ussher's work, with the result that we find very few inaccuracies
in that part of his volume.

While allowing that the want of Mr. Ussher's excellent book was a
serious disadvantage, it is still impossible to acquit Mr. Harting of some
carelessness in his consultation of the records that were available to him.
We particularly regret to see that his references to Mr. More's well-
known " List of Irish Birds " are all to the frst edition of that publication
(1885). The second edition, published in 1890, is mentioned in the biblio-
graphy ; but Mr. Harting has, nevertheless, omitted to consult it. He
has thus failed to discover that the Lapland Bunting, which he describes
as " unknown in Ireland," occurred at the Fastnet Lighthouse in October,
1S87. From the same source he might also have learnt that the Pied
Flycatcher has been obtained in this country considerably oftener than
he supposes. Of the eight examples now known to have occurred, five
were particularized by More in 1890 — and Mr. Harting mentions only
two.

The Woodchat Shrike, Bartram's Sandpiper, and Sociable Plover, are
three species whose occurrences in Ireland, besides that of the Lapland
Bunting already noted, Mr. Harting ignores in the text of his work.
The omission of the Sociable Plover is, however, acknowledged as an over-
sight in the Introduction (foot-note to p. ix). The occurrence of the
Woodchat was chronicled in the Ibis for January, 1899 (p. 158). Of the
two Irish occurrences of Bartram's Sandpiper, one was recorded in More's
"List of Irish Birds,"1 and the other in the Irish Naturalist for June,

1 Mr. Harting may have considered the antecedents of this example
doubtful.

1901. Reviews. 125

1895 (vol. iv., p. 166), The Sociable Plover, needless to say, formed the
subject of an interesting article in this Journal, by Mr. E. Williams, in
November, 1899 (vol. viii. , p. 233).

Many other instances might be given of the way in which records of
rare birds obtained in Ireland have been overlooked. The author quotes
only one Irish occurrence of the American Robin, whereas a second was
recorded in this Journal by Mr. Ussher in 1896 (vol. v., p. 214). This
omission is the more important, since Mr. Harting, here differing from
both Mr. Ussher and Mr. Saunders, considers that Tardus migratorius may
fairly be claimed as a genuine though rare straggler to our shores. Of the
White-winged Black Tern only three Irish-taken examples are enumerated
the author omits both the specimens now in the Dublin Museum, though
one of these, shot at Cappagh in May, 1875, is mentioned in More's list,
and the other, killed at Newmarket-on-Fergus in June, 1893, is noticed
in the Irish Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 253. Mr. Warren is credited with having
obtained one Surf Scoter, instead of two, in the winter of 1896-7 (see I.N.
vol. vi., p. 59); the Little Bustard shot in 1S92 in Kerr)-, and seen in the
flesh by A. G. More, is omitted {I.N, vol.* ii., p. 56); and so are two
Snowy Owls recorded in this Journal (vols, ii., p. 25, and iii., p. 24).
These and similar oversights are the more misleading, from the fact that
the Irish Naturalist is frequently quoted, showing that its records have
been consulted in a hasty and imperfect manner. That the second Irish
occurrences of the Barred Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat, more recently
published, have been ignored, may go without saying ; the former,
however, is noticed in its proper place in Saunders' "Manual," as well as
in the Irish Migration Reports. The Two-barred Crossbill shot in Co.
Antrim in 1867 is referred to as identical with the example recorded in
the Zoologist for 1868 (p. 1376), and enumerated in More's list as obtained
in Co. Dublin. Mr. Ussher has pointed out (" Birds of Ireland," p. 74),
that these were two independent occurrences, and ought not to be
confounded.

Of the Mealy Redpoll, Mr. Harting omits the interesting fact that
several Irish specimens have been referred to the Greenland form, Linota
rostrala. On the other hand, he treats the " Parrot Crossbill " as a
distinct species, but gives only one instance of its occurrence in Ireland.
Yet he had seen A. G. More's record of another {Zool.} 1892, p. 76), for at
page 90 he cites this note as evidence that More considered the bird a
good species. We may add from personal knowledge that More wrote
the note in question without any idea of conveying such an opinion, an
opinion which in fact he did not hold. Mr. E. Williams has stated (Zool.,
1891, p. 112), that the Parrot Crossbill occurred numerously in Ireland in
1890.

Another bird treated in this work as a distinct species is Pallas' Grey
Shrike, Lanius major. Mr. Harting considers it an extremely rare visitant,
and quotes only four British occurrences, none of them being Irish.
The fact that both the Grey Shrikes in the Dublin Museum belong to
this race is mentioned in More's list ; the only Grey Shrike in Mr. R. M.

126 The Irish Naturalist. June,

Barrington's collection is also Lanius major ; and More, in one of his
letters to Prof. Newton, since published, stated in 1885 that he had no
certain proof of the occurrence of any other form in Ireland (" Life and
Letters of A. G. More," p. 324).

It must be added that Mr. Harting's information on the breeding-
ranges of birds in Ireland is lamentably defective. Mr. Ussher's
admirable Report on this subject, presented to the Royal Irish Academy
in 1894 (Proc, 3rd Ser., vol. iii., No. 3), would have sufficed to show him
that the Whinchat, Redstart, Garden-Warbler, Wood- Wren, Yellow
Wagtail, Woodlark, Tree Sparrow, Siskin, Crossbill, Jay, and Stock-dove
have been found nesting over a wider area than he supposes ; and the
information contained in that paper was further brought up-to-date by
an article on the same subject in the Irish Naturalist for March, 1897 (v°l-
vi., pp. 64-73).

Another serious fault is the number of doubtful and discredited Irish
records which Mr. Harting has allowed to retain their places unchallenged.
The Red-breasted Goose and Brunnich's Guillemot, long ago turned out
of our list by A. G. More, as well as the Reed Warbler and Ortolan,
rejected for substantial reasons by Mr. Ussher, reappear in Mr. Harting's
book without the slightest hint of their records being open to suspicion.
Birds which were originally recorded as having been seen are frequeutly
enumerated in words which might seem to imply that they had been
obtained, e.g., the White Wagtail alleged to have been observed near
Wexford (Zoo/., 1866, p. 95) ; and worse still, the " Ivory Gull " said to
have beeu seen in the heart of Dublin city, just above Grattan Bridge,
on April 19th, 1892 (Zoo/., 1892, p. 228). Mr. Warren pointed out at the
time that no weight could be attached to this statement, as the bird was
not obtained; and the present writer remembers that a white- mantled
specimen of the common Larus ridilmndus had frequented that part of the
Liffey not long prior to the date specified for the " Ivory Gull."

The re-publication of these discredited stories would be no fault, but the
reverse, if the doubts attaching to them had also been stated. Mr.
Harting has included in his Part II. a notice of the American Goldfinch
shot by Mr. Sheridan in Achill Island on September 6th, 1894, and here
he concisely gives his reasons for believing that it had escaped from
captivity, " probably from the deck of some homeward-bound vessel from
America." Mr. Ussher, in " The Birds of Ireland," ignores the American
Goldfinch altogether, but in this instance it seems to us that Mr.
Harting has adopted the wiser course. So long as the grounds for
suspecting error are stated, no harm is done by quoting particulars of
the occurrence, and several useful objects are gained by it. The most
important of these is the illustration of the diversity of the sources of
error, against which the student of ornithology cannot be too repeatedly
cautioned. Besides, the ignoring of a doubtful record by naturalists
who have inquired into the circumstances may lead to its being after-
wards resuscitated from oblivion by those who have not, and hence the
blunder is given a fresh start in life, which a short paragraph in a

i9OT- Reviews. 127

standard work would have averted. Thirdly, there is always — or
generally— the bare possibility that the unlikely record may, after all, be
true ; for which reason it is better that every ornithologist should be
given the opportunity of forming an opinion for himself.

Mr. Harting, however, has not followed this commendable course
consistently, for he has ignored the Cape Pigeon and Ruppell's Tern,
which are believed to have found their way by objectionable means into
the Irish list ; while the Sheathbill (Chionis alba) shot at Carlingford
Lough in December, 1892, is omitted from Part II. of the Handbook, but
curtly referred in the preface (p. xxiii.) to " an independent category of
ocean waifs and strays." This is hardly a sound reason for excluding it
from a list to which escaped cage-birds like the Golden-winged Wood-
pecker find admittance.

To the notice of the Pectoral Sandpiper shot near Portumna in October,
1888 (p. 429) are appended the words " Not noted by Ussher." This is
simply an unaccountable oversight, as the record in question — the only
Irish occurrence of Tringa maculata — appears in its proper place in Mr.
Ussher's book (p. 282). The date, however, is there stated (probably by
misprint) to have been October, 1886.

It is with extreme regret that we have felt it necessary to point out
how numerous are Mr. Harting's oversights and mistakes with reference
to Ireland ; but nothing can prevent this edition of his " Handbook " from
taking a high place among ornithological works, and it is of the utmost
importance that those who go to it for information shall not be misled.

C. B. M.

BEE-KEEPING.

The Irish Bee Journal (The Organ of the Irish Bee-keeping
Association), a monthly journal. Edited by Rev. J. G. DiGG£)S, M.A.
Vol. 1. No. 1. May, 1901. Pp. 12. Price, id.

We cannot but give a hearty welcome to this newest of Irish '' monthly
journals" devoted to so important a department of applied zoology as
bee-keeping. It is satisfactory to know that the increase of the honey
industry in the country is believed to warrant the establishment of this
periodical which will have, there can be little doubt, a long and useful
career. The twelve pages of this first number are filled with valuable
information on such subjects as " Purchasing and Packing Stocks," and
11 Foul Brood," and news of appliances exhibited at recent shows, and
reports of Associations. The scope for bee-keeping in the country
is well brought out by a short paragraph which tells us that over
^4,500 worth of honey was imported into the United Kingdom during
last March.

128 June,

IRISH SOCIETIES,

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

Aprie 24.— Annuai, Meeting.— The President (F. J. Bigger,
M.R.I. A.) in the chair. W. Gray, M.R.I. A. (Hon. Secretary), read the
Committee's annual report, which referred to the work done by the
members during the year, including several special investigations into
different departments of natural history, carried on by individual
members, sub-committees, and at field meetings. For this latter
purpose the following places were visited : — Saintfield, 12th May ; Carrick-
fergus, 2nd June ; Tollymore Park, 23rd June ; Navan and neighbourhood
with the members of the Dublin Field Club, on nth, 12th, and 13th July;
Glenavy, 4th August ; Greyabbey, 8th September. The winter session
was opened by a conversazione in the Public Library, and during the
session monthly meetings were held, at which lectures and exhibitions
were given. The Committee had under consideration the desirability of
republishing the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club Guide, prepared for the
1874 meeting of the British Association in Belfast. The arrangements are
now in the hands of the City Committee for the reception and entertain-
ment of the British Association in Belfast next year. The movement to
invite the Association, which originated with the Belfast Naturalists'
Field Club, has been crowned with success, and the invitation has been
very cordially accepted at Bradford, and the Association will visit Belfast
in the autumn of 1902. The sectional and sub-committees' reports
were read in the following order : — The financial statement, Mr. W. H.
Phillips ; the fauna of Lough Neagh, Mr. H. L,auiont Orr ; report of
Botanical Section, Mr. S. A. Stewart; librarian's report, Mr. G. Donald-
son ; the judges' report, Mr. S. A. Stewart. The judges appointed to
examine and report on the collections sent in competition for the
Club's prizes recommended that Prize 8 be awarded to Mr. James Orr for
a set of Cretaceous fossils, including forty species, and that Prize 13 be
awarded to Mr. W. A. Green for his collection of laud and fresh-water
shells, which included sixty-eight species and many varieties. A
collection, sent by Mr. George Reilly, received high commendation ;
it contained fifty-six species and two varieties. A general discussion
took place on the various reports submitted, which were adopted.

The election of the officers for the new year was then proceeded with,
resulting as follows: — President, F.J. Bigger, M.R.I. A. ; Vice-President
and Treasurer, W. H. Phillips ; Librarian, G. Donaldson ; Secretaries,
J. St. J. Phillips and R. Patterson, who were nominated by W. Gray,
M.R.I. A., the outgoing Hon. Secretary. The Committee were re-elected,
Mr. Gray taking Mr. Phillips' place.

On the motion of W. J. Fennell, seconded by John Dickson, a vote of
thanks was passed to Mr. Gray for his services as Hon. Secretary and
conductor of the Club's excursions during recent years.

The members present made several suggestions as to the new year's
work, and the election of several new members brought the meeting to
a close.

i901- Proceedings of Irish Societies. 129

CORK NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

Aprii, 25.— Annual Meeting.— Mr. Thomas Farrington, M.A.
(President), in the chair. Mrs. B. Brooke-Hughes (Secretary) read the
annual report. At the beginning of the session the Field Club numbered
fifty. During the j^ear three members resigned, and twelve new members
joined, making the nett gain nine, with eleven honorary members ; their
total membership now stood at sevent} . Nine excursions took place
during the year, including those to Waterfall and Ballincollig ; dredging
and shore- hunting in Cork Harbour — this excursion was badly attended ;
Inchigeela Lakes, twenty-six members and friends attending— as the
result of this excursion Viola lactea, found by several of the members, was
added to the Cork flora, and Carduus nutans (Musk Thistle), found by Mr.
Johnson, was added to the district ; Queen's College, attended by thirty-
eight members and friends ; evening excursion to Goulding's Glen, eight
members attended ; Dublin Field Club's excursion to the Valley of the
Boyne, to which the Cork Field Club members were invited ; Monkstown
and Glenbrook, five members attended ; Rochestown and Douglas,
fifteen members attended ; Blackrock, eight members attended. Prizes
were offered for the best collections of natural objects, but with the
exception of the junior branch there was no competition. Among the
juniors, Miss Oueenis Farrington was awarded a prize. A displaj' of
scientific exhibits was held and was largely attended. Mr. R. A. Phillips
reports the following additions made by him to the Cork flora : — Lisiera
cordata and Hieracium hypochceroides, found on the Millstreet Mountains.
Mr. Phillips has also recorded new stations for the following rare
plants : — Polypodium Phegopteris, Cystopteris fragilis, and Asplenmm viride.

The balance sheet showed the amount received in subscriptions,
^13 is. 6d. The working expenses of the Club were £9 is. $d., leaving
a balance in hand of ^13 3.5-. /\d., as against ^"9 is. 3d. last year.

The report was adopted and the following appointments were made: —
President, Thomas Farrington, M.A. ; vice-presidents, Professor Hartog,
John L. Copemau, W. H. Shaw, Miss H. A. Martin, J. H. Bennett, H.
Lund ; lion, secretary and treasurer, Mrs. E. Brooke-Hughes ; curator,
R. A.Phillips; committee, J. B. Lacy, F. R. Rohu, W. H.Johnson, Charles
MCarthy, G. R. Thomas.

The Chairman, in proposing the re-election of Mrs. Brooke-Hughes
as hon. secretary, said that the members "were much pleased with the
excellent way in which she had conducted the business of the Field Club.

Professor Hartog proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing officers,
who were, he said, not alone indefatigable but successful. Mr. Phillips,
their cm-ator, had made numerous additions of new and interesting
species to the flora of the county and district.

Mr. Copeman seconded the motion, which was unanimously adopted.

The paper of the Selborne Society on "The Waste of Animal Life"
was then read and discussed, after which the meeting adjourned.

130 June,

NEWS GLEANINGS.

The Field Club Union Conference.

The arrangements for the third triennial conference of the Irish Field
Clubs, which will be held in Dublin on June 18 to 22, are now well
forward, and the detailed programme will shortly be issued. It includes
excursions to Glendalough, famed for its antiquities and the beauty of
its scenery ; to the Hill of Howth, and to Portmarnock, which is classic
ground to the zoological and botanical collector. Visits under skilled
o-uidance will be made to the Natural History Museum, the Royal Irish
Academy collections, the Zoological Gardens, the Glasnevin Botanic
Gardens, Trinity College and its Botanic Garden, Christ Church
Cathedral, and elsewhere ; and an evening conference on Field Club
matters will be held in the Lecture Theatre of the Royal Dublin Society.

Irish Topographical Botany.

Mr. Praeger's work will be issued by the Royal Irish Academy within
the next few weeks.

The Geological Survey.
The Drift Survey of Ireland has commenced, under direction of Mr.
G. W. L,amplugh, whose name is well known in connection with similar
work in the North of England. The Dublin district has been first
undertaken, and it is hoped to issue the first sheet of the new map before
the close of the present year.

The Belfast Field Club.
We note with regret the retirement from the secretaryship of the
veteran member, Mr. William Gray. The secretarial duties have been
undertaken by Mr. J. St. J. Phillips, who has previously seen service in
the same post, and Mr. Robert Patterson, well known to Irish zoologists.
We congratulate the Club on having secured such efficient substitutes
for Mr. Gray.

A Conchological Exchange Club.

We have received the prospectus of a new Club "whereby students of
the Mollusca can find a ready means of exchanging duplicate specimens-"
The Club is associated with the Midland Malacological Society, and the
Chairman is Prof. W. E- Collinge, editor of the Journal of Malacology.
Members of the society and subscribers to the Journal pay only is. a year
to the Club; other members, 2s. 6d. A "pool" is established to which
members are asked to contribute perfect localised specimens of British
Mollusca (either land, freshwater, or marine). From this " pool " the
desiderata of members will be as far as possible supplied. The Hon.
Secretary is Mr. Guy Breedon, 38, Station-road, King's Norton,
Birmingham. Doubtless some of our Irish conchologists will hasten to
join the Club.

1901. I31

NOTES.

BOTANY.

Leptodontium recurvifolium in Kerry.

The rare and fine moss, Leptodontium recurvifolium (Tayl.), which is
unknown outside the British Islands, was first found " on Knockavohila,
a mountain between Kenmare and Killarney," by Dr. Taylor, in 1842.

Dr. Moore in his Report on the Mosses of Ireland, Proc. R.I. A., 1872,
says in quoting the record " Not hitherto we believe found elsewhere, or
by any other person," Dr. Braithwaite, " Brit. Moss Flora," vol. i.,
p. 257, gives in addition to Taylor's locality, " Ben Voirlich, by Loch
Lomond, M'Kinley, 1863; Glen Vaur, Griffith, 1878; Tyn-y-gross, Holt,
1885 ; " and remarks "This fine moss appears to be extinct both in the
Irish and Scotch localities, so that its discovery in Wales is an interesting
event." And Mr. Dixon, "Student's Handbook of British Mosses,"
p. 203, gives in addition three other Welsh localities, and remarks about
the " Killarney and Ben Voirlich " localities " now extinct."

It is therefore very interesting to mention that this plant was re-
discovered in Co. Kerry by the Rev. C. H. Brinstead, in 1S96, at Connor
Hill Pass, and on Brandon Mountain ; and by myself in 1898, at
Coomanard Loughs, which are situated in a remote and wild deep glen
about two miles north-east of Connor Hill Pass.

H. W. LETT.

I/Oughbrickland.

ZOOLOGY.

Planorbis corneus in Co. Sligo.

While on my way to Sligo with some naturalist friends for three or
four days collecting last September in the district round Lough Gill, I
met Mr. W. F. de V. Kane, who told me he had just taken specimens of
this species in a little artificial pond made in recent years to hold water-
lilies at Markree Castle. Colonel Cooper kindly sent me these with
some additional specimens a few days later. As the only known habitat
for this species in Ireland hitherto has been a small area of the central
plain we think it is an introduction of late years to Markree, probably
with some plants of the Water Soldier, Stratiotes abides, or with some
Limncea peregra, &c, which were introduced to keep down Duckweed. I
think it better to put the find on record, as the pond runs into the
Unshin River, and the species, if a new arrival in the county, might
soon spread to likely habitats, of which there are many near at hand.
During our visit a very careful look-out was kept for it in drains, ponds,
&c, especially near Colloonej' and the country near Markree on chance
that it might be native, but without success.

R. Wexch.

Belfast.

132 The Irish Naturalist. June, 1901.

Amphipeplea (Limnaea) glutinosa in the River Bann.

Further search for this rare and interesting shell proves that it is

plentiful along the margins of the river near Portadown, where I took

twenty full grown specimens at Easter. This is about two miles further

up than the locality recorded in the Irish Naturalist, 1900, page 48, where

only a few examples were taken. The mouth of a drain opening into

the river seems to be their favourite habitat, but I have taken them at

intervals along the river bank with a scoop.

Wm. A. Green.
Belfast.

The Common Lizard in Antrim.

In May, when looking for shells at the base of a wall at Whitehead,
I discovered a specimen of this L,izard (Lacerta vivipara). It tried to
escape through the grass. I caught hold of its tail, which broke off in
my fingers and continued to wriggle for some minutes.

I had captured the Lizard in a handful of grass that I seized, and it

now enjoys itself in a glass-topped box, and seems happy when basking

in the sun. Its beauty is sadly marred by the loss of its tail. I hope it

will live to grow another.

Hugh L. Orr.
Belfast.

Early arrival of Swifts in Co. Wicklow.

While staying with Mr. Barrington lately I saw a large number of
Swifts — at least thirty — flying about Fassaroe in the forenoon of April
22nd. This is the earliest date at which I have ever seen a Swift ; and
Mr. Barrington tells me he has no recollection of its reaching Fassaroe
so early in any previous year. I have noted — in fifteen years — the
dates on which I saw the first Swift in Dublin between 1882 and 1897.
Twice — in 1885 and 1S96 — the date was so early as April 26th, only one
bird being seen on each occasion, once it was on April 27th (a group of
four birds), once on May 1st (one bird), twice on May 2nd (one or two
each time), once on May 3rd (a group of seven), twice on May 5th, twice
on May 6th, three times on May 8th, and once — in 1S83 - as late as May
10th, when only one was seen. The average date of first appearance in
Dublin would seem to be about May 3rd. The number of Swifts seen
by me on the occasion of their first appearance has seldom exceeded
two ; and it was. therefore, very curious to see so large an assemblage as
thirty or more at the unusually early date of April 22nd.

C. B. Moffat.

Ballyhyland, Co. Wexford.

Spring Migrants in Co. Antrim.

The following early arrivals of birds may be worthy of a notice: —
Cuckoo, April 9th ; Chiff-chaff, April 18th; Swallow, April 19th.

S. A. Brknan.
Cushendun, Co. Antrim.

July, 1901. 133

NOTES ON IRISH PI.ANARIAN WORMS.

BY R. F. SCHARFF, PH.D., M.R.I.A.
(Collected for the R. I. A. Fauna and Flora Committee.)

IyAST year I published a short account of the species of
I^and Planarians inhabiting Ireland1. I pointed out that of
the three different kinds which had been discovered in this
country, one, Placoccphalus Kewensis, had probably been intro-
duced with plants from the Oriental Region ; and that of the
remaining two, only one, Rhynchodemus terrestris, was un-
doubtedly a native, while the other, Rh. Scharffi, had so
far been found in two localities only, and under such circum-
stances that its artificial introduction seemed likely.

L,and Planarians being mostly confined to the Tropics, the
discovery of an additional European species of this peculiar
group of worms is always an interesting event. I am glad,
therefore, to announce that, last April, while on the way to
visit a cave near Ballymote, Co. Sligo, with Mr. Praeger, we
met with several specimens of Rh. Scharffi under a tree trunk
which lay close to the road. Artificial introduction of the
worm in this locality is, I think, out of the question, and we
can now safely add this species to the native Irish fauna.

Two of the specimens found were of a light salmon and
another of a primrose colour, about ij-inch.long (30 mm.).
Under a lens the two eyes were clearly visible, and having
taken several specimens of Rh. terrestris at the same time, I
was able to make a few additional notes as to the principal
external distinguishing characters between the two species.

Apart from the colour, which differs in the two species,
Rh. terrestris being either light or dark grey, the body in the
latter is much more regularly rounded, so that the sole on
which the worm creeps is considerably narrower than in Rh.
Scharffi ; the worm is also quicker in its movements. The
underside in Rh. Scharffi is yellowish while in Rh. terrestris it
is white. The anterior portion of the body can be drawn out
to an exceedingly fine point in Rh. Scharffi, so that the head
region is always much narrower than in Rh. terrestris.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

1 Irish Naturalist, vol. ix., 1900, pp. it 5-2 18.

A

i34 July>

INSTINCT IN YOUNG COOTS.

BY C M. CUNNINGHAM.

While crossing the marshes with a friend some weeks ago
near Downpatrick a favourable opportunity occurred for
observing the characteristics of young Coots. The ground
consisted of a level stretch of black mud covered with tufts
of reeds (Phragmitcs communis) interspersed with plants of the
Great Water- dock (Rumex Hydrolapathuni) the tufts or
tussocks reaching as high as five or six feet in many instances.
On our line of advance towards the railway lay a Coot's nest,
with three young birds almost fresh from the shell and in the
downy stage. Alarmed at our approach, two of them fled and
had got some twelve yards away from the nest before we over-
took them. The colour of the birds so perfectly harmonised
with their surroundings that none but the sharpest eyes could
have detected them. One lay perfectly silent and motionless,
With its head close to the roots of some Water-docks ; the black
colour of the body matched the mud, the yellow and red of
the head and neck harmonised with the red and yellow colours
of the roots and stems of the Great Water-dock. The other
bird betrayed itself and its companion by loud and plaintive
chirping and efforts to get further away. After the birds had
got used to our presence, finding themselves unmolested, they
began to make their Way back to the nest, which was hidden
from them by several intervening tufts of reeds, and we stayed
by to see if they would find the nest unaided. Slowly and
surely, and with many a tumble and comical nutter on the
damp ground, they made their way homewards, making wide
circuits to avoid the obstacles in their path until they arrived
safely in the nest. Then lying all three close together again,
the resemblance to their surroundings was complete.

How were they able to find their way back to their nest ?
It was difficult for a man to find it if he turned away from
it for a few moments, and the only physical aid was the
wind, which blew steadily from the nest in the direction in
which the birds had fled. Sight must have been of little or
no avail, as the intervening tufts of reeds would seem alpine
heights to these poor little nestlings.

Malone Road, Belfast

IQOI.

MONOCRATKRION AND OU3HAMIA.

BY G. F- MATTHEW.
(Geological Survey of Canada.)

Sinck Professor Cole has mentioned with commendation my
work upon the Cambrian genera Monocratcrion and Frcena, in
an article on Oldhamia and Histioderma in the Itish Naturalist
for April, 1901, and implies a desire for further knowledge of
the former genus, I have re-examined the specimens of Mono-
craterion in view of his comment on the course and nature of
the ray-impressions. The " impression of the supposed
tentacles" can be traced only along the more open, and
trumpet-shaped part, of the burrow of the animal, and they
disappear where the walls of the burrow begin to descend
rapidly, and from that down the sides are smooth.

As may be concluded from Torell's description of Micrapium^
that form had a mound at the burrow, and this is the case also
with the Canadian form oi Mono craterion, only the mound has
no connection with the slopes outside the burrow. When the
summit of this mound is abraded, it is seen to consist of several
superimposed layers like the coats of an onion. This cone
had no connection with the sides of the burrow, as the tenta-
cular markings and the smooth surface of sand on which the
animal rested run out from beneath it. It appears not to have
been a portion of layers thrown down upon the animal after
death, as a shaly mud of different texture separates it from the
overlying shale. We can only suppose that it was some sort
of a protective coating, such as the caddis-worms, or some of
the marine worms, build to protect the soft body.

Around the central mound, and resting partly on it, but
chiefly on the flatter expanded part of the trumpet-shaped
opening of the burrow, is a ring of .mud or shale, part of a
superior layer that covered the mound at the centre of the
burrow and the prints of the tentacular rays. We may sup-
pose that the mud bed that covered over this organism and its
burrow sank down around the mound as the softer parts of the
animal decayed, and left the depressed ring of shale which we
now find surrounding the cone of the burrow. The prints of
the tentacular rays are depressed on the upper surface of the

A 2

136 The hish Naturalist. July,

layers, and this may have resulted from the sinking of the
covering of mud thrown down upon the outstretched tentacles
after their decay, as suggested by Professor Sollas in explana-
tion of the appearance of Oldhamia radiata.

The impressions of the tentacles in the principal specimen
are most distinct on a shining layer of the flags, which is
smooth and glossy, from a coating of minute spangles of mica.
This smooth surface would indicate a suspension of the deposit
of muddy sediment, and the continuance for a period of clear
water with quiet conditions. It would appear that in such
circumstances Monocraterion flourished, and spread abroad its
tentacles with the greater confidence. In other more clayey
layers the impressions of the rays are not so distinct.

About an inch below the top layer (above referred to)
another mica-coated surface is spread out, and here the prints
of the tentacles again become more frequent and distinct.

The size of the burrow in this genus, and its form, recall
Mr. Kinahan's genus Histioderma. But although in two cases
at the ends of the tentacles of Monocrataion there is an
appearance of forking, so many other of the rays show no
appearance whatever of dichotomy, but go straight out from
the burrow in a simple ray, that I assume the appearance in
these two cases is deceptive, and that there is no genetic
relation between this form and Histioderma.

I have followed Torell in referring this form to the Worms »
but there are characters which point to other branches of the
Animal Kingdom, e.g., Ccelenterata. L,ess questionable Anne-
lid burrows and casts occur in the same layers with Mo?wcra-
terion. Between the rays and the burrows or lairs of
Mo?iocraterio7i, the pits and galleries of Arenicolites (Torell's
Diplocratcrion) are not uncommon, and more irregular worm
casts and trails are common.

The above remarks do not give a complete answer to the
inquiry as to (< whether the internal tentacular markings run
up to the top of any given series of lateral and radial mark-
ings '* ; all that can be said is that they run up to the upper-
most series. Including the Swedish and Canadian forms,
Monocraterion ranges from the sandstones below the Paradoxidcs
beds to those which belong to the Olenitis zone.
Montreal*

1901. 137

NOTE) ON THE PRECEDING PAPER.

Mr. Matthew's interesting remarks, courteously enclosed in
a letter to myself, will be welcome to workers in early
Palaeozoic strata on this side of the Atlantic. The important
point seems to be that the uppermost series of impressions of
the tentacles of Monocraterion runs over the more open part of
the true burrow, and that other sets of impressions are found
connected with the same burrow, a well-marked one occurring
as much as an inch below the uppermost. This seems
effectually to negative the idea that the various upper series
are inorganic repetitions of the lower, through subsidence of
several layers into the hollows left by the decay of the original
tentacles. At the same time, if all the impressions are
depressed on the upper surfaces of the layers, the tentacles
were probably retractile, and left grooves as they withdrew.
Mr. Matthew cannot intend us to conclude that the depressions
were caused by the decay of the tentacles after each protrusion.

Grejnville A. J. Cole.
Royal College of Science.

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a Nigerian Rani from Dr. Langley, four
Squirrels from Mr. W. W. Despard, a pair of Wild Boars from the King,
three pairs of Zebra Pinches from Mr. A. E. Goodbody, a Crossbill
from Mr. N. Mulvey, a Hare from Mr. J. H. Carbery, a Plover and eleven
Gulls from Mr. L- F. Perrin, a Monkey from Mr. R. M'Kechnie, and a
Seal from Mr. G. Shannon. Nine Monkeys, two Ruffed Lemurs, six
Prairie Marmots, a Capybara, twelve Java Sparrows, twelve Manakins,
two Lovebirds, a pair of Chimpanzees and a Sea-lion have been purchased.
A Llama, a Lemur, two Racoons, three St. Kilda Lambs, and a Pigmy
Calf have been born in the Gardens.

138 The Irish Naturalist. July,

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

June 8. — Benderg Bay.— The train arrangements of the County
Down Railway allowed of an hour being spent at Downpatrick. The
Secretary conducted the members through the Cathedral. Another
member gave a history of the ancient cross. Leaving the Cathedral the
part3'. proceeded to the ancient rath. Returning to the station the party
witnessed the start of a flock of seventy-five pigeons of the Ayr Homing
Pigeon Club.

Some additional members having now joined, all proceeded by train
to Ardglass, where cars were taken for Benderg Bay. Here the party
dispersed, some along the shore, some to the top of the cliffs, to pursue
their respective hobbies. Benderg Bay is a fine stretch of sand bounded
at the north by Killard Point. Just beyond the high-water mark rise
the steep cliffs of conglomerate with interstratified sands. The geologist
places them as the product of interglacial times Many of the rocks on
the headland show the result of glacial action either in their rounded
shapes or by the presence of well-defined striations marking the direction
of the motion of the glacier. Many of the members passed over to Gunn's
Island in quest of birds. On the way home several antiquities were
visited, and a rapid drive brought them to the Castle Hotel in Ardglass,
' where tea was partaken of previous to proceeding to Belfast. In the
train members were enabled to compare notes on the day. Here the
botanists exhibited their finds, which included the Wild Beet {Beta
maritima) from Benderg, as well as some rare grasses and mosses. Thirty-
eight species of birds were noted. In the sandy cliffs of Benderg the
Jackdaw builds its nest at the end of sand burrows ; here also the Shel-
drake was found breeding. On Gunn's Island three species of Tern were
observed and eggs obtained, together with those of the pretty little
Winged Plover. The conchologists had a busy time collecting shells on
the shores of the two days — one lady securing Trochus lineatus, which is
a local rarity. The beetles came in for some attention, and the records
amply rewarded the members who pursued this branch of natural
history. As a result of the day's work many intend to revisit this com-
paratively new but very interesting district to pursue a more detailed
examination than could be effected in the all-too-short time of a single

excursion.

•. ■

JuivY 18-20. — Dublin and District.— The proceedings of the joint

. Clubs at the Third Field Club Conference will be found on pages 140-141.

The Belfast Club was represented by sixteen members, including

Messrs. Heron, W. H. Patterson, Robert Patterson, J. St. J. Phillips, and

the Rev. Father Onail.

1901 Proceedings of hish Societies. 139

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

Aprii, 2. — Mr. J. E. Palmer in the chair.— Dr. S. H. Pethybridge
read some "Notes on the correlation between Plant-structure and Plant-
habitat." A paper by Mr. J. N. Laird on the occurrence of Galena and
Calcate in Carboniferous Limestone was communicated by the
.Secretary (Dr. Patten).

May 4. — Excursion to PorTraine. — The first excursion took place,
the venue being Portraine. A party of twenty-four members and visitors,
under the conductorshipof Mr. H.J. Seymour, left Amiens-street by the
1.50 p.m. train for Donabate, and walked down to the shore below the
Coastguard Station, A halt was made here, during which the conductor
gave a short account of the geological structure and peculiar interest of
the locality. The party then walked along the shore, and the conductor
pointed out and explained in detail the various points of geological
interest which had been referred to just previously. Some good
specimens of barytes, which occurs in veins in the andesitic lavas near
the harbour, were obtained, and also, amongst others, numerous
specimens of the fossil coral Halysites catenularitts from the Bala limestone
further south. At about 6.30 p.m. the party returned by an inland route
to Donabate, where tea was provided. At a business meeting held sub-
sequently, Dr. Pethybridge in the chair, two candidates were proposed
for membership.

May 25. — Excursion to the Gi,en of the Downs. — Twenty
members, under the guidance of R. LI. Praeger, travelled by the 1.45 train
to Greystones, and drove thence through Delgany to the Glen of the
Downs. They then moved through the wood to the " View Rock," on
the western side of the Glen, where an excellent survey of the scenery
and geology of north-eastern Co. Wicklow was obtained. Egg cocoons
of the scarce local spider, Ero furcata, were found hanging beneath the
loose stones of the walls on the way up, while among the crags near the
summit the White Beam Tree (Pyrus Arid) was noticed, and here un-
doubtedly native. A descent by glissading over the vast beds of the Great
Wood Rush {Luzula sylvaticd) was made, and the party returned on foot
to Greystones by way of Killincarrig. After tea, the 8.45 train was taken
back to town.

CORK NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

May 15. — The first excursion of the season took place to the Queen's
College. There was a large attendance of members. Prof. M. Hartog,
D.Sc, conducted the party through the Museum, and carried on a running
scientific commentary on the various objects relating to the natural
sciences. His lecturettes were much appreciated, note-books being
greatly in evidence.

140 July,

IRISH FIELD CLUB UNION.

THIRD TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE.

The third triennial Conference of the united Field Clubs of Ireland was
held in Dublin on June 18 to 22. The proceedings opened with a
reception given by the Dublin Club to the visitors at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Glasnevin, on the evening of June 18. The party included a
number of members of the North Staffordshire Club, who were then
concluding a week's excursion to the Dublin district. Tea and coffee
were served in the open air, and the Curator of the Gardens, Mr. F. W.
Moore, F.L.S., acted as conductor to the visitors, and demonstrated the
most interesting features of the outdoor and indoor collections.

On Wednesday morning, on the kind invitation of the Royal Zoological

Society of Ireland, a visit was paid to the Zoological Gardens in the

Phoenix Park. In the unavoidable absence of the Secretary (Prof. J. D.

Cunningham, M.D., F.R.S.), Dr. Scharff acted as conductor, and several

interesting and instructive hours were spent in examining the very fine

collection of animals. At 2.0 p.m. the party were received at Trinity

College by Prof. B. Perceval Wright, M.D., and were shown by him over

the College buildings and grounds. Later in the afternoon they

assembled in the Science and Art Museum, where Mr. George Coffey,

M.R.I.A., conducted them over the Royal Irish Academy's collections,

drawing attention to the value of the various groups of objects in

demonstrating the principles of pre-historic chronology. Subsequently

the members were received in the Botanical Division by Prof. T. Johnson,

D.Sc, who showed the systematic and economic collections of plants

and plant products. Especial interest was taken in the seed-testing

apparatus recently installed by the Department of Agriculture, and

already fully employed. In the evening some members visited the

sand-dunes of the North Bull, under the guidance of Mr. J. N. Halbert,

while others followed Mr. H. J. Seymour to the cromleacs of

Shangannagh and Glen Druid.

Thursday was devoted to a whole day excursion to Glendalough. The
party travelled to Rathdrum by the 10. 10 train, and thence took cars to
the Valley of the Two Lakes. Time permitted of a tolerably thorough
but rapid examination of the many antiquities and of the lake-shores,
and a very enjoyable day was spent, rain which came on towards evening
interfering but slightly with the day's programme.

On Friday morning the naturalists of the party took the 9.15 train to
Portmarnock, whence they w?lked over the sand-hills and northward to
Malahide, collecting many of the characteristic plants and animals of
that rich locality. The antiquaries visited Christ Church Cathedral,
where they were met by Sir Thomas Drew, R.H.A., under whose skilled
guidance they visited every portion of the buildings. In the afternoon

iqoi. Irish Field Club Union. 141

all assembled at the Natural History Museum, where Dr. Scharff, Mr.
Carpenter, and Mr. Nichols demonstrated in turn the study collections,
the general collections of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, the
collection of Irish animals, and the geological and palseontological
collections. Dr. and Mrs. Scharff kindly entertained the party to tea.
In the evening the Field Club Conference was held. In the unavoidable
absence of Mr. F. J. Bigger, President of the senior Club, the chair was
taken by Prof. G. A. J. Cole. The short address which Mr. Bigger had
intended to deliver was read by the Secretary (Mr. Praeger). Mr.
Carpenter followed with a paper on " The Dublin Museum and Irish
Naturalists." Prof. Cole gave an address on " Scenery and Geology
in Dublin and Wicklow," pointing out, with the aid of a large series
of lantern slides, the geological significance of the various natural
features viewed on the excursions of the preceding days. Mr. Praeger
spoke on " The Present State of our Knowledge of the Irish Flora,"
and exhibited a series of maps illustrating the history of botanical
research, and showing which portions of the country were now most in
need of attention at the hands of the field botanist. Mr. R. J. Ussher
drew attention to the important work that lay open to FAield Club
members in the domain of ornithology, and especially emphasized the
desirability of extending our^ knowledge of the distribution of birds,
and of enlarging the collection of Irish bird skins in our National
Museum. The remaining speakers included Mr. W. H. Patterson
(Belfast), and Mr. Abraham Shackleton (Dublin).

On Saturday morning the final excursion of the meeting was held.
The party took tram at 10 o'clock to Howth, and proceeded by the cliff
walk to above the Bailey lighthouse, whence they crossed the hill to the
cromleac, and descended through the demesne to Howth town, where
lunch was served at the St. Laurence Hotel. The 4.5 train brought the
members back to town, where the party broke up.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

The Cave Committee's Work.

The work of exploring Irish caves has been successfully undertaken
this season in the County of Sligo. Keshcorran Mountain was visited
the third week in May by Dr. Scharff, Mr.^Coffey, Professor Cole, and Mr.
Ussher. Mr. Plunkett, of Enniskillen, also paid these members of the
Committee an opportune visit at their work. The digging out of one
cave was carried on for more than a fortnight, with satisfactory
results. Strata of different ages were discovered, and the objects
found in them respectively have been carefully labelled and kept
separate. The upper stratum yielded from all parts of the cave relics of
a human settlement ; among these objects were a stone celt, bronze pins,
and many other evidences of the earlier stages of civilization in Ireland.

142 The Irish Naturalist, July,

Beneath this was a stratum of clay, in which remains of bears were pre-
sent all through the cave. The large collection, now awaiting deter-
mination in the Science and Art Museum, also comprises the remains of
several other wild animals, and particular attention has been paid to the
preservation of the very smallest bones.

The Dublin Zoological Gardens.

The Gardens have never looked to better advantage than at present, and
they contain a remarkably interesting stock of animals. It was recently
announced in the papers that the King had been pleased to present some
of his famous Indian Wild Boars to the Dublin Gardens, but it is, perhaps,
not generally known that these fine examples of the pig tribe were
captured with great difficulty in Windsor Park, before being placed in
cages to be transported to Ireland.

The Society has been particularly fortunate lately in the lion-breeding
industry, which is now known to be more successfully carried on in the
Dublin Gardens than anywhere else in the world. Three young lions
were born during June, and there can now be seen a whole series of baby
lions in all stages of growth. The new Lion House, which is being
erected, is now above ground, and will give visitors a good idea of the
fine quarters which the rising generation of Dublin lions will possess.

However, the young lions are not the only new arrivals. One of the most
remarkable and noteworthy events which has happened in the Gardens
for a great many years is the birth of a young lemur. The animals are
great favourites with visitors for, while active and indulging in amusing
gambols, they never show any bad temper, so frequently manifested by
their more advanced relatives the monkeys. Though the latter rise
above the lemurs in brain-power, they fall below them in conduct. The
birth in captivity of either monkey or lemur is an unusual event, for few
Zoological Gardens can boast of having reared a young of either of these
groups.

A couple of Chimpanzees have lately been purchased. Although still
young, one of them, the female, is already a fine tall creature, and both
are in magnificent health. Those who still treasure the memories of the
departed Sindbad, the Orang-Utau, and of Johnnie and Tom, the Chim-
panzees, have long looked in vain for their successors. We are glad
they have now arrived, and we hope that they will live here even longer
than Tom, who spent nearly five years of his existence in Phcenix Park.
One more new arrival has still to be mentioned, viz. ; — the Sea-lion.
The docility with which the Sea-lion obeys the commands of its keeper
and the certainty with which it catches the fish thrown to it are daily
witnessed by large crowds.

Professor D. J. Cunningham.

The learned Secretary of the Zoological Society, Professor D. J.
Cunningham, F.R.S., has received the honorary degree of LJv.D. from
Glasgow University. We heartily congratulate him on this well-deserved
honour.

igoi, 143

NOTES.

PRACTICAL MICROSCOPY.

A new series of articles, dealing with the practical side of Microscopy,
together with notes and queries, correspondence, and description of
new apparatus, are appearing each month in Knowledge, under the editor-
ship of M. I. Cross (the joint-author of the well-known handbook
" Modern Microscopy.")

BOTANY.

A New Variety of Polystichum angulare.

In visiting the garden of my friend, the Rev. Humphry Davy, last
autumn, I noticed among his collection of native ferns one which was
new to me, and which I believed to be unknown elsewhere. It was a
variety of Polystichum angulare whose peculiarity was that the stipes and the
rachis, not alone of the frond, but those of the pinnae, and even of the pin-
nules, took a sinuous course, winding, as a river, with numerous short bends,
winds through a plain. With the permission of Mr. Davy I submitted a
frond to the Secretary of the British Pterodological Society, and suggested
smuosum as a suitable name, in case the variety should be accepted. Soon
after, on November 24, I heard from the President of the Society, Charles
T. Druery, and on December 1 Mr. Druery wrote as follows :—'• Many
thanks for the fronds of P.a. sinuosum, a name which we may now safely
adopt, as the flat character undoubtedly discriminates it from Mr. G. B.
Wollaston's form. It is very curious and interesting." The fern which
has thus been definitely added to the list of varieties, was found by Mr
Davy in the Dargle some twenty years ago. It has been constant ever
since. An offshoot, given me by Mr. Davy last year, shows clearly and
throughout the marked sinuous formation.

H. KlNGSMIU, MoORK.
Kildare-place, Dublin.

Habenaria intacta in Clare.

During the month of June Mr. P. PL Grierson has forwarded me fresh
specimens of Habenaria intacta from two new stations in Co. Clare — the
first one mile E.S.E. of Lehinch, the other a mile nearer Ennistymon.
Besides showing a southward extension of the range of this rare plant,
these stations offer another point of interest. Both are situated on the
Coal-measures, some six or eight miles from the nearest limestone,
whereas all previously recorded stations are on the limestone, and
generally from ground where the bare rock lies on or near the surface.

R. 1,1,0yd Prasgejr.

144 1he Irish Naturalist. July,

ZOOLOGY.

Foraminifera.

I wish to plead for further workers in this most interesting and little-
worked branch of scientific research. The British Isles can boast of
probably not more than some twenty serious students of this subject.
Yet the study of Forauiiuifera is so engrossing and full of interest that
anyone with the least taste for research, or with even a modified tendency
towards collecting, would only have to take a cursory glance through a
microscope at some of these minute wonders of the marine floor to be
at once seized with the desire to know and see more of them.

A great advantage to anyone endeavouring to decide on some way of
filling leisure time is that the cost of the apparatus and material necessary
to study Foraminifera is not great. From ^12 to ^15, or less, will obtain
practically all that is necessary for commencement. The requirements
are : a microscope, binocular for choice, with inch and f -inch power ; a
condenser, some microscope slides, a fine camel's-hair brush, and some
marine ooze, mud or sand. Other small requisites can be obtained for a
mere trifle.

The sea bottom from almost any place is generally found to be teeming
with these minute animals or their tests, otherwise shells. There are
very few of us without the means of obtaining a sample from our own
coasts, which have not yet been adequately searched, as it is proved by the
continual additions to the list of Irish Foraminifera. Therefore, without
going further, plenty of interesting home research remains to be done
by earnest workers. Fossil Foraminifera, if not so numerous, present
another sphere of action, of great geological interest. For example,
suppose one has obtained from the Arctic regions a sample of some
marine deposit of bygone days. Search among the material is practically
sure of reward by finding specimens of Foraminifera, of course in a fossil
condition, now only represented in its living or, as it is termed "recent
state," in the Equatorial regions of the earth. The inference to be drawn
is that where the specimen on the slide was living it occurred in a
climate not far removed in temperature from that of our Equatorial
regions, where the identical species is now to be obtained in a living form,
unless our material was carried by some pre-historic Gulf Stream, to the
Arctic regions, and so deposited. Is not an enigma such as this enough
to induce anyone to take up the study of those wonderful microscopic
shells, and try to prove by analogy, circumstantial evidence, or some
means why a species should be found fossil and living in such widely
differing temperatures ?

I shall be most happy at any time to help, so far as I can, by advice or
any other means in my power, anyone who may care to look even into
the fringe of this far too little known study.

W. B. Thornhil,^.
Castle Bellingham.

1901. Notes. 145

Peacock Butterfly near Deny.

While driving on the Racecourse- road near Derry, not far from the
spot where last year one was taken by Miss Campbell, I saw a Peacock
Butterfly {Vanessa id). It will be interesting to observe whether it
increases in numbers in the coming season.

W. E. Hart.

Howth.

Longevity of Land Mollusca.

On October 18th, 1896, Master Arthur W. Stelfox and I collected forty
specimens of Helix aspersa, the shell usually known as the " Garden
Snail," at Whitepark Bay, North Antrim coast. A proportion of these
were then adult, fully a year old, and the remainder half or three
quarters grown. Of these all were alive in January, 1898 ; thirty-six
living December, 1899; thirty, June, 1900 ; twenty-four, August, 1900;
twenty, October, 1900 ; and the latter, which included two of the shells
adult when collected, were still alive and feeding actively on lettuce on
June 6th this year. If any of these survive till October 18th, they will
be at least five and a half to six and a half years old. Very few of the
molluscs died in winter, they almost all died in the hot summer months,
and those adult when collected survived many of the younger specimens.
Some of the latter completed the shell well in captivity, others did not.
Well-known conchologists in England who have made a special study of
this species tell me they know of no case where it has lived so long, and
I am keeping and feeding the specimens most carefully to see how long
they really will live, when protected from natural foes, though under
conditions very different of course from their native habitat.

R. WEI.CH.

Belfast.

New Inland Station for Hydrobia (Paludestrina) Jenkinsi.

Last year while working Lough Neagh at Maghery, Co. Armagh, my
wife found a dead specimen of Hydrobia jenkinsi on the shore ; and on the
Chance of discovering a living colony I visited the locality again at Easter,
with the result that at the " Bann-foof (where the Upper Bann enters
the lake) I found the sand and vegetation literally covered with the
shell. Mr. H. L. Orr has since confirmed this find by visiting the spot.

Mr. Welch tells me that a keen search on the opposite side of the lake,
at the mouth of the river at Antrim, on several occasions two years ago,
resulted in only two specimens (alive), which came up in the dredge.
It is curious to find it so scarce at Antrim and plentiful at Bann-foot.
This find proves the species to have a wide distribution in the north-
east, as it has now been recorded from Derry (Portstewart), Antrim,
Down (Newry), and Armagh ; and though local, the colonies are very
large except in the case of Antrim.

Wm. A. Green.

Belfast

146 The Irish Naturalist. July,

Destruction of Cherry Trees by Semasia woeberiana.

Last year my gardener having called my attention to what he called
"canker " in one or two cherry trees, I found the injury to proceed from
the ravages of a wood-boring lepidopterous larva which I failed satisfac-
torily to identify, and suspected that they must be either Sesia culciformis
or S. myopiformis. But in the first week of this present month of June I
was at Berkhamsted, Herts., and examined a standard cherry which was
thus affected, and every morning found freshly emerged imagines of
Semasia wctbenana, as well as pupa cases newly extruded. On excavating
some galleries in the unsightly swelling that disfigured the tree, I dis-
covered that though shallow, the)' penetrated the wood itself, and were
not confined solely to the cortex and cambium.

Any pupae I found were spun up in slight cocoons with grass inter-
woven, outside of the opening of the borings. It is easy to detect a
colony of these moths by the abnormal growth which the injuries give
rise to. The bark dies and curls up and outwards in strips, and masses
of gum exude, the cambium swelling out in wart-like excrescences,
which result in the trunk or stem becoming tumid and disfigured ; and
eventually the tree or that part of it above the swelling dies. It would
seem that if the stems which are showing signs of being attacked were
painted over about 1st June with some mixture containing tar and
paraffin in safe proportion, the moths would be prevented from laying
their ova, and the evil might be arrested.

Wm. Fras. de V. Kane.

Drumreaske, Monaghan.

White Wagtail at Bartragh, Co. Mayo.

On the I2th of May, Captain Kirkwood saw a pair of Motacilla alba on
a damp sandy flat near the garden at Bartragh, and on the 20th Mr. A.
C. Kirkwood saw a solitary bird on the lawn outside the parlour windows.
From the fact that this Wagtail has, during the migratory months of
April and May, been seen in 189S, 1899, 1900, and 1901, and specimens
obtained in the two first-named years, it may be safely assumed that this
species, regularly every season, passes over Bartragh Island on its
northern journey— probably to Iceland. As far back as April, 1851, I
obtained a specimen on the Island of Bartragh, and on the 29th of April,
1893, I met a pair on the sandy flat outside the garden (where Captain
Kirkwood saw them this season), and shot one bird, the other escaping
and flying right off the Island. I have no doubt but, if a sharp look
out was kept in April and Ma)r, these birds would be seen every season ;
but, very unfortunately and so much to be regretted, the state of health
of my old and valued friend Mr. A. C. Kirkwood prevents his keeping
that close observation of all visitors to the Island that he usually did,
and so the visits of the White Wagtail are often unnoticed.

Robert Warren,
Moyview, Ballina.

1901. Notes. 14*7

Breeding of Wigeon in Ireland.

Early in May, 1901, Mr. John Cottney sent me some duck's eggs and
down which he took near a lake within thirty miles of Belfast. Not
having any similar down for comparison, on the 18th May, accompanied
by two friends, I visited the lake and we were fortunate enough to find
a clutch of exactly similar eggs, and flushed the female off the nest.
When on the lake I saw several pairs of Wigeon. I sent the eggs and
down to Mr. Ussher, and he, after careful comparison with authentic
Wigeon's down and eggs, informs me he has no doubt whatever that
they are Wigeon's. It is most satisfactory to be now able to include the
Wigeon with certainty among the breeding birds of Ireland, and I have
to thank Mr. Ussher for the great trouble he took in the matter.

Belfast. Robert Patterson.

The Dunlin breeding in Ireland.

In the latter end of May, 1885, I obtained evidence for the first time of
the Dunlin (Tringa alpinci) breeding in Ireland, in County Westmeath,
on the shores of L,ough Sheelin. The eggs were submitted by me to
authorities in Dublin and in London, and wefe not recognised by them as
Dunlins, but stated to be varieties of the Common Sandpiper. Since
then by adopting other measures I have unquestionably verified my first
observations of the Dunlin breeding on this lake. On May 22nd, 1901, I
found quite a colony of Dunlins breeding on another Westmeath lake.
Twenty pair, at least, would be a minimum estimate if anything of the
actual number. I had them under observation for a week, and had the
opportunity of photographing the adult birds both beside the nest and
sitting on their eggs • they were very tame, and had a most pleasant and
melodious little twittering song, somewhat resembling the distant
clicking of a fishing-reel, only much softer in tone. I saw as many as
twelve birds together at a time in one place. The nests were built in
exceedingly short grass, some twenty paces from the lakeshore, and lay
midway between the shingle on which Ringed Plover were nesting and
the longer grass in which Redshank and Sandpipers were breeding.
Although there was heather and marsh}* ground in the vicinity no
Dunlin appeared to be breeding there. In looking up the literature on
the subject of the Dunlin breeding in Ireland I was surprised at its scanty
nature. Howard Saunders states—" In Ireland it is only known to nest
in small numbers in the north-west." Mr. More that — "A few breed on
the bogs and moors in the west and north of Ireland." Mr. Ussher — "The
Dunlin has a wide range in the breeding "season, and has been found
nesting on elevated mountains, as well as on low-lying lake-shores in the
centre of Ireland and marshes near the sea."

Mr. K. Williams very kindly came down to see the colony on receipt
of a telegram from me. On minute examination of the birds he was of
opinion that their plumage was different from that found at the same
time of year among Dunlin on the sea-coast. These breeding birds were
also of the long-billed variety of Patten.

Bray. K. Bl<AKS KNOX.

M > -?

148 The Irish Naturalist. July, 1901.

Breeding Habits of the Squirrel.

As an inquiry was made some years ago in the Irish Naturalist as to the
time of year at which young Squirrels are born, I may mention that a
drey at Ballyhyland was examined this year by a boy on April 21st, and
proved to contain five young, very small, with eyes still unopened.
Last year a nest in the same tree was examined in May, and then
contained young of a more advanced age. In 1898 I saw a drey which
was freshly lined for the receipt of young on June 24th. This, according
to Bell and other writers, would be the usual time of birth, but I see no
reason to doubt the correctness of Mr. Barrett-Hamilton's conjecture
that Squirrels breed twice in the year both here and in England. That
they do so in England is indeed distinctly asserted by Mr. George Dewar,
who in his interesting book "Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands." p. 290,
says " they have two sets of young, one in April and the other in July."

C. B. Moffat.
Ballyhyland, Co. Wexford.

GEOLOGY.

Pisolitic Iron Ore in Lough Neagh.

When dredging in Lough Neagh, May, J900, between Sandy Bay and
Rani's Island, with Messrs. R. Patterson and H. L. Orr, we took in some
hauls of the dredge several ounces of pisolitic ore. Some of this I
sent to Prof. G. A. J. Cole, M.R.I.A., who states that "some of the
spheroids show the characteristic concentric structure when broken
open. A little carbonate of iron is present, but the main mass consists
of limonite as usual." Similar deposits are found in Sweden and in
sufficient quantity to be dredged and worked commercially as iron ores.
It would be interesting to know whether this material in Lough Neagh
is now forming. If so it is an interesting parallel to the Eocene pisolitic
lake-deposits of the Antrim basalts. These are mined for iron ore in
several places in the county, notably above Glenarm. There is a chance
of course that the material is derived from some local deposit of Eocene
age, but I have taken the same material in the dredge in smaller
quantities in the northern part of the lough also.

R. Wei,ch.

Belfast.

[As Mr. Welch's record of an extremely interesting observation passes
through my hands before publication, I should like to ask the attention
of botanists to the possible relation between the ferruginous deposit and
any algae that may be prevalent in the same portion of Lough Neagh.
The granules themselves may perhaps yield algal filaments on solution.

Grfnvii,i,£ A. J. Coi,E.
Dublin.

August, 1901. !49

IRISH TOPOGRAPHICAL BOTANY.

BY C. B. MOFFAT.

It is a pleasure to welcome the appearance of Mr. Praeger's
long-projected " Irish Topographical Botany,"1 the pre-
paration of which has entailed on its author an expenditure of
time and energy such as few can realise. In his preface Mr.
Praeger claims for his work that it forms " forty exceedingly
condensed county floras," and the claim is fulfy justified when
the contents of the book are examined. This is more— and a good
deal more — than we had a right to expect from the title ; for
Watson's " Topographical Botany," in setting out the comital
distribution of plants in Great Britain, stopped far short of
what Mr. Praeger has done. Mr. Watson gave for each species
(except very common ones) a list of the counties for which it
had been recorded, naming his authority for the record in
each case. No localities, however, were mentioned, nor was
any attempt made to estimate a plant's frequency or rarity in the
different counties separate!} . Mr. Praeger goes carefully into
details of this kind ; he makes it a rule (except in the case of the
most universally distributed species) to give at least o?ie locality
in each county for every plant, often adding two or three for the
more interesting, and always indicating at the same time
whether other localities are on record or not, as well as whether
the plant is frequent, local, or scarce in the county. In most
cases, too, an interesting short note on the general character
of the range is appended to the list of county records. Thus
every page in the volume is replete with interest to botanists,
and the work is in no sense a mere index to existing records,
as Watson's to a considerable extent was.

The author purposely refrains from going over ground which
has already been traversed by the editors of the Cybele
Hibernica> stating that he wishes his .book to be regarded and
used as a companion or supplement to that standard work on
Irish botany. This principle of companionship to Cybele
Hibernica has in some respects been carried to lengths that
will rather surprise those who read Mr. Praeger's review of

1 Irish Topographical Botany. Compiled largely from original
material. By R. 1,1,0 yd Praijgrr, B.A., B.K., M.R.I. A. Proc. R.I.A.
(3) vol. vii., 1901, pp. clxxxviii + 410, 6 maps. Price, km.

150 The Irish Naturalist. August,

that book.1 For instance, the nomenclature adopted in Cybcle
is followed absolutely, and the arrangement of genera and
species is nearly the same in both books. The author rightly
remarks that agreement in these matters is highly convenient
in facilitating reference from one book to another, and he has,
therefore, followed Messrs. Colgau and Scully at the cost of
some suppression of personal views.

This sacrifice, however, brings into stronger relief the salient
feature which renders the use of Mr. Praeger's book as a com-
panion volume to Cybcle strangely difficult : that is to say, the
sub-division of Ireland into areas which are not always sub-
divisions of the Districts of Cybcle^ and whose numbering is
entirely independent of the numbering of those Districts. For
instance, Mr. Praeger's division 4 (Mid-Cork) lies partly in
District I. and partly in District II. of Cybcle. The two
counties which form District IV. are numbered by Mr.
Praeger 12 and 20, and the two which form District VIII. figure
as 16 and 27. Thus it is by no means easy to bear in mind
what numbers in "Irish Topographical Botany" correspond
to given numbers in Cybele, and this is a serious impediment
to those who wish to see how far the range of a plant
as stated in the earlier volume is supplemented by the
information given in the more recent one. This feature is
hardly in keeping with the character of a companion
volume. Mr. Praeger, in anticipation of criticism on
this score, says in his Introduction that " The advantages
of grouping the divisions under the twelve botanical
districts employed in Cybele are slight in comparison
with the suggestive facts of plant- distribution brought out by
the adoption of a regular progress from a lower to a higher
latitude, from a higher to a lower temperature." There is truth
and force in this ; but one cannot help seeing that at bottom
it is an argument in favour of a further scheme which may
combine both the advantages in question ; in other words,
it is an argument for abolishing the twelve Districts of Cybcle
Hibernica in favour of others corresponding more nearly
with Mr. Praeger's sub-districts. The Cybcle Districts, how-
ever, have been so long in use that great inconvenience would
attend the carrying of Mr. Praegers system of division to its

1 Irish Naturalist, vii., pp. 273-85.

1901. Mo^FAT. — Irish Topographical Botany. 151

logical consequences, and it is also evident that his forty areas,
as numbered by himself, would not lend themselves to any plan
of compact grouping.

Coming to the details of the county records, it is important
to note the author's caution that these " cannot be understood
without a knowledge of the explanatory portion of the Intro-
duction " It would, indeed, be very easy for an}rone making
a hasty effort at using the book to be seriously misled. Thus,
Mr. Praeger quotes, by preference, the latest records of the
findings of a plant ; so that anyone consulting his book in
ignorance of this rule might be led into supposing that Naias
flexilis was unknown in Ireland until 1896, the records being
as follows : —

1. Kerry, S — Glencar, '99. —Scully. Lough Caragh, '96.— Scully,

Cyb. II.

2. Kerry, N.— Killaruey, '99; south only, very rare.— Scully.
16 Galway, W.— Lough Cregduff, '96.— P.

Of course, students of Cybele are well aware that the first
discovery of this plant in the British Isles was in its West
Galway station in 1850, and that it was found in South Kerry
in 1876, and in North Kerry in 1885. The records quoted
above therefore illustrate a contrast between the plan of Cybele
Hibemica, in which the historical element is conspicuous, and
that of the present work, in which it is altogether ignored.1
Another rule stated in the Introduction is as follows : —

"The use of the words 'rare,' 'frequent,' &c, invariably
implies the existence of records additional to those which are
given. Conversely, the absence of such words may be
taken to imply that no stations are known to the compiler
beyond those which are quoted." This is a highly ingenious
method of giving condensed information ; but to those attempt-
ing to use the work without a preliminary study of the
Introduction, it will prove a veritable pitfall.

The county records are in themselves surprisingly full, the
small county of Monaghan being the only one whose ascertained
flora still falls short of 500 species. It is impossible here to
avoid expressing our sense of the immense debt of gratitude
which Irish botanists owe to Mr. Praeger for the almost

1 Perhaps it would have been a good rule to select, instead of the latest
record, the most central locality known in each divisiop, thus indicating
the uniformity of a plant's distribution.

A 2

152 The Irish Naturalist. August,

unlimited amount of energy which he has thrown into the
work of personally exploring those large tracts of ground
which had hitherto appeared least attractive to our field
naturalists. It was, indeed, already a matter of common
knowledge that he has added largely to the available data for
nearly every county ; but the appearance of this magnum opus
brings the fact before us in a new and welcome form. The
work is a supplement to Cybele in more senses than one.
However, the numerous additional " district records " which
have already been published in the Irish Naturalist form a
feature essentially different from the main and legitimate
object of the book, i.e., that of giving more minute topo-
graphical particulars than the plan of Cybele allowed of ; and
it is by the degree of success which has attended this aim
that the merits of " Irish Topographical Botany" must be
chiefly judged.

So far as very rare species are concerned, Cybele Hibcrnica
gives all recorded localities with a greater fulness than Mr.
Praeger's plan (one line to each county with a record) admits
of. Consequently, the special value of the work under notice
is its presentation of the records for plants not so rare as to
call for enumeration of localities in Cybele. The care with
which this has been done is such that it would scarcely be
possible to wish for a better book on so ambitious a plan. To
criticise the details at all it is necessary for a reviewer to take
the county with which he happens to be best acquainted, and
in doing this one must not lose sight of Watson's reply to his
anticipated local critics, that "in a compilation concerning
itself with all the counties, a hundred oversights or omissions
would be only equivalent to a single such defect in one of
their own county lists."

Taking, then, the county of Wexford, we can note a few
instances in which Mr. Praeger's records for plants found in
this division are not followed (as, in accordance with his rule,
they should have been) by any of those " implicatory " words —
" rare," " frequent," " not rare," &c. — which mean that other
localities besides those cited are known to the author. Such
oversights occur in the cases of Papaverrhceas, Lychnis diurna,
* Hype7ricum calychium, A?rti7wi minus (perhaps here from
suspicion of error), and Mentha saliva, Osmunda regalis is

1901. Moffat. — Irish Topographical Botany. 153

incorrectly described as " now extremely rare " in the county ;
though its range is reduced, there are places where it is still
abundant, and likely to remain so. The note on Pinguicula
lusita?iica, " N.K- chiefly, rare," is misleading, as this butter-
wort is common in all the bogs of the N.W., where P. vulgaris
is absent. As to the last-named plant, we are sure Mr.
Praeger has authority for including it in the Wexford flora,
but no localities are known to us ; while we should certainly
have considered Antcnnaria dioica rare, instead of " more or
less frequent," in the county. To criticise further we should
almost have to inquire into the shades of meaning which
separate " not rare" from "frequent," and " very frequent "
from " common." If for every county the main result is as
accurate as for Wexford, the whole is excellent indeed.

Six coloured maps add greatly to the interest and attractive-
ness of the volume. The large map of "Ireland in forty
botanical divisions " (Plate I.) is particularly good, and the
petrological map, in nine colours (PI. V.), also deserves special
notice. Plate II., showing the "progress of field work," is
perhaps of more personal than botanical interest, and we
question whether the section of it which aims at showing the
"state of county lists in 1895" conveys an impression quite
fair to previous explorers. Ought Division 15 (south-east
Galway), for instance, to have been left uncoloured, implying
that no work of importance had been done there ? More's
" Notes on the flora of the neighbourhood of Castle Taylor"
supplied material from which a list of more than 200 species
might easily have been made. True, More named in that
paper only some 130 out of the total of 432 species which he
mentioned having found about Castle Taylor. But he added
to those 130 a list of all the most common plants which he had
failed to find, and, as he used Watson's census-figures as the
criterion of frequency, this was only another way of stating what
species of equally high census rank {i.e., 15 Provinces) occurred
at Castle Taylor. It does not therefore seem very accurate to
include the county-division among the many whose ascertained
floras did not, on the average, exceed 100 species.

The Introduction contains an excellent brief account of the
physical and botanical features of each division, stating in
every case the area, prevalent geological formation, per-

154 The Irish Naturalist. August,

centage of mountain, pasture, and arable land, highest
elevation, principal rivers, general character of the flora, and
numbers of species in it. A list of the rarest plants found in
the county is also in each case subjoined, and the only
additional feature which we could wish to have seen included
would be a corresponding list of the commonest species not
ascertained to occur.

Another important feature in the Introduction is a very
full bibliography ol Irish botanical records. This includes
unpublished as well as published material ; but we miss from
it reference to a MS. list of 634 plants found in Co. Wexford,
which has sometimes been cited in the text and is also referred
to at p. xcvii. in the author's list of contractions. Although
partly a compilation, it contained original records for some
570 species, and should therefore have been represented by an
A in the right-hand column on p. lxxxv., and also noted on
p. ci.

Misprints are remarkably rare, and place-names are given
with remarkable fidelity. The census figures for Orobanclic
hedercE, Mentha sativa, and Populus trcviula, do not, however,
correspond with the number of county divisions for which
records are quoted.

Ballyhylaud, Co. Wexford.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

Professor A. C. Haddon.

Welearu that Prof. Haddou intends to resign the chair of Zoology in Ike
Royal College of Science for Ireland, which he has so ably filled since 1880.
Since he ceased to reside in this country, his visit each autumn has been
eagerly welcomed by his man}' friends, and it is with keen regret that
we now think of the loss of his inspiring presence for those few months
in each year. Still we hope that one who has done so much for Irish
natural history will never become a stranger in the land. The
foundation of the Dublin Field Club and of the Irish Naturalist were
largely due to his influence, and their progress has been constantly
helped by his sympathetic support. We understand that the ethnological
studies, which have already brought him fame, will henceforth occupy
him fully. Our hearty wishes for the ever-increasing prosperity of his
brilliant career are tinged with sadness, for

" Now his chair desires him here in vain

" However they may crown him otherwhere.''

1901. I5S

SOME IRISH SPECIES OF FRESHWATER HYDRA,

BY A. H. TOPPIN.

There have been very few records of the freshwater Hydra in
Ireland of late years, and it maybe of interest to some readers
to know that both brown and green species occur in the
County of Dublin. The latter was obtained last year by Mr.
Halbert in some quarry-holes near Crumlin, Co. Dublin ; while
Mr. F. M. Sellens found, in a pond at Sutton, Co. Dublin,
both Hydra viridis and H. fiisca, which he exhibited to the
Dublin Microscopical Club (i, p. 95) Thompson (2, p. 459),
distinguished four Irish species of Hydra, viz. : — H viridis,
Linn. ; H viclgaris, Pall. ; H. fusca, Iyinn. : and H verrucosa,
Templeton ; but as has been observed by Allmau (3, p. 328),
H verrucosa is probably identical with H. fusca, while the
name H grisea, Einn., being older, should stand for H vulgaris,
Pallas.

About the beginning of May last, I obtained some speci-
mens in a pond near Eoughlinstown, Co. Dublin, which seemed
to agree in most of the characters with H grisea. They
varied in colour from an orange-brown to a pale yellowish-
brown, and in one case perfectly white ; but this might have
been due to confinement for a considerable number of days. In
each specimen the body was cylindrical, and ranged from five
to seven mm. in length. The tentacula, six to eight in
number, were as long as, or rather shorter than the body ; but
in one specimen, when the body was contracted, they were
longer. The thickest part of the body appeared to be the
middle, and it gradually tapered towards the mouth and base,
and, therefore, differed in shape from H fusca. At the anterior
end, the body broadened out, forming a kind of oval-shaped
head surrounded by the tentacles. .

All the specimens which I examined seemed to agree with
H. grisea in shape, colour, and length of tentacles, but not in
number, as H. grisea possesses from seven to twelve, whereas
all my specimens never had more than eight (the white
specimen having six only). In this respect they seemed to
accord with H.Jusca, but differed entirely from that species in
all other characters.

156 The hish Naturalist. August,

Thompson records H. viridis as having been obtained at
Bandon, Co. Cork, by Prof. Allman. //". grisea has been met
with in the north, south, and east of Ireland, several specimens
having been obtained at the Zoological Gardens, Dublin, in
1846, by Mr. Hyndmau. H. fusca has also occurred in the
north and east of Ireland (2, p. 459).

Prof. L,eidy regarded the American green and brown types
of Hydra as being identical with the European forms —
//. viridis and II. fusca (4, p. 311) ; but the late Prof. Agassiz
found them to be quite different, and named them II. gracilis
and II camea, the chief differences being that H. gracilis has
the power (not possessed by H. viridis), of extending the body
in a remarkable degree ; and //. carnea has very short tentacles,
while H. fusca has very long ones (5, p. 354).

Prof. Leidy obtained both forms west of the Rocky
Mountains, and these he found to accord in character with
the European species. In specimens collected in a lake in
the Uinta Mountains, Wyoming, at 10,000 feet elevation, the
brown Hydra was at first brick red with a brighter red head,
but after keeping it for a week, it assumed the pale brown hue,
as ordinarily observed in the animal nearer home (4, p. 312).

H. fusca has been found in France at high elevations in
the Alps, in L,ac de Giinont and L,ac de 1' Ascension, whilst in
L,ac de la Roche it has been found along with //. viridis
(6, pp. 43-6i).

References.

•

1. SEEEENS, F. M. (ill Proc. Dublin Micros. Club), Irish Naturalist,

vol. x., 1901, p. 95.

2. Thompson, W., Natural History of Ireland, vol. iv., 1856, p. 459.

3. AeEMAN, G. J., The Synopsis of the Genera and vSpecies of Zoophytes

inhabiting the Freshwaters of Ireland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist,
vol. xiii., 1844, p. 328.

4. IyEiDY, J., Remarks on Hydra, Proc. Acad* Nat. Sc, Philad., 1887,

pp. 311-313*

5. AGASSiz, I*, Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. iii., 1850, p. 354.

6. Beanchard, R., et Richard, J., Sur la Faune des Lacs eleves des

Hautes-Alpes, Mem. Soc. Zool. France, vol. x., 1897, pp. 43-61.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

icpi. 157

THE DUBLIN MUSEUM AND IRISH NATURALISTS.

BY GEORGE H. CARPENTER, B.SC.
[Read before the Irish Field Club Union Conference, June 2r, 1901 J

Naturalists who live in Dublin, in welcoming representa-
tives of their colleagues from other parts of Ireland, have been
anxious to show to the best advantage the opportunities now
given by the scientific institutions of the capital for the study
of natural and historical objects. Dublin naturalists williugly
and cordially yield pride of place to those of Belfast as the
pioneers in Irish Field Club work. In this, as in many other
walks of life where initiative must be taken by the people, the
North has led the way. But for the support of national
scientific institutions we must, for the present at least, depend
on a department of the Government, and these institutions
have naturally grown up in that city which the Government
regards as the capital of Ireland. It cannot be but that Dublin
naturalists should benefit by these institutions more than do
those who live far away from them. But though they must
be placed somewhere, and Dublin is fortunate enough to house
them, Dublin wishes them to be regarded not as local but as
national — the property not of a city nor of a province, but of
the country as a whole. And those whose daily work lies in
these institutions are the most wishful that they should both
deserve and command a widespread national interest.

If an institution be truly national, it should at once be use-
ful to, and derive help from, those who throughout the land
ore students of its special subjects. In this paper the Natural
History Collections of the Science and Art Museum will alone
be dealt with. If the Museum is rightly regarded as the
National Museum of Ireland, these collections should be able
to claim the interest of all the naturalists in the country.
The subject is therefore a fitting one for a Field Club
Conference.

To the casual visitor a Museum consists solely of its exhibi-
tion rooms and the specimens contained therein. The things
are there in the cases to be looked at and that is all about it.
So deeply ingrained is this view in the unscientific public
mind that a person of high standing and attainments has veu-

158 The bish Naturalist. August,

tured on the opinioti that, the specimens once having been
put into cases, the scientific staff of the Museum might as well
be superannuated, and the institution left to the care of a few-
able-bodied men with dusters. But the modern Museum
officer looks on the exhibition rooms under his care as a
means for interesting and educating the people who pass
through. Every specimen must be shown with a purpose, be
naturally and artistically mounted, be clearly and intelligibly
labelled, and be placed in proper relation as regards other
objects. Let it not be supposed that we imagine this ideal
to have been attained in the Dublin Museum, but this is what
we aim at. Especial pains have been taken to place our
specimens in proper relations to each other. The extensive
re-arrangement which the collections have undergone to this
end, have already been described in the Irish Naturalist?
The aim has been, in the general collection of animals, in the
upper room of the natural history building, for example, so to
arrange the specimens that the principles of animal classifica-
tion cannot but be seen. It is hoped that even the casual
museum visitor will not fail to be impressed by the zoological
object-lesson offered to him. But a fair proportion of the
visitors to our galleries are serious students, attached to the
Royal University or to some other institution. These, students
come from all parts of Ireland, and through them at least the
Dublin Museum can claim to do something for national edu-
cation in its broadest sense. And the scientific culture of
such students cannot but benefit the Irish Field Clubs.

As befits a department of a metropolitan Museum, the
general collection will become, it is hoped, as full and as
instructive as possible. But merely from considerations of
space no attempt can be made in Dublin to rival the general
zoological collections of such centres as Eoudon and Berlin.
The department in which the Dublin zoological collections
should stand pre-eminent is the representation of the Fauna of
Ireland. This may seem a " local " subject to the visitor from
Great Britain or from the Eastern or the Western Continent. But
to us who inhabit the country and who regard the country as
a topographical unit, its fauna is a matter of national interest.
The " local" collection in the Dublin Museum therefore must

1 Vol. vi., 1897, pp 127-131.

i9oi' CarpknTKR. — Dublin Museum and Irish Naturalists. 159

illustrate as far as possible the fauiia of the whole island. No
smaller area will suffice, and this should establish a bond
between the Museum and naturalists throughout the country.

It is well that the hall of our Museum which houses the
exhibition collection of Irish animals should house also a
small series illustrating the fauna of each of the great zoological
regions of the earth. For study of Irish animals will be barren
unless the facts presented to us are read in the light of the
study of Geographical Distribution generally. Fspecial care
has therefore been bestowed on a case showing some of the
generalisations to which a study of the Irish Fauna seems to
lead us — the mingling in Ireland of an ancient South-western
with a less ancient Northern fauna, together with the absence
from Ireland of the Eastern group of animals characteristic of
the British lowlands.

The exhibition Irish collections will, it is hoped, some day
contain a representative of every kind of animal inhabiting
the country. It does not need much study of the collection to
see, at present, how far from realization this ideal is. And
now we come to see how naturalists throughout the country
can help their national Museum. L,et them take up and study
some of the neglected groups of Irish animals. For example,
the Mites, the smaller Hymenoptera and Diptera, several
orders of the lower Crustacea and many of the Worms are
waiting for investigators, and it may be years before any of the
professional zoologists in the country can turn their attention
to these groups.

But the visit which this Conference has paid to the Museum
has shown the members that in those groups of animals which
have received some attention, the specimens exhibited form
but a very small proportion of those stored in cabinets for
study and comparison. These study collections form the bulk
of the Museum's wealth, and for the detailed work which will
surely be some day undertaken on the better-known groups of
Irish animals, such collections can hardly be too rich. At
first sight these collections seem to benefit the naturalists
resident in or near Dublin to the exclusion of dwellers in
Ulster, Connaught, or Munster. But, as a matter of fact,
workers in distant parts of Ireland can and do receive help
from the Museum specimens. Much time is spent by the

i6o The Irish Naturalist. August,

Museum officers in answering inquiries about specimens sent
up from the country for determination. The better the collec-
tion under the officers' care, the more readily and fully can
they answer such inquiries. And not a few cases have arisen
in which such correspondence has proved of the greatest
benefit both to the inquirer and to the Museum, and tended
directly to the advancement of science, An isolated worker
begins to collect some group of animals. The identification of
his specimens sent to Dublin for determination increases his
interest in the study, and helps him to understand the system
of the group ; while his duplicates, gladly given, enrich the
Museum collection, and will in years to come benefit other
workers, and form a permanent record of the distribution of
species in Ireland.

The growth of the Museum study-collections re-acts
beneficially not only on the individual worker but on the
Field Clubs as a whole. It becomes possible to make up small
loan collections for distribution to local centres, and series of
Irish I^epidoptera and Mollusca have in this way been already
sent to the Museum of the Cork Field Club, while a selection
of Irish Birds has been sent to form the nucleus of a City
Museum in Waterford. We must hope that a Waterford Field
Club may be a result of interest thus stirred up in the near
future. Several years ago a number of duplicate mammals
were lent to the Municipal Museum of Belfast, and quite
recently a selection of vertebrates representing all the classes
and several orders have been sent on loan to the Museum of
Queen's College, Galway.

Thus by the joint action of the Museum officers and of local
naturalists, the private collections of the latter and the
national public collections in Dublin benefit mutually, and
the enrichment of the Dublin collections enables substantial
help to be given to provincial institutions.

And not only by giving their duplicates can Irish naturalists
enrich our national collections. A sum of money is voted
annually for the purchase of specimens, and there can be a
patriotic as well as an unpatriotic action in the matter of
selling. We have all heard of the recent Gold Ornament
controversy. Collectors in this country having collections
they want to sell, or knowing of persons not particularly

1901. Carpenter. — Dublin Maseiim and Irish Naturalists. 161

interested in zoology into whose possession rare specimens
happen to fall, can do much by offering or securing an offer
of such to the National Museum instead of letting them go to
decay, or be bought up by rapacious private collectors in other
countries. Some most valuable and welcome help in this
respect has receutly been afforded to the Museum by
naturalists both in the north and south of Ireland.

May the naturalists of Ireland realize then that the
collections which they have seen to-day are national property
supported by public funds, cared for by public servants.
And may one result of this Dublin Conference be that Irish
naturalists take an increasing and ever more helpful interest
in their own National Museum.

DITRICHUM VAGINANS,

A NEW BRITISH MOSS IN IRELAND.
BY J. H. DAVIES.

On a day in April last — 22nd April, 1 901, to be precise--I
had the pleasure of gathering on the summit of Colin Mountain
a Dicranaceous Moss, with an unfamiliar facies, which proved
to be Ditrichum vaginalis, a species new to the British Moss-
flora. All that I saw was sterile, and it is hoped that fertile
specimens may yet be obtained.

Colin Mountain, which has an elevation of .only about i,oSo
feet, is one of the range of basaltic hills which, beginning near
Belfast with Cave Hill (Ben Madigan), extends in a south-
westerly direction along the County Antrim side of the broad
valley of the Iyagan, and ends a short distance above Iyisburn.
From Belfast and Iyisburn it is nearly equidistant. To the
northern botanist these hills (none of them of any great
altitude), their attractive rocky and -shady glens and stretches
of boggy and heathy moorlands are classic ground.

The plant occurs in several spots, not very far apart, in con-
siderable quantity, and grows in densely compacted tufts or
patches, in places partly concealed by Polytrichum pilifenun,
on bare turfy and stony ground amongst heath. It did not
seem to agree with any book description to which I then had
access, and failing, after close scrutiny and painstaking

t62 The Itisk Naturalist, August,

efforts to determine it, I submitted specimens to Mr. H. N.
Dixon, F,IyS., who, with his accustomed kindness, examined
the plant, which he had no hesitation in referring to the
present species, a continental moss hitherto unknown as
British. He writes : — u This is a very interesting plant. It is
Ditrichum vaginalis (Sull.) Hampe., and is distinguished from
D. homomallum, var. zonatum [ = D. zonahim, Brid.] by the
shorter adpressed leaves with recurved margins and stouter
nerve." Dr. Braithwaite, F.L.S., to whom Mr. Dixon for-
warded examples, verifies the identification, and the plant will
be described and figured by him in a supplement to the con-
cluding volume of his British Moss Flora, which, in an
interesting letter, he informs me is now nearing an end. As it
will likely be some time before that appears, it may be well that
I should append a synonymy and a translation of L,impricht's
description (Laubmoosc, vol. i., p. 500.) When Dr. Braithwaite
reaches his supplement he will, no doubt, give a fuller
description, with needful comparisons and elucidations, in his

usual manner.

Ditrichum vaginans (Sull.) Hampe.

Syn.—Trichostomum vaginalis, Sulliv. Muse. Alleghan. No. 176. (1846).

Lcptotrichum homomallum, var. (3. striclum, Scliimp. Syn., ed. I., p. 144^

(i860).

Leptotrichum avimonlanum, Scliiiup. in Schedulis.

Didymodon tenuis, Sendt. uach Milfle, Bryol. Sil., p. 135.

Aongstromia Lamyi, Boul. Muse, de l'Est, p. 553. (1872).

Leptotrichum vaginalis, Schimp. Syu., ed. 2, No. 140. (1876), excl. var. (3.

Ditrichum lineare (Sw.) Liudb. in Sched.

Descr.— Dioicous : in dense yellow-green tufts. Plauts erect, filiform,
with very slender erect shoots. Leaves erect, appressed when dry,
from a longish ovate concave base, gradually pointed, channelled
towards the point, margin entire, revolute in upper half, nerve
strong, ending in the point. Cells smooth, elongated and rectangular
below, more quadrate above. Capsule erect, cylindric, light brown ;
lid conical; peristome teeth of two filiform legs, yellow, feebly
papillose.

Hab. — Sandy clay (not on limestone) in the mountains.

Distr. — France, Rhine provinces, Westphalia, Vosges, Ardennes,
Pyrenees, Bavaria, &c.

Recent addition— Ireland (Colin Mountain, Co. Antrim, 1901).

To the two well-known British bryologists whose names have

been mentioned I have to acknowledge my great indebtedness.

Iyisburn-

1901. 163

IRISH SOCIETIES.

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a West African Python from Captain J. B. Eames,
a Fieldfare from Mr. J. Ormiston, a Monkey from Mr. W. D. Byrne, a
pair of Ring-Snakes from Mr. h- P. Brown, a Tortoise from Miss F.
Wiugfield, and four Kestrels from Mr. R. W. Woodrow.

NOTES.

ZOOLOGY.

A Stray Viper near Wexford.

A correspondent informs us that a specimen of the Viper (Pelias ten-is),
upwards of three feet long, was captured and killed, on June 9th, by
Mr. S. Kanip, of Wexford, who found the snake in a field close to the
town. It was first seized by a terrier dog, and ultimately overpowered
and carried to the town, where it attracted much attention. Nothing
seems to be known as to the method of introduction of the reptile.

Night-jars on the Cave Hill, Belfast.

Having heard from a friend about a strange bird, which, from his
description, I thought must be a Night-Jar, seen close to the Karl of
Shaftesbury's demesne about a week ago, I, under my friend's guidance,
went to the place on the evening of the 4th of July. We had not been
there very long before one flew quite close to us— so close, indeed, that
I could distinctly see the white markings on the wings. After that
we heard them on all sides making their "eo-ic," as Mr. Seebohm
describes the note, when flying. We then saw one light on a fir tree,
and immediately begin to "jr-r-r-r," which it kept up for some
minutes, then changed to another fir top, and began again. The noise
must have been fairly loud, as we heard it a good way off. We saw two
more, but not quite so close. Many more were calling round amongst
the trees. They do not seem to be a very shy bird, as they came quite
close to my friend when he first saw them. Some have been shot
lately by gamekeepers round about, and set up by Shiels, of Corporation-
street, where I saw them. Dr. Bowdler Sharp, in his Hand-book of
British Birds, describes them as scarce in the North. They seem pretty
plentiful round Belfast.

W. II. Workman.

Belfast.

164 1 he Irish Naturalist. August, 1901,

Arrival of the Swift at Londonderry.

On reading Mr. Moffat's most interesting notes on the arrival of the
Swifts (Cypselus a pus) at Dublin, I looked up my notes since 1892 to find
the dates of their arrival here, and I think no other migrant keeps so
well up to time. Frequently a single pioneer bird appears a few days
before the host arrives.

The following are the dates of arrival at Londonderry: —

1892,

. 10th May.

1893,

. 5th May.

IS94,

. 7th May (one bird on 4th).

1895,

. 8th May (one bird 29th April) ; (reported by

friend on 6th Ma}-).

1896,

. 6th May.

1897,

. 12th May (one bird on 2nd May).

1898,

. 4th May.

1899,

. 6th May.

1900,

. 6th May.

1901,

. 9th May (one bird on 5U1 May). (Mr. Milne

reported one bird as seen on 22nd April).

D. C. Campbell.

Londonderry.

Slaughter of Sea-birds.

I wish to call attention to the flagrant breach of the Wild Birds Act by
persons shooting sea-gulls on Sunday from the public road at Sutton —
a three-fold offence. Let anyone walk along there at low-water and say
if the sea-gulls, for their services, do not merit our protection as much as
dogs in Constantinople or the Adjutants in India.

W. K. Hart.

Howth.

[Where are the police ? — Eds.]

(Enistis quadra on Carlingford Mountain.

This rare and local moth has been discovered in a highland and
northern locality by Mr. N. Colgan, who forwarded on July 22nd a female
specimen to the Dublin Museum, stating that he had picked it up a few
days previously near the top of Carlingford Mountain, Co. Louth, at an
elevation of about 1,800 feet. Hitherto this insect has occurred only in
a few of our southern counties — Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, and
Limerick.

G. H. Carpenter.

September, 1901. 1 65

A NEW IRISH SEDGE,

CAREX IRRIGUA.
BY NATHANIEL COI<GAN, M.R.I.A.

Eari<y in July last, on opening a box of fresh specimens of an

interesting morbid growth of the Cranberry sent me by my

friend, Dean d'Arcy of Belfast, who had just gathered them at

Parkmore, Co. Antrim, I was puzzled by the appearance of

some over-ripe plants of sedge which lay on top of the damp

Sphagnum packing. An examination of the fruit and bracts,

and leaves showed that they agreed closely with those of

Carex irrigua (Hoppe), earlier named C. magellanica by

L,amarck ; but, unfortunately, the material was too imperfect

in other points to justify a positive identification in the case

of a critical species. On inquiry I learned that these defective

specimens of what seemed likely to prove an addition to our

Irish flora, had been gathered by a very youthful botanist —

the Dean's daughter, Ellinor, aged eleven. Her keen eye had

detected the unfamiliar plant as she roamed over the bogs at

the head of Glenariff on the 6th July last, and when the box of

Cranberry specimens, gathered for me on the same day, was

about to be closed, she insisted on having her sedges put in

on top and sent off to be named.

Ten days elapsed before we found an opportunity of following

up the clue so unexpectedly put into our hands. Starting on

the 1 6th July last by the early morning train from Belfast, Dean

d'Arcy and I reached the Parkmore terminus of the Ballymena

and Cushendall Mountain Railway by half-past eight, and,

striking south across the wet bogs, in another half-hour found

ourselves surrounded by the nodding and dancing fruit-spikes

of unmistakable Carex itrigua. There were hundreds of

plants, varying in size from 6 to 16 inches, and springing from

a bed of Sphagnum, embroidered with the delicate runners

and gem-like flowers of Cranberry. We found the sedge in three

distinct stations, ranging from about 900 to 1,100 feet above

sea-level ; and, judging from the aspect of the country around

here, it seems probable that further search would lead to the

discovery of other stations. In two of the three stations near

Parkmore, the plant had already been noted by its first

discoverer ten days earlier.

a

1 66 The hi sh Naturalist September,

There is considerable diversity of opinion amongst authors
as to the standing of C. irrigtia, and as to the characters best
fitted to distinguish it from C. limosa, which in many points
it closely resembles. Amongst modern writers the prevailing
tendency appears to be in favour of admitting it to full specific
rank, though some earlier authorities have reduced it to the
position of a variety, or even of an alpine form, of C. limosa.

Both in the New World and in the Old, the distribution of
C. irrigua is a very wide one. On the European continent it
appears to be decidedly northern and alpine in its range,
ascending to upwards of 7,000 feet in the Alps. I have but
scanty information as to its vertical range in Great Britain.
Specimens from Perthshire, sent me by my friend the Rev. K. S.
Marshall, are labelled as ranging there to 1,300 feet. It
seems not improbable that some of the numerous extant Irish
records for C limosa may be referable to its closely similar
congener, C. irrigua, and I would venture to suggest to Irish
botanists a re-examination of any herbarium specimens
labelled C. limosa to which the}7 may have access, especially
such as have been gathered in North Ireland.

Mr. Arthur Bennett, to whom I have submitted specimens
of the Parkmore plant, agrees with me in referring it to
Cm irrigua, though he finds the leaves unusually narrow. In
the character drawn from the leaf-form, the Irish plant varies
considerably, the leaves in many of my specimens being quite
as broad as in Scotch examples ; but in no instance do they
approach to the sharply-keeled type characteristic of C. limosa.
Amongst the numerous distinctions of greater or less im-
portance which, taken together, render it by no means
difficult to separate the two species, there is one of which no
mention is made by any of the authors I have found time to
consult. The fruits of C. irrigua are distinctly stalked, while
those of C. limosa are quite sessile on the spike rachis. This
is true of all the specimens I have examined, and it would be
interesting to know whether it holds good generally for the
two plants. Mr. Bennett is of opinion that the Dorset record
for C. irrigua, given in the second edition of Topographical
Botany, and accepted by Hooker in the third edition of his
Student's Flora, is a very doubtful one, and should probably
be referred to C. limosa. We cannot, then, argue from any

igoi. Colgan. — A New Irish Sedge 167

extreme southward range of trie species in England to the
probability of its occurrence in Southern or, indeed, in
Western Ireland. But it is otherwise with Northern Ireland.
Here, in a 'more alpine climate, large areas of high-lying,
spongy bog offer a congenial habitat for this interesting
species — interesting not merely to the botanist as a subject
for critical discussion, but also to the unscientific student of
our native plants, by reason of the peculiar circumstances
attending its addition to the Irish flora.

Sandycove, Co. Dublin.

NEWS GLEANINGS.

Professor C. J. Patten.

We join with the numerous friends of Dr. Chas. J. Patten, Senior
Demonstrator in Anatomy at Dublin University, and Secretary to the
Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, in congratulating him heartily on his
appointment to the Chair of Anatomy in the Firth University College,
Sheffield.

IRISH SOCIETIES.

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include four Hoopoes, from Mr. J. N. Lentaigne, a pair of
Caracars, from Mr. J. Hogg, four Amherst's Pheasants and three Golden
Pheasants from Mr. H. Jameson, a Coatimundi from Mr. R. Coffey, a
Thrush from Dr. Tweedy, a Touracon from Mr. D. A. Donovan, a
Peacock from Mr. T. P. Bradshaw, a Leopard from Lieut. -Col. Duke, a
pair of Bntellus Monkeys from Lieut. -Col. Masters, a Seal from Mr. W.
Hamilton, a Cormorant and a Herring Gull from Sergeant M'Goldrick,
and a Sparrow-hawk from Mr. W. Higginbottom. Three Wild Boars
have been born in the Gardens. A pair of Yellow Baboons and a Black
Ape have been bought.

A 2

1 68 The Irish Naturalist September,

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

July 18-20.— Excursion to Sugo.— The long excursion of the Club
was held this session in Sligo from the iSth to 20th July, inclusive, and
was conducted by Mr. Seymour. During the whole of the time spent in
the locality the weather was practically perfect, which fact contributed
in no small degree towards making the excursion one of the most suc-
cessful and enjoyable held by the Club for some time. Some fifteen
members and visitors left Broadstone Terminus on the morning of the
iSth July, and reached Sligo about 2 p.m. After lunch the party, re-
inforced by some members of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, left
the Imperial Hotel in a four-horse drag and drove to Carrowmore, the
Carnac of Ireland. About an hour was spent in examining, both inter-
nally and externally, the numerous pre-historic monuments here, which
are believed to mark the site of a desperate battle fought about 30 B.C.,
and resulting in the final expulsion of the Firbolgs from Ireland. After-
wards the drive was continued to Kuocknarea Glen, a remarkable deep
cleft, about half a mile long, in Carboniferous limestone, and full of trees
and luxuriant ferns. From here five of the more active members of the
party set off to climb Kuocknarea, the remainder exploring the Glen
and afterwards driving round to Strandhill. When near the summit
1,078 feet) of the hill a dense fog came down, and completely obscured
the view of the country from the mountaineers — who, nevertheless, went
on to the top of the gigantic earn, marking the reputed burial place of
Maev, Queen of Connaught. After a short rest there they came down
again to Strandhill, and, joining the rest of the party, drove back to Sligo,
which was reached about 8 p.m.

On the next morning, the weather being delightfully fine, in spite of
the deluges of rain during the night, the party left at 9 o'clock, and drove
to Drumcliff, where a short time was spent examining the sculptured
stone cross and the incomplete round tower in the vicinity. Thence on
to the foot of the steep southern slope of Ben Bulben (1,722 feet).
Leaving the drag the party commenced the ascent of the mountain,
going in an easterly direction towards King's Mountain (over 1,500 feet),
this summit being reached by fourteen members — who were rewarded
with a truly magnificent view of the surrounding country. A few went
on a little further to the east to get a glimp.se of Gleiicar Lake, which
they were presentlj* to explore.

All then descended through a rocky gorge cut by a stream in the
mountain side, and getting on the drag again drove to Glencar Lodge —
occupied by Mr. Siberry, the gamekeeper on the Wynne testate. Here,
in a most charming situation, lunch was served by the hospitable house-
hold, to which the members did ample justice.

After lunch the party visited the beautiful and picturesque Glencar
Waterfall, and spent some hours collecting in the vicinity of the lake.
The return journey was commenced at 5.30, Sligo being reached at 7
o'clock. The members proceeded at once to Sligo Abbey, where the
chief items of interest were pointed out and explained by the resident
caretaker.

f9oi- Proceedings of Irish Societies. 169

On the third and last day of the meeting the rendezvous was L,ough
Gill— one of the most beautiful lakes in Ireland — to which the members
proceeded in boats, passing through scenery excelled only, perhaps, by
Killarney. The lake was crossed, and the party landed near Slish Wood
Gap. The time available was spent collecting in the woods and along
the shore, and the return journey was begun at 1 o'clock. Sligo was
reached at 2 p.m. ; and after early dinner the party broke up — about half
the number returning to Dublin — the railway company very kindly
arranging for a through carriage to accommodate the members.

A large number of snap-shot photographs were taken by three photo-
graphic members of the party during the excursion, and an interesting
record of the trip has been thus obtained. Lantern transparencies of
the photos will be shown at the coming conversazione in October.

A large cumber of the rare plants for which the Ben Bulben range is
famous, were collected. The best find was the Bee Orchis (Op/irys
apiferd), gathered near Knocknarea Glen by Miss E. M'lntosh. The
only previous Sligo record dates from before the first edition of Cybclc
Hibemica.

On Ben Bulben the entomologists were fortunate in finding the moun-
tain ground-beetle Carabus glabralus, a first record for Connaught. With
it were other highland species, notably — Calalhus nubigena, Taphria nivalis,
and Olislhopus rotundatus.

At IyOUgh Gill the best zoological finds were a small rove-beetle, Tro-
gophlceus arctiatus, and a local longhorn-beetle, Slrangalia armata, both
being previously unrecorded from the province of Connaught.

CORK NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

August 5. — Excursion to Sherkin Island. — Fourteen members
and friends met at Baltimore, whence boat was taken to Sherkin. The
island contains ruins of an ancient abbey and castle, which were explored,
and affords magnificent views of Cape Clear and the mountains and
promontories of West Cork. Many interesting plants were collected during
the day, among them being Trifolium arvense and Carnm Petroseliniun, found
on the abbey walls, Eryngium campestre and Cuscuta Trifoliit new to West
Cork ; Althcea officinalis, Artemisia Absinthium, Bartsia viscosa, Euphorbia
hibcrna, Polygonum Rail, and Carex muricata.

On the mainland about Baltimore were noted Saliva Verbenaca and
Rumex pulchcr. Insects were collected and kept for identification.

After tea the party had a walk through the famous Baltimore Fishery
School, thus winding up what all agreed was a profitable as well as a
most enjoyable day.

1 70 September,

NOTES.

BOTANY.

Irish Topographical Botany.

For Mr. Moffat's excellent critical notice of my book, I offer him my
sincere thanks. Regarding some points, I fear he is unduly complimen-
tary ; but on the other hand, he has done useful service in pointing out
several omissions. Regarding one or two of his criticisms, I should like
to offer a word of explanation. Mr. Moffat turns the search-light of his
unequalled knowledge of the flora of Co. Wexford on the records for that
county in " Irish Topographical Botany," and I am relieved to find that
he finds so little in the way of error or omission.

Hypericum calycinum. — Mr. Moffat's MS. notes say, " several roadside
localities," without any particulars ; these are purposely omitted, like
many other similar records.

Arctium minus and Mentha sativa. — Further records purposely omitted,
pending confirmation by an authority. [ trust Mr. Moffat will not
object to have his records treated as I treated those of my own which
were not backed by the opinion of an authority.

Papaver Rhccas and Lychnis diurna. — In these cases Mr. Moffat is right.
Other records in his MS. list should be recognized by the addition of
the word "rare" after the record which I quote.

Osmunda regalis. — There is a slip here, in the inclusion of county-
division 12 in the note on p. 386. This is clear from the note given on
p. 385, where the plant is correctly described as frequent in Wexford.

Pinguicula lusitanica. — " N. E." is a misprint for " N. W." This reconciles
Mr. Moffat's statement with mine.

Pinguicula vulgaris. — Found by myself near foot of Blackstairs in 1899.

As regards the maps showing progress of field-work, Mr. Moffat points
out that, by implication, a list of over2co species might have been compiled
from More's paper on the flora of Castle Taylor, and that S. E. Galway
ought, therefore, to have been lightly coloured on the first map. This
is so. I can only plead that in a rapid survey of some hundreds of papers
for positive results, a negative result, such as this, was easily overlooked.
While regretting the oversight, I can hardly thiuk that it justifies the
rather severe generalization about want of fairness to previous explorers
which Mr. Moffat draws from it.

The only other point to which I wish to refer concerns the MS. list
of Wexford plants referred to by Mr. Moffat. This was compiled during
a number of years past by Capt. Barrett-Hamilton and himself, and he
most kindly placed it in my hands. But it ought not, according to the
standard used, to be quoted in any one of the three places where Mr.
Moffat says it ought. The "Bibliography" does not include private
manuscript material, and its inclusion there would be unwarranted.
Neither ought it to appear in the right-hand column on p. lxxxv.,
marked " A," as an analysis of its contents and dates will show : nor in

1901. Notes. 171

the list on p. ci. since, as stated, this is merely a list of sources princi-
pally used, and Mr. Moffat's list furnished fewer records than some
dozens of others which are likewise omitted. Almost every important
record contained in this list appears in published papers by Mr. Moffat
or others, to which he will find all due credit is given in the proper

places.

R. IvI^OYD Praeger.

Spiranthes Romanzoffiana in Antrim.

Mr. William West, F.Iy.S., of Bradford, sends me a fresh specimen of
Spiranthes Romanzoffiana, from Co. Antrim. He writes that he found it
between Antrim and Toonie, growing in fair quantity in rather damp grassy
places among Spiraa Ulniaria, Achillcea Plarmica, Comarum palustre, &c.
on July 31st. A fourth northern station for this extremely rare orchid is
most welcome. It is worthy of note that all the Ulster localities, in
Armagh, Antrim, and Londonderry, are situated in the basin of the River
Bann. That four stations for this plant should be discovered in ten
years in so well worked a part of Ireland as the north-east, is one of the
most remarkable features of recent research in Irish botany.

R. 1,1,0yd Praeger.

Pyrola secunda refound in Ireland.

After an interval of over sixty years this interesting plant has been
again found in Ireland. On August 2nd Mr. W. N. Tetley, of Portora
Royal School, brought me two fine specimens collected by him at Carrol
Glen, near Carrick Lake, Co. Fermanagh, on June 26th last. Mr. Tetley
describes the plant as growing on a rough ledge of limestone rocks. He
saw only one patch of it, but did not search for more.

P. secunda is a characteristic plant of the Scottish type of distribution.
In Ireland, its only previous stations — four in number — were in the
Counties of Antrim and Derry, where it was discovered by Dr. Moore
about the year 1835, and has never been refound in spite of repeated
searches by various botanists in the definite stations recorded. Mr.
Tetley is to be congratulated on a most interesting discovery.

In connection with this plant Mr. S. A. Stewart sends me the follow-
ing important note : —

Pyrola secunda. — I find in the Belfast Museum a specimen which had
been overlooked both by myself and Corry. We said in the Flora N.E.L
that it was first found in Ireland by Moore. Not so ; we have a specimen
labelled " Derry, Mr. Brown." Now, this must have been Robert Brown,
who lived in Derry about 1S01 or 1S02. There is no date or special
locality for our specimen. These omissions were too common a century
ago, and even later. In this connection I ma)' mention that Pyrola
secunda was one of the plants for which D. Moore was awarded a prize
at the fete in the Belfast Botanic Gardens in 1838 (Coronation Fete).

R. IyI<OYD PRAEGER.

Dublin.

172 The Irish Naturalist. September,

Eryngium campestre in Ireland.

On Monday, August 5th, on the occasion of the Cork Naturalists' Field
Club excursion to Sherkin Island, Co. Cork, I gathered specimens of an
Eryngium pointed out to me by Mrs. J. J. Wolfe, which on subsequent
examination proved to be E. campestre — a species apparently not seen in
Ireland since 1819, when it was recorded by Drummond, from near
Ivismore, Co. Waterford. It grows in some quantity on one spot in an
old pasture field with exclusively native plants, and may be indigenous ;
but further search for other stations in the locality would be desirable
before adding it with certainty to our list of undoubted natives. Its dis-
tribution in England is not inconsistent with its being a native in Co.
Cork, as Mr. Arthur Bennett, F.L.S., who has kindly verified the identity
of my specimens, considers it likely to be native in West Cornwall, Kent,
Suffolk, and Devon, but doubtful elsewhere.

R. A. Philips.
Cork.

ZOOLOGY.

Notes on Humble Bees.

I recently had an opportunity of watching the curious behaviour of
two Humble Bees (Bomdzts ierrestris) — a queen and a worker. The queen
was wet and chilled, and the worker came along and showed great solici-
tude. It crawled over the body of the larger bee and examined its wings
and legs minutely , and fetched water from a water-lily leaf with which, as I
thought, to loosen the queen's wings, which seemed fixed to her body.
It also lay on the body of the queen for two minutes, or more, motion-
less, as if to warm it. Then they both rolled over, and seemed to fight
viciously with each other, and then rolled off a large water-lily leaf on
which all the above actions took place, and I secured both by lifting them
out of the water.

F. W. Burbidge.
Trinity College Botanic Gardens.

Vanessa io near Londonderry.

When at Burnfoot, about seven miles from Derry, near Lough S willy,
I saw, on the road to Inch (which road is generally covered with water),
a Peacock Butterfly, and another in a lane leading to railway-crossing
about a hundred yards from Burnfoot Station. It was between the nth
and 25th of May that I saw these two, during the very hot weather. The
Butterflies were so large that I heard the rustling of their wings when
flying, and I distinctly saw the round rings on each wing. Of course it
is just possible I may have met with the same butterfly twice, on different
days. However, having seen one shows that they are not extinct in that
locality.

W. T. C. Ward.

Belfast.

1901. Notes. 173

Conchological Society— Committee for Collective Investigation.

The following are the subjects for enquiry proposed for 1901-1902.
Returns should reach the Secretary (S. E. Boycott, The Grange, Here-
ford), not later than September 1st, 1902: —

I. Do you find Vallonia pulchella and the form coslata together or
separately ? In dry or moist situation ? Do intermediate forms occur ?
Does each form seem to affect a particular kind of habitat ?

II. Are Tachea nemoralis and T. hortensis found together or separately ?
(1) In the same district ? (2) In the same locality (hedgebank, &c.) ? Is
there any difference in the habitat most affected by each species ?

III. Do Claiisilia rugosa (bidentatd) and Balia perversa occur together ?
What habitat are they found in ?

IV. Are there any constant differences between the radulae of: —

(1) Hyalinia cellaria and H. alliaria. (2) Limncea peregra and L. anricu-
laria. (3) Succinea putris and ..9. elegans. (4) Tachea nemoralis and T.
hortensis ?

V. Record the circumstances attending the disappearance to which
certain species, such as A. glutinosa, H.fusca, and V. edentula, are subject.
How are such disappearances to be accounted for ?

Notes on Fishes from the Co. Down Coast.

As a sea-fisherman, when observing " plays " of gulls, razorbills, &c,
ravenously devouring fry, I have sometimes questioned the wisdom of so
much protection for these enemies of the " harmless necessary" herring,
while the embryo " two-eyed beefsteaks " are left entirely at their mercy.
It has recently been stated (in the English Mechanic, I think), that since
sea-birds were protected, fish have been decreasing. Although this
would be difficult to prove, it is clearly probable.

In my piscatorial efforts with a net on the Glassdrunimond coast this
season, I captured a fish of a kind I had never seen before. At first sight
we took it for a Grey Mullet, but the shape of its head being different,
we sent this, with a description of the body (which also we ate, and very
good it was), to Mr. Robert Patterson of Belfast, who pronounced it a
Basse (Labrax Lttpus), and rare on our northern Irish coasts.

J. Brown.
Longhurst, Duumurry.

The Snake near Wexford.

One would like to know a little more about the " Stray Viper, near
Wexford," reported in the August number of the Irish Naturalist.

The statement that it was "upwards of three feet long " affords pre-
sumptive evidence that it was not a Viper, but a Common Snake, examples
of which are from time to time introduced by way of experiment to see
"whether snakes can live in Ireland."

J. E- Harting.
Burlington House, London.

A3

174 The Irish Naturalist. September,

Bird Notes from the Mourne Mountains.

A Night-jar has been frequently observed flying about the lawn here
this summer. Last month, while staying at Glassdrummoud on the
coast, near Annalong, we saw one almost every evening fluttering round
the house, which stands on a high knoll overlooking the sea. I was told
these birds are frequently seen in the mountains there, and that their
nests are found in the bracken.

Large birds of the hawk tribe also frequent the Mourne Mountains,
and on one occasion I was much struck by the fierce shrieking noise
made by the wings of one of them when striking down on its prey, close
to where we stood. No doubt such a sound would have a very terrifying
effect on the quarry, which in this case proved to be a carrier pigeon,
apparently killed by impact with the ground, as there was no visible
wound. Its pursuer (the larger of the two) was, no doubt, too much
taken up with the excitement of the chase to notice us till all was over,
when he quickl}- flew away, and we ate the pigeon.

J. Brown.

Longhurst, Dunmurry.

Hawfinch near Londonderry.

On 5th July I examined a male Hawfinch (Coccothrausles vulgaris), which
had been killed by Mr. Motherwell in his garden at Garshney Crossroads,
near Londonderry.

D. C. Campbeee.
Londonderry.

Night-jar near Belfast.

What Mr. Workman writes in July number of the Irish Naturalist, as to
the Night-jar on Cave Hill is interesting. It seems to haunt the whole
range of hills to the north and west of Belfast. Thompson speaks of its
occurrence in Colin Glen, four miles west of the city. Crow Glen is three
miles north-west of Belfast, and here I heard the jarring song of this
bird only a few days ago, and should have got close enough to see it ha
not the clatter made by four heavy-footed bipeds scared it away. Two
miles north-east of this glen is Carr's Glen, where I have also listened to
the Night-jar, and I have heard two or three of them at the Knockagh
cliffs, some six miles further north. It must be on the increase here.
A century since, Templeton, who was a lover of birds, as of all nature,
considered it rare. Thompson, gave some few localities, and spoke of
it as not common. Perhaps it benefits by keeping late hours, and thus
evading the prowling nuisances with guns.

S. A. Stewart.
Belfast.

1901. Notes* 175

Constant recurrence of Night-jars.

For the last three summers a Night-jar has frequented a grove ou the
opposite side of the River Suir to my house.

This summer I did not expect to hear his jarring note, as extensive
blasting operations are in progress on the new Waterford and Rosslare
Railway exactly at this spot, so I was much surprised to hear him again
on the night of the 1st August exactly at the old haunt.

F,. A. Gibbon.

Waterford.

Breeding of the Dunlin.

Referring to Mr. Blake Knox's interesting notes upon the breeding
of the Dunlin {Tringa alpina) in Westmeath, I should like to say that his
description of where the nests were built — viz., "in exceedingly short
grass some twenty paces from the lake shore " — exactly describes the
positions of the nests on the sloblands at Inch, Lough Swilly. All those
I found were in small tufts of rank grass on the bare slob along the
margin of the water. The open lough (salt water) was a few hundred
yards away.

When I visited Inch in the end of May last I found no nests, but saw
many Dunlins in breeding plumage; and noticed on t flock of twelve and
another of about thirty, also a number of single birds. WThere the birds
were single, or in pairs, they were exceedingly tame, and sometimes
allowed me to approach to within a few yards.

D. C. Campbeix.
Londonderry.

Bat catching flies in day-time.

On July 30th, when driving at about noon, I saw a bat working in the
same way as at night. I saw him distinctly change his course suddenly
to catch flies. I could not see what kind of a bat it was. This took
place on the main road about two miles from Waterford.

Fy. A. Gibbon.
Waterford.

176 September,

PLANT RECORDS WANTED.

BY R. IXOYD PRAEGER.

Now that " Irish Topographical Botany'' has appeared, it may
be useful to publish a list of the more conspicuous gaps in the
county-lists, compiled in connection with the final season's
field-work, and now revised. It has, indeed, been suggested
that such a list might have appeared in the book {ante, p,
154). While thinking it would hardly have been in place
there, I gladly take the opportunity of publishing it here, and
hope its publication will lead to the early filling up of many
of the more evident oversights, either from existing material
in the hands of some of my fellow botanists, or by means of
field-work.

The following lists show the commoner plants not yet on
record for each of the forty county-divisions. The usual test
for a " commoner plant" has been one that is on record for
thirty or more of the divisions : but in the case of sea-coast
plants, and of a few others of well defined partial range, it has
been necessary to employ a different standard. A species has
been occasionally included although a record exists, if that
record is unsatisfactory on account of doubtful determination
or probable introduction.

A few of the plants in these lists are no doubt genuine
absentees. For instance, the absence or rarity of Pimpinella
Saxifraga, CEnanthe Pkellandrium, Parnassia pahistris, Scla-
ginella selaginoidcs, in the South of Ireland appears to be a fact ;
and several common plants of the east and centre are
apparently genuinely absent from the wilder portions of the
west, from Kerry to Donegal. I have not attempted to dis-
criminate between such probably real absentees, and others
whose non-inclusion in the county lists is evidently purely the
result of oversight : it is in fact most desirable that attention
should be paid to both groups, and their presence or absence
definitely decided.

I may add that it is 1113^ intention to have this paper
reprinted, and I shall be glad to send copies to anyone who
will help to look up any of these missing plants as opportunity
offers.

1901.

pRAEGKR. — Plant Records Wanted.

177

Nasturtium palustre.

ainphibium.
Hypericum perforatum.
Potentilla procumbeus.
Parnassia palustris.
Pimpinella Saxifraga.
CEnanthe Phellandrium.
Valerianella dentata.
Crepis paludosa.

Nasturtium amphibium.
Pruuus Cerasus.
Potentilla procumbens.
Parnassia palustris.
CECrjanthe Phellandrium.
Petasites fragrans.

Nasturtium palustre.
Parnassia palustris.
Scandix Pecten-Veneris.
CEJnanthe Phellandrium.
Anthemis Cotula.
Solanum Dulcamara.
Blodea canadensis.

Nasturtium amphibium.
Cakile maritima.
Parnassia palustris.
Eryngium maritimum.
Antennaria dioica.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Pinguicula vulgaris.
Euphorbia Paralias.
Epipactis latifolia.
Lemua trisulca.

Parnassia palustris.
Drosera anglica.
Achillsea Ptarmica.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Pinguicula vulgaris.
Scirpus pauciflorus.

1. Kerry South.

Lithospermum officinale.
Euphorbia exigua.
Elodea canadensis.
Epipactis latifolia.
Juncus glaucus.
Lemna trisulca.
Potamogeton crispus.
Selaginella selaginoides.

2. Kerry North.

I/ithospermum officinale.
Origanum vulgare.
Rumex Hydrolapathum.
Euphorbia exigua.
Selaginella selaginoides.

3. Cork WeSt.

Habenaria conopsea.
Lemna trisulca.
Scirpus pauciflorus.
Carex teretiuscula.

Hudsonii.

vesicaria.
Chara hispida.

4. Cork Mid.

Scirpus pauciflorus.
Carex teretiuscula.
Psamma arenaria.
Deschampsia flexuosa.
Agropyron junceum.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Aspidium aculeatum.
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Selaginella selaginoides.
Nitella opaca.

5. Cokk East.

Empetrum nigrum.
Carex teretiuscula.

Hudsonii.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Selaginella selaginoides.

t78

The It ish Natitralist.

September,

6. Waterford.

Viola tricolor.
Polygala serpyllacea.
Geurn rivale.
Drosera anglica.
Myriophyllum alterniflorum.
Apiuin inundatum.
Achillsea Ptarmica.
Arctium minus

intermedium.
Primula officinalis.
Veronica montana.
Pinguicula vulgaris.
Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Polygonum lapathifolium.
Sparganium simplex.

Eleocharis multicaulis.
Scirpus pauciflorus.

lacustris.
Eriophorum vaginatum.
Rhyncliospora alba.
Schcenus nigricans.
Carex teretiuscula.
Phleum pratense.
Festuca elatior.
Opliioglossum vulgatum.
Selaginella selaginoides.
Chara aspera.

hispida.

vulgaris.

7-

Ranunculus sceleratus.
Brassica alba.
Raphanus Raphanistrum.
Viola canina.

tricolor.
Cerastium tetraudrum.
Rosa spinosissima.
Sedum anglicum.
Myriophyllum spicatum.
Gnaphalium s}dvaticum.
Bidens tripartita.

Tippbrary South.

Achillaea Ptarmica.
Arctium minus.

intermedium.
Samolus Valerandi.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Salix repens.

purpurea.
Allium ursinum.
Potamogeton beterophyllus.
Selaginella selaginoides.
Chara aspera.

8. Limerick.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.
Viola palustris

caniiia.
Pol)rgala vulgaris.
Lychnis diurna.
Arenaria triuervia.
Montia fontana.
Callitriche stagnalis.
Filago germanica.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum
Jasione montana.
Vacciuiuin Oxycoccus.
Myosotis repens.
Veronica hedersefolia

Veronica montana.
Scutellaria galericulata.
Empetrum nigrum.
Habenaria chloroleuca.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Scirpus pauciflorus.

fluitans.
Carex Hornschuchiana.
Catabrosa aquatica.
Lolium temulentum.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Lycopodium Selago.
Selaginella selaginoides.
Chara aspera.

1901.

Praeger.— -Plant Records Wanted.

179

9. Cl,ARE.

Cardaruine flexuosa.
Viola tricolor.
Montia fontana.
Malva moschata.
Trifolium hybridum.
Vicia angustifolia.
Prunus Cerasus.
Poteutilla procumbeus.
Myriophyllum spicatuui.
Callitriche stagualis.

Mentha sativa.
Polygonum lapathi folium.
Salix purpurea.
Orchis incarnata.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Carex Hudsonii.
Melica uniflora.
Lastrea spinulosa.
Nitella opaca.

10. Tipperary North.

Viola tricolor.
Lychnis diurna.
Ononis arvensis.
Vicia hirsuta.
Sedum anglicum.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Lithospermum officinale.
Solanum Dulcamara.
Pinguicula lusitanica.

Scutellaria galericulata.
Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Allium ursinum.
Sparganium simplex.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Bleocharis multicaulis.
Carex laevigata.
Melica uniflora.
Loliuni temulentum.
Chara aspera.
Nitella opaca.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.
Cochlearia officinalis.
Raphanus Raphanistrum.
Viola tricolor.
Lychnis diurna.
Cerastium tettandrutn.
Poteutilla procumbens.
Geum rivale.
Rosa spinosissima.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum.
Arctium minus.

Nuphar luteum.
Nymplnea alba.
Chelidouium majus.
Nasturtium amphibiuui.
Geranium lucidum.
Sempervivum tectorum.
Parnassia palustris.

11. Kilkenny.

Arctium intermedium.
Scutellaria galericulata.
Suasda maritima.
Polygonum lapathifolium
Populus tremula.
Empetrum nigrum
Phleum pratense.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Rquisetum maximu

sylvaticum.
Nitella opaca.

12.

Wexford.

Drosera anglica.
QEnanthe Phellandriu
Arctium intermedium.
Vacciuium Oxycoccus.
Littorella lacustris.
Polygonum lapathifolium.
Salix purpurea.

i8o

The Irish Naturalist.

September,

12. WEXFORD — continued.

Habenaria conopsea.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Scirpus pauciflorus.
Rhynchospora alba.
Carex Hornschuchiana.

Cystopteris fragilis.
Lastrea spiuulosa.
Chara hispida.
Nitella opaca.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.
Aquilegia vulgaris.
Nymphsea alba.
Cerastium tetrandrum.
Geranium lucidum.
Drosera anglica.
Apium inundatum.
Scandix Pecten -Veneris.
Lithosperniuui officinale.
Thymus Serpyllum.
Ijttorella lacustris.

13. Careow.

Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Atriplex patula.
Myrica Gale.
Epipactis latifolia.
Habenaria bifolia.
Carex teretiuscula.

vulpina.
Alopecurus geniculates
Festuca elatior.
Solium temulentum.
Chara aspera.

Nymphaea alba.
Nasturtium palustre.
Raphauus Raphanistrum.
Viola canina.

tricolor.
Lychnis diurna.
Cerastium tetrandrum.
Vicia hirsuta.
Cotyledon Umbilicus.
Sedum anglicum.
Callitriche stagnalis.
CEnanthe crocata.
Sambucus Ebulus.

14. Queen's Co.

Bideus tripartita.
Myosotis repens.

versicolor.
Convolvulus arvensis.
Chenopodium Bonus-Heuricus.
Polygonum lapathifolium.
Epipactis latifolia.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Phleum pratense.
Agrostis canina.

alba.
Nitella opaca.

15.
Ranunculus sceleratus.
Cakile maritima.
Raphanus Raphanistrum
Viola tricolor.
Malva moschata.
Sedum anglicum.
Crithmum maritimuni.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Jasione montana.

Gai,way South-east.

M)-osotis repens.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Salsola Kali.
Populus tremula.
Agrostis canina.
Psamma arenaria.
Agropyrou junceum.
Lastrea Oreopteris.

icpi.

Prakger. — Plant Records Wanted.

181

Ranunculus penicillatus.
Chelidonium majus.
Nasturtium aniphibium.
Viola odorata.
Arenaria trinervia.
Trifolium hybridum.
Smyrnium Olusatrum.
Sium angusti folium.
CEnanthe Phellandrium.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Petasites fragrans.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Symphytum officinale.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Utricularia vulgaris.

17-
Chelidonium majus.
Cakile maritima.
Viola tricolor.
Lotus uliginosus.
Vicia hirsuta.

angustifolia.
Prunus Cerasus.
Geum rivale.
Callitriche stagnalis.
Eryngium maritimum.
Smyrnium Olusatrum.
Scandix Pecten-Veneris.
CEnanthe crocata.
Filago germanica.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Petasites fragrans.

Ranunculus penicillatus.
Lychnis diurna.
Hypericum humifusum.
Ononis repens.
Vicia hirsuta.

angustifolia.
Potentilla procumbens.
Sedum anglicum.
Callitriche stagnalis.
CEnanthe crocata.
Filago germanica.
Gnaphalium uliginosum.

sylvaticum.

1 6. Gai/vvay West.

Mentha sativa.

Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Rumex Hydrolapathum.
Salix alba.

purpurea.
Lemna trisulca.
Carex teretiuscula.

vulpina.
Phleum pratense.
Trisetum flavesceus.
Catabrosa aquatica.
Glyceria maritima.
Festuca elatior.
Bromus sterilis.

Gai^way North-east.

Arctium minus.

Crepis paludosa.

Jasione montana.

Statice rariflora.

Myosotis repens.

Mentha sativa.

Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.

Empetruni nigrum.

Epipactis latifolia.

Carex vulpina.

laevigata.
Phleum pratense.
Agrostis canina.
Deschampsia flexuosa.
Lastrea Oreopteris.

18. King's Co.

Arctium minus.

intermedium.
Myosotis repens.
Convolvulus arvensis.
Pinguicula lusitanica.
Scutellaria galericulata
Littorella lacustris.
Polygonum Hydropiper.
Epipactis latifolia.
Sparganium simplex.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Cystopteris fragilis.

182

The Irish Naturalist .

September,

19. Kir^DARE.

Nasturtium amphibium.
Viola palustris.
Polygala serpyllacea.
Hypericum humifusum.
Lotus uligiuosus.
Potentilla procumbens.
Sedum anglicum.
Sempervivum tectorum.
CEnanthe crocata.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Filago germanica.
Gnaplialium sylvaticum.
Bidens tripartita.
Arctium intermedium.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Piuguicula lusitanica.
Scutellaria galericulata.

Polygonum Hydropiper.

lapathifolium.
Salix repens.
Epipactis latifolia.
Juncus squarrosus.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Scirpus setaceus.
Carex sylvatica

laevigata.
Phleum prateuse.
Agrostis canina.
Melica uniflora.
Lastrea Oreopteris.

aemula.
Botrychium Lunaria.
Equisetum sylvaticum.

20. Wickt.ow.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.
Nymphaea alba.
Nasturtium palustre.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Sempervivum tectorum.
Drosera anglica.
Myriopliyllum alterniflorum.
Scandix Pecten-Veueris.
Bidens cernua.
tripartita.

Anthemis Cotula.
Veronica Anagallis.
Lycopus europceus.
Salix purpurea.
Sparganium minimum.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.

perfoliatus.
Scirpus pauciflorus.
Carex teretiuscula.

21. Dublin.

Nymplioea alba.
Hypericum dubium.
Drosera anglica.
Myriopliyllum alterniflorum.
Utricularia vulgaris.

minor.
Littorella lacustris.
Myrica Gale.
Populus tremula.

Habenaria bifolia.
Sparganium minimum.
Eleocliaris multicaulis.
Rhynchospora alba.
Carex Hudsonii.

vesicaria.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Aspidium aculeatum.
Lastrea spinulosa.

1901.

Prakgkr. — Plant Records Wanted.

183

22. Meath.

Anemone neuiorosa.
Lychnis diurna.
Montia fontana.
Hypericum dubium.
Ilex Aquifolium.
Lathyrus macrorrhizus.
Geum rivale.
Potentilla procumbens.
Sedum anglicum.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Solidago Virgaurea.
Bidens tripartita.
Arctium minus.
Jasioue montana.
Lysimachia nemorum.
Veronica agrestis.
montana.

Veronica scutellata.
Melampyrum pratense
Pinguicula lusitauica.
Teucrium Scorodonia.
Quercus Robur.
Empetrum nigrum.
Orchis mascula.
Allium ursinum.
Luzula maxima.
Ruppia rostellata.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Carex laevigata.

Hornschuchiana.

vesicaria.
Lastrea Oreopteris.

aemula.
Equisetum sylvaticum.

23. WESTMEATH.

Cerastium tetrandrum.
Montia fontana.
Vicia angustifolia.
Lathyrus macrorrhizus.
Sedum anglicum.
Callitriche stagnalis.
Scandix Pecten-Veueris.
CEnanthe crocata.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Filago germauica.
Gnaphalium uligiuosum.

sylvaticum.
Bidens tripartita.
Seuecio sylvaticus.
Arctium intermedium.
Jasione montana.
Erica cinerea.
Myosotis re pens.

versicolor.

Solanum Dulcamara.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Veronica polita.
Pinguicula lusitauica.
Mentha sativa.
Thymus Serpjdlum.
Teucrium Scorodonia.
Polygonum lapathifolium.
Euphorbia exigua.
Populus tremula.
Juncus squarrosus.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Scirpus fluitans.
Carex vulpina.

laevigata.
Nardus stricta.
Blechnum Spicant
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Equisetum sylvaticum.

Aquilegia vulgaris.
Lychnis diurna.
Cerastium tetrandrum.
Hypericum dubium.
humifusum.

24. Longford.

Trifolium hybridum.
Vicia hirsuta.
Lathyrus macrorrhizus.
Prunus Cerasus.
Callitriche stagnalis-

1 84

The Irish Naturalist.

September, igor.

24. LONGFORD — continued.

CEJnanthe crocata.
Sambucus Bbulus.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum
Crepis paludosa.
Jasione moutana
Erica ciuerea.
Linaria Cymbalaria.
Pinguieula lusitanica.
Parietaria officinalis.
Salix repeus.

Epipactis latifolia.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Agrostis canina.

alba.
Festuca arundinacea.
Bromus mollis.
Agropyron repens.
Ophioglossum vulgatum.
Nitella opaca.

25. Roscommon.

Raphanus Raphanistrum.
Hypericum humifusum.
Ononis arvensis.
Trifolium hybridum.
Lotus uliginosus.
Vicia hirsuta.

angustifolia.
Callitriche stagnalis.
Smyrnium Olusatrum.
CEnanthe crocata.
Filago germanica.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum.
Jasione montana.
Lithospermum officinale
Hyoscyamus niger.

Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Populus tremula.
Empetrum nigrum.
Epipactis latifolia.
Eleocharis multicaulis.
Carex vulpina.

laevigata.
Agrostis canina.

alba.
Melica uuiflora.
Festuca arundinacea.
Lastrea semula.
Botr}Tchium Lunaria.
Chara aspera.

26. Mayo East.

Ranunculus penicillatus.

sceleratus.
Lychnis diurna.
Lotus uliginosus.
Rosa arvensis.
Myriophyllum spicatum.
Valerianella dentata.
Anthemis Cotula.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Lithospermum officinale.
Lycopus europaeus.

Atriplex patula.
Rumex Hydrolapathum.
Euphorbia exigua.
Salix alba.
Empetrum nigrum.
Carex vulpina.
Bromus sterilis.
Lolium temulentum.
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Botrychium Lunaria.

October, 1901. Praeg^R. — Plant Records Wanted,

185

27. Mayo West.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.

penicillatus.
Aquilegia vulgaris.
Glaucium flavum.
Chelidoniura majus.
Cakile niaritima.
Stellaria Holostea.
Malva moschata.
Geranium lucidum.
Vicia hirsuta.

angustifolia.
Seinpervivum tectorum.
Eryngium niaritimum.
Sium angustifolium.
Pimpinella Saxifraga.
Scandix Pecten-Veneris.
^Ethusa Cynapium.
Asperula odorata.
Valerianella dentata.

Tanacetuni vulgare.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Primula officinalis.
Convolvulus arvensis.
Solanum Dulcamara.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Veronica hederaefolia.
Scutellaria galericulata.
Euphorbia exigua.
Elodea canadensis.
Avena pubescens.
Melica uniflora.
Bromus asper.

ste-rilis.
Lolium temulentum.
Agropyron repens.
Aspidium aculeatum.
Ophioglossum vulgatum.
Equisetuni maximum.

28. SUGO.

Aquilegia vulgaris.
Papaver dubium.
Glaucium flavum.
Chelidonium majus.
Brassica Rapa.
Cakile maritima.
Viola odorata.
Hypericum perforatum.

humifusum.
Ononis arvensis.
Lotus uliginosus.
Vicia angustifolia.
Sempervivum tectorum.
Eryngium maritimum.
Crithmum maritimum.
^Ethusa Cynapium.
Valerianella dentata.
Filago germanica.
Antbemis Cotula.

Tanacetum vulgare.
Statice rariflora.
Solanum Dulcamara.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Veronica hederaefolia.

agrestis.
Lycopus europaeus.
Origanum vulgare.
Euphorbia exigua.
Empetrum nigrum.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Scirpus fluitans.
Carex extensa.
Phleum pratense.
Glyceria maritima.
Bromus sterilis.
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Equisetum maximum.
Nitella opaca.

A

1 86

The Irish Naturalist.

October,

Ranunculus trichophyllus.

penicillatus.

sceleratus.
Aquilegia vulgaris.
Papaver dubium.
Chelidonium majus.
Brassica alba.
Reseda Luteola.
Silene Cucubalus.
Viola odorata.
Polygala vulgaris.
Hypericum perforatum.
Malva moscliata.
Ononis arvensis.
Trifolium hybridum.
Potentilla procumbens.
Anthyllis Vulneraria.
Vicia hirsuta.
Lathyrus macrorrhizAis.
Sedum anglicum.
Smyrnium Olusatrum.
Pimpinella Saxifraga.
Scandix Pecten-Veueris.
Critlimum maritimum.
Valerianella dentata.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.

penicillatus.

sceleratus.
Aquilegia vulgaris.
Papaver Rhseas.
Chelidonium majus.
Brassica alba.
Cerastiuni tetrandrum.
Hypericum dubium.
Malva moschata.
Ononis arvensis.
Anthyllis Vulneraria.
Vicia hirsuta.
Rosa spinosissima.

arvensis.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Smyrnium Olusatrum.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Anthemis Cotula.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Arctium minus.

29. Lkitrim.

Scabiosa arvensis.
Filago germauica.
Gnaphalium sylvaticum.
Anthemis Cotula.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Jasioue montana.
Lithospermum officinale.
Convolvulus arvensis.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Origanum vulgare.
Euphorbia exigua.
Parietaria officinalis.
Salix repens.
Epipactis latifolia.
Sparganium simplex.
Lemna trisulca.
Scirpus fiuitans.
Glyceria maritima.
Festuca rigida.
Bromus sterilis.
Lolium temulentum.
Botrychiutn Luuaria.
Chara hispida.

30. Cavan.

Arctium intermedium.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Jasione montana.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Lithospermum officinale.
Solatium Dulcamara.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Scrophularia aquatica.
Pinguicula lusitauica.
Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Salix repens.
Orchis pyramidalis.
Sparganium minimum.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Carex teretiuscula.
Avena pubescens.
Bromus sterilis.
Loliuni temulentum.
Osmunda regalis.

1901.

Praegsr.— Plant Records Wanted,

187

31. Louth.

Ranunculus trichophyllus.
Nasturtium ainphibium.
Geranium lucidum.
Geum rivale.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Myriophyllum spicatum.
Sambucus Ebulus.
Anthemis Cotula.
Veronica polita.
Scutellaria galericulata.
Littorella lacustris.
Salix purpurea.

Populus tremula.
Empetrum nigrum.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.

perfoliatus,
vScirpus setaceus.
Carex laevigata.

Hornschuchiana.
Avena pubescens.
Bromus giganteus.
Cystopteris fragilis.
Chara aspera.
Nitella opaca-

32. MONAGHAN

Aquilegia vulgaris.
Chelidonium majus.
Nasturtium amphibium.
Erophila vulgaris.
Brassica alba.
Viola odorata.
Polygala vulgaris.
Cerastium tetrandrum.
Arenaria trinervia.
Hypericum dubiuni.
Malva moscliata.
Geranium lucidum.
Ononis arvensis.
Anthyllis Vulneraria.
Rosa spinosissima.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Myriophyllum spicatum.
Piinpinella Saxifraga.
iEthusa Cynapium.
Solidago Virgaurea.
Tanacetum vulgare.
Senecio sylvaticus.
Arctium minus.

intermedium.
Carduus pycuoceplialus.
Leontodon hirtus.

Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Primula officinalis.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Veronica hederaefolia.
polita.

montana.
Piuguicula lusitanica.
Mentha sativa.
Origanum vulgare.
ChenopocVium Bonus-Henricus.
Euphorbia exigua.
Parietaria officinalis.
Salix repens.
Populus tremula.
Empetrum nigrum.
Rhynchospora alba.
Carex vulpina.
Avena pubescens.
Festuca elatior.
Bromus sterilis.
Lastrea Oreopteris.
Osmunda regalis.
Chara aspera.

hispida.

vulgaris.

A 2

188

The Irish Naturalist.

October,

Ranunculus trichophyllus.

sceleratus.
Papaver Rhaeas.

dubium.
Brassica alba.
Cerastium tetrandrum.
Malva moschata.
Ononis arvensis.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Sedum anglicum.
Sempervivum tectorum.
Scandix Pecten-Veneris.
Filago germanica.
Petasites fragrans.
Arctium intermedium.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Jasione montana.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Lithospermum officinale.

Ranunculus tricliopliyllus.
Papaver Rhaeas.
Glaucium flavum.
Nasturtium palustre..
Viola arvensis.
Hypericum dubium.
Trifolium hybridum.
CEnanthe Phellandrium.
Valerianella dentata.

Ranunculus penicillatus.
Aquilegia vulgaris.
Glaucium flavum.
Nasturtium palustre.

amphibium.
Viola odorata.

canina.

arvensis.
Hypericum dubium.
Malva moschata.
Trifolium hybridum.
Potentilla procumbens.
Sium angustifolium.
CEnanthe Phellandrium.

33 Fermanagh.

Hyoscyamus niger.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Scrophularia aquatica.
Veronica polita.
Utricularia vulgaris.
Pinguicula lusitanica.
Origanum vulgare.
Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Euphorbia exigua.
Parietaria officinalis.
Scirpus fluitans.
Carex teretiuscula.
Alopecurus pratensis.
Festuca rigida.
Bromus sterilis.
Ivolium temulentum.
Ophioglossum vulgatum.
Botrychium Lunaria.
Chara hispida.

34. Donegal Bast.

Arctium intermedium.
Statice rariflora.
Primula officinalis.
Euphorbia Paralias.
Sparganium minimum.
Lemna trisulca.
Chara aspera.

hispida.

vulgaris.

35. Donegal West.

Anthemis Cotula.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Vaccinium Oxycoccus.
Hyoscyamus niger.
Verbascum Thapsus.
Origanum vulgare.
Rumex Hydrolapathum.
Parietaria officinalis.
Elodea canadensis
Lemna trisulca.
Carex Hudsonii.
fiisetum flavescens.
Lolium temulentum.

Icpt.

Prakgkr. — Plant Recotds Wajited.

189

Aquilegia vulgaris.
Krophila vulgaris.
Coclilearia officinalis.
Cerastiuni tetrandrum.
Arenaria serpyllifolia.
Sagina nodosa.
Malva nioschata.
Geranium lucidum.
Ononis arvensis.
Vicia hirsuta.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Siurn angustifolium.
Scandix Pecten-Veneris.
Valerianella dentata.
Antheniis Cotula.
Arctium minus.
Carduus pycnocephalus.
Leontodon hirtus.
Jasione montana.

Brassica alba.
Geranium lucidum.
Ononis arvensis.
Saxifraga tridactylites.
Sium angustifolium.
Petasites fragrans.
Arctium minus,
intermedium.

Ranunculus penicillatus.
Geranium lucidum.
Parnassia palustris.

36. Tyrone.

Primula officinalis.
Scrophularia aquatica.
Thymus Serpyllum.
Salix repens.
Orchis pyramidalis.
Lenina trisulca.
Potamogeton heterophyllus.
Scirpus fiuitans.
Carex Hudsonii.

prsecox.

distans.

Hornschuchiana.
Glyceria maritima.
Festuca rigida.
Ophioglossum vulgatum.
Selaginella selaginoides.
Chara hispida.

vulgaris.
Nitella opaca.

37, Armagh.

Carduus pycnocephalus.
Rumex Hydrolapathum.
Salix repens.
Habenaria bifolia.
Carex teretiuscula.

distans.
Ivolium temulentum.
Lastrea spiuulosa.

38. Down.

Lithosperniuni officinale.
Carex Hudsonii.
L,astrea spiuulosa.

Glaucium luteum.
Brassica alba.
Crithmum maritimum.

Glaucium luteum.
Crithmum maritimum.
Anthemis Cotula.
Petasites fragrans.
Arctium minus.
Leontodon hirtus.

39. Antrim.

Ruppia rostellata.
Lastrea spinulosa.
Chara hispida.

40. Londonderry.

Statice rariflora.
Euphorbia Paralias.

portlandica.
Sparganium minimum.
Festuca rigida.
Chara fragilis.

19O October,

A REMARKABLE FISH

(UJVARUS IMPEKIAUS)
OBTAINED ON THE SOUTH COAST OF IRELAND.

BY R. F. SCHARFF, PH.D.

On the 24th July last a very peculiar fish was captured near
the "Seven Heads," one of the rocky promontories of the
southern coast of the County Cork. It was sent to the
market in Cork under the impression that it was a Sturgeon,
and was duly disposed of.

Fortunately, Mr. J. E. Longfield, of Enniskean, Co. Cork,
had a curiosity to know more about the fish, and with the
true instincts of a naturalist he took careful measurements
and a photograph of it. He gives the length of the fish as
having been 4 feet 6 inches, and the weight about ij cwt.
The general colour he describes as a metallic reddy orange,
lighter underneath, which was easily rubbed off, leaving the
fish of a silvery colour all over. The tail and lateral fins were
of the brightest scarlet — almost vermilion. The first ray of
the dorsal fin was extended into a most peculiar looking
flexible tendril about one foot long with a similar extension
on the ventral fin. The mouth was small, with very small
if any teeth. Both dorsal and ventral fins were composed of
a series of semi-detached fins, and there was a slight projection
or keel at each side of the body near the tail.

When these descriptions and the photograph arrived at the
Museum during my absence, Mr. Nichols identified the fish as
Luvarus imperialis — an exceedingly rare species, which, like
most other rare animals, possesses none but the scientific Latin
name. It had not hitherto been met with in the Irish seas.

Although Mr. Longfield's description differs in some
important respects from the original one of the eminent.
French zoologist Rafinesque, I feel no hesitation in agreeing
with Mr. Nichols's determination of the fish.

One of the most striking differences between the original
description and that of Mr. Longfield, is that the latter
describes the dorsal and ventral fins as being composed of a
series of smaller fins. However, in carefully examining the
photograph with a lens one perceives clearly — certainly in

igot.

Scharff. — A Remarkable Fish.

191

the case of the anal (Mr. I/mgfield's ventral fin)— that this
supposed series of small fins was produced after death, and
that it was originally one connected fin.

Another difference from the original was the fact of the
first dorsal and the first ventral fin rays being elongated in
our Irish .specimen and not so in the other. This, however,
is not of serious importance, as in many species of fish the
mature male differs from the female by the possession of a
similar elongation of the fin ray. The character may, there-
fore, be looked upon as a sexual one.

Luvarus imperialis was first taken on the coast of Sicily by
Rafinesque, and described by him in 1808. It has since been
noticed again in the Mediterranean, on the west coast of
France, at Madeira, and on the coast of Cornwall. There are
apparently only three specimens in existence in museums,
one in the Museo Civico at Genoa, another in the Musee
d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris, and a third in the British
Museum. It is to be greatly regretted that the first Irish
specimen has not been preserved ; at the same time it is
satisfactory to know that we possess such a careful description
of the fish as that of Mr. I,ongfield's, who, it is to be hoped,
will take steps to secure the next specimen he meets with for
one of the Irish museums.

Luvarus vnpcrialis. One- fourteenth natural size.

Mr. Iyongfield's photograph not having proved quite suitable
for reproduction, I have had a copy drawn replacing the
pectoral fin in its right position and restoring the dorsal and
anal fins to what I considered was their original structure.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

I g2 October,

SOME NOTES ON THE FLORA OF GLENARIFF,

CO. ANTRIM.

BY DEAN C. F. D'ARCY, D.D.

During a short stay at Parkmore, at the head of Glenariff, in
the earlier part of the summer, I was able to make a few
observations of the more interesting plants of that part of
Co. Antrim. The flora of the glen is exceedingly rich.
Perhaps there is no spot in Ireland where the more beautiful
of our common spring flowers grow in such abundance, or
bloom so profusely. A striking ornament in May is the Bird
Cherry (Prunns Padics), which, in one place, grows in a thicket
so obviously natural that all suspicion of the cunning hand of
the planter is impossible.

The lower part of the glen is broad and open, but bounded
on both sides — north and south — by steep grassy slopes
clothed in part with dense Hazel scrub, and crested with long
lines of precipitous crags. These cliffs are, in most places,
difficult and dangerous to climb ; the treacherous trap rock
disintegrates at a touch, often in the most unexpected manner.
Here and there magnificent gorges seam the cliffs from top to
bottom. In its upper part the glen divides into two narrow
ravines. Of these, the northern is by far the richer. Here it
is that the spring flowers bloom in greatest abundance ; and
here, also, the natural wood is most diversified.

There are two other regions of considerable botanical
interest which must be connected with Glenariff: a circle of
boggy mountains surrounding its upper extremities and supply-
ing the water of its river, and a series of plateaux of dry pas-
ture varying in height from 1,000 to 1,200 feet above sea-level,
supported upon the summits of the cliff -walls which bound
the broad lower glen.

On the cliffs several interesting plants were seen. Here the
pretty Arenaria verna is abundant, and Saxifraga hypnoides
frequent, especially in the gullies and gorges. In a wet gully
on the south side, about 900 feet above sea-level, Hy??ieno-
phyllum unilaterale was found in considerable quantity. This
seems to be a new station. Along a mile or so of the north
cliffs Juniperus ?ia?ia grows in great abundance. It is also to
be found, though not so abundantly, on the south cliffs. This

1901. D'Arcy. — Some Notes on the Flora of Glenarijf. 193

plant was reported from Glenariff by Templeton, and, in
recent years, by Mr. Praeger. But, perhaps, the most in-
teresting "find" in this part of the glen was the Yew (Taxus
baccata). It was reported from here in 1795 by Templeton
(see Flora of North- East Ireland, p. 133), who found it, as he
tells us, " among rocks at Glenariff on the north side, about
halfway up the glen." He adds, " It is now reduced to a few
stunted plants growing out of the crevices of the rocks." It
has never been reported since Templeton's time ; and the
authors of the Flora 0/ North-Fast Ireland considered it extinct
in the county in 1888. I am happy to say that I found two
trees growing very high up on the face of the cliff, in the pait
of the glen described by Templeton. One of them is evidently
very old, and, though of stunted growth, has a trunk of con-
siderable thickness. It is not possible to get quite close to it
without a rope; but I was able' to get near enough to be
absolutely certain of its identity. Mr. N. Colgau visited the
spot since, and confirmed the identification.

All along the north side of Glenariff, wherever the trap has
become thoroughly disintegrated, O rob an chc rubra grows freely.
High up the cliffs, to the very summits, may be seen the spots
of rich red colour, which mark its presence so distinctly. In one
place, close to the high road — on some warm slopes of crumb-
ling rock — this plant is to be found in an abundance which is
probably unequalled.

Turning from the cliffs to the grassy plateaux above them,
I have to note the Moonwort (Botrychhim Lunaria) as very
abundant, and growing to larger dimensions than I have seen
elsewhere. It is not too much to say 'that the Moonwort will
be found all round Glenariff, in almost every suitable spot, if
one only takes the trouble to look for it. The Adder's Tongue
{Ophioglossnm vulgatuvi) I found in one place only, not far
from Parkmore House. In the^same neighbourhood, Cystop-
teris fragilis grows in profusion.

On the grassy plateaux were also found Lycopoditcm clavaium
and L. alpinum. The former, already reported from Evish
and from Slievenanee in this neighbourhood, I found in great
quantity on the north side of the glen, half-way between
Parkmore and Lurigethan. The latter I saw in many places,
some of which have been already reported by other observers.

a 3

194 The Irish Naturalist. October,

In the glen the following interesting plants were observed: —
Rubus saxatilis, Pyrola minor in several places (already re-
ported from Glenariff by Rev. S. A. Brenan), Sedum rupcslre
— growing on natural rocks, far from cultivation, and looking
native — Epilobium a?igusti/olium and Beech Fern, luxuriant in
many places.

On the boggy mountains surrounding the upper glen some
interesting plants were observed. Vaccinium Oxycoccus (Cran-
berry)— first found in this neighbourhood, some years ago, by
the Rev. S. A. Brenan, and noted by me in several places —
was this year remarkable for an extraordinary morbid
development of its young shoots. Specimens having been sent
to Mr. Greenwood Pirn, the strange growth was found by him
to be due to a microscopic fungus, Calyptospora g&ppertiana,
which is common in America on Vaccinium Vitis-idcea. Here,
too, Cat ex irrigua was first discovered in Ireland by Miss E.
D'Arcy, as already recorded in the September issue of this
Journal.

On Slievenanee I found Salix hcrbacea growing in consider-
able quantity about some rocks near the little cairn at the
north end of the summit. This plant was found here by Mr.
Templeton, as reported in Flora Hibernica, but does not seem
to have been noted in the locality since. On an old disused
road, high up on the side of Trostan, Anthemis nobilis (Cha-
momile) grows in some abundance.

Perhaps it may be of interest to mention that in Glen
ballyemon, not far from Retreat, I found Lastrea Oreopteris
and L. <z?nula, two ferns which, though not exactly rare in
Ireland, are far from common in Co. Antrim.

Belfast.

igjoi. 195

THE MALE OF VESPA AUSTRIACA.

BY DKNIS R. PACK-BERKSFORD, D.I<.

In the Irish Naturalist, vol. vi , p. 285, an interesting article
appeared by Mr. H. K. G. Cnthbert on the rarest of Irish
wasps — Vespa austriaca. In that article, as also in Mr.
Edward Saunders' " British Hymenoptera Aculeata," it was
stated that females only of this wasp had been found in
Great Britain. Since then, however, the Rev. O. P. Cam-
bridge recorded in the Irish Naturalist, vol. vii., p. 18, the
capture of one male in Dorsetshire, and in vol. viii., p. 163, Mr.
C. W. Buckle records the capture of a single male in Co. Donegal
in August, 1898. Two or three specimens have also been
taken, Mr. Saunders tells me, in Scotland, but these, with the
exception of Mr. C. Robson's discovery of males and females
in the nest of V. rufa {Science Gosjsip, vol. v., 1899, p. 69), are
the only instances on record of its capture in these islands.

It is, therefore, interesting to be able to record its occur-
rence in considerable numbers. On the morning of
August 7th this year I caught a wasp, which I identified as a
male V. austriaca, and knowing from experience that where
one male is caught there are often more, I began a diligent
hunt, and was rewarded by catching 17 more on the same
afternoon and 30 on the following day. After that I caught

few nearly every day till August 25th — my total in all
amounting to 128 specimens.

Both Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Edward Saunders, to whom I
sent specimens, have been so kind as to examine them and
confirm their identity. All were caught in one part of my
grounds — a piece of rough grass, some two acres or so in
extent, in which are planted specimen conifers of various
kinds, and which is nearly surrounded by fir plantations. I
caught them hawking round nearly all the young specimen
trees, but Abies Nordmaniana seemed to be specially favoured.
One young specimen in particular of this tree was, during
nearly the whole of August, covered with workers of
V. vulgaris and V. rufa. I caught a few males of V. rufa at
the same time, and succeeded in finding three nests of that
species in the immediate neighbourhood, but these contained
nothing but V. rufa, as I took all three nests, and examined
every wasp in them.

196 The hish Naturalist. October,

The nest from which the V. austriaca were coming must
have been very near, as I found them nowhere else, but my
most diligent search failed to discover it.

Feuagh House, Bagnalstown.

MOSSES NEW TO IRELAND.

BY REV. H. W. LETT, m.A.

Three fine mosses have recently been collected in Ireland
which appear to be new to the country. Their occurrence in
Ireland is interesting, as hitherto they have been known in
the British Isles only in a few localities in Scotland.

Catnpylopus Shawl!, Wils.— Adrigole, uear Glengarriffe, Co. Cork,

June, 1896; Rev. C. H. Binstead.
Catnpylopus Schimperi, Wils. — By the side of the stream, at 1,400

feet, in Derrymore Glen, near Cahir Conree Mountain, Co. Kerry,

April, 1899; Rev, H. W. Lett and D. M'Ardle.
Dicranum uncinatum, C. M. — On rock faces, at 1,200 ft., by the

sides of two streamlets on the south-east face of Nephin Mountain,

Co. Mayo, May, 1901 ; Rev. II. W. Lett and D. M'Ardle. This plant

was growing in luxuriant cushions in a few places on the shaded

sides of the little ravines.

To the above may be added the following notes on three
other and rare mosses which have been discovered for the
second time in Ireland, and all in new stations : —

Catnpylopus subulatus, Schpr. — [Cromagloun, Killarney, Co.

Kerry, June, 1885; Schimper and Wilson.] Near Glengarriffe, Co.

Cork, June, 1900 ; Rev. C. H. Binstead and Dr. Braithwaite.
Hypnum dilatatum, Wils.— [There does not appear to be any

record of this from Ireland, except that in Dr. Braithwaite's Brit.

Moss Flora, vol. iii., p. 57— Tore Waterfall, Killarney, 1865, Capt.

Hutton.] Connor Hill Pass, near Dingle, Co. Kerry, September,

1897 ; Rev. H. W. Lett and D. M'Ardle.
Hypnum fluviatlle, Swartz. — [Ballinhassig, near Cork, in Mackay's

Flora Hibcrnica> pt. 2, p. 38.] On rocks in Bann River, at Corbet

Mills, two miles east of Bannbridge, Co. Down, July, 1900 ; Rev. H.

W. Lett and C. H. Waddell.

Aghaderg, Loughbrickland.

1901.

*97

WASPS IN COUNTY WICKLOW.

BY R. M. BARRINGTON AND C. B. MOFFAT.

From 1893 to 1901 the number of queen wasps killed atFassaroe
amounts to 1,155. The following are the numbers for each year
(none were killed in 1895 owing to change of gardeners), show-
ing in what proportion the different species prevail : —

(A

03

03

co

03"

CJ

03

iC

r!

u

• »-t

O

YEAR.

>

n

s)

-4->
CO

CD

Go

>

03
• »-i

—>

t-i

c

!h

co

>-r

Ph

CO

3

CO

O

3
03

CD

.

.

.

,

.

O

>

>

>

>

>

>

H

1893 (during May),

39

12

I

7

3

62

1S94 (to June 6th),

42

8

- 2

15

13

—

80

1S96 (to May 28th),

82

6

4

21

16

1

130

1897 (to June 17th),

60

25

23

69

23

H

204

(June iSth to 24th),

3)

1898 (to July 2nd;,

26

—

—

22

3

—

5i

1899 (to May 18th),

17

2

4

12

—

-\

(May 19 to 31),

36

5

12

17

6

1

235

(May 31 to June 13),

52

4

31

18

5

2

(June 14 to July 9),

4

—

3

I

—

4.

1900 (first lot),

89

25

8

6

12

-1

(second lot),

26

10

1

3

4

1
— >

189

(third, July 2nd), .

3

—

—

1

—

1^

1901,

112

30

19

21

20

2

204

Total

588

115

119

207

109

17

"55

From the above table it appears that Vespa vulgaris slightly

outnumbers the remaining five species added together, while

V. sylvcstris comes second in order of numerical preponderance ;

V.rufa, V'.germanica, and V.norvegka rank respectively third,

A4

198

7 he Irish Naturalist.

October,

fourth, and fifth, but are very nearly equal in numbers. The
percentages are ;

vulgaris. gernianica. rufa. sylvestris. norvegica. atstriaca.

50-9 10 10-3 17-9 9'4 r5

It does not follow that these figures give an accurate idea of
the relative strength of each species in autumn, because some
probably have larger nests than others ; but they may be taken
as representative of the numbers of the queens in early summer,
as far as it is possible to take a satisfactory census in one
locality.

The proportions have varied to an extraordinary degree in
different years. This may be seen from the following table,
showing for each species what percentage of the total number
killed belonged to it in each year : —

YEAR.

u

o3

bfl
>

a

a

u

rufa.

sylvestris.

norvegica.

03
O

U

-t->
w

a

>

>

>

>

>

>

1893,

62*9

O

19-4

i-6

11-3

4-8

1894,

52-5

IO

2*5

187

l6'2

0

1896,

63-1

4-6

3"i

162

12-3

o-8

1897,

29-4

12-3

U'3

33-8

ii'3

20

1898,

5i-o

0

0

43*1

5*9

0

1899,

46-4

47

21-3

20*4

47

26

1900,

62*4

iS-5

4-8

5'3

8-5

0-5

1901,

■ •

54"9

I4'2

9*3

10-3

9'S

110

Vespa vulgaris has held the first place every 3^ear, except
1897, when V. sylvestris outnumbered it. The second place is
usually held by V. sylvestris, but was taken by V. rufa in 1893
and 1899, and by V. gernianica in 1900 and 190 1. Vespa
norvegica, though the scarcest (except V. austriaca) of the six,
has never been so rare as V. sylvestris was in 1893, V. ger-
manica in 1893 and 1898, and V. rufa in 1894 and 1898.

1901. Barrington & Moffat. — Wasps in Wicklow. 199

Vespa germanica fluctuates more than V. vulgaris in
numerical strength. Of the total number killed (115), 90 were
obtained in the three years 1S97, 1900, and 1901, and only 25
in the remaining five years. V. germanica is said by Mr.
Saunders to be almost as common as vulgaris in the south of
England.

It is well known that Vespa tufa occurred in unusually large
numbers in man}' parts of Ireland in 1899 (see Irish Naturalist,
vol. viii., pp. 163, 208, and 209). The number of queens killed at
Kassaroe that year amounted to 50 ; while in the course of the
remaining seven years only 69 were killed altogether. V. rufa
did not, however, prevail here to nearly so great an extent as
it did in parts of Counties Carlow, Derry, and Down, accord-
ing to notes furnished by Mr. D. R. Pack-Beresford (/. A^, vol.
viii., p. 209) ; for out of a total of 361 queen wasps killed by that
gentleman, as many as 261 — or 72 per cent. — were of this species,
whereas its percentage at Fassaroe was only 46^.

Of the two tree- wasps, Vespa sylvestris and V. uorvegica, the
former is much the more common in this locality — unless the
habits of the two differ so largely as to affect the proportions
captured, wrhich does not appear probable. It may be pointed
out that the queens of these two species, added together,
amount to more than a fourth (27 per cent.) of the whole
number ; a very large proportion, considering how much more
numerous are the nests of the ground-building species.

Concerning the rare Vespa austriaca, of which altogether 17
specimens have been obtained here in the eight years treated
of, it is important to note that in 1897, 1899, and 1901 the
wasps killed were forwarded for examination in two or more
instalments, each instalment consisting of the wasps killed
up to the date of sending ; and in each case it was found that
V. austriaca occurred chiefly in the later lots. Thus, out of
201 wasps killed up to June 17th, 1897, only one was referred
to that rare species ; but three kiHed between June 18th and
24th were all V. austriaca. In 1899 two lots of 35 and 76
respectively, killed before the end of May, consisted solely of
the more common kinds ; but 112 killed in the first thirteen
days of June comprised two V. austriaca; and a further consign-
ment of 12 between June 14th and July 9th contained 4
specimens of the rarity. Again, in 1900, the only specimen of
V. austriaca obtained turned up in the last lot forwarded for

200 The I?ish Naturalist, October,

examination, about Jul}' 2nd; whereas two previous lots, reach-
ing the large total of 184 wasps, had contained none of that
species. These figures tend to show that the last fortnight of
June is the best time for collectors to look out for this very
interesting Irish wasp.

There is a remarkable contrast between the total numbers
of wasps killed in the two consecutive springs of 1898 and
1899, In the former year only 51 were obtained ; in the latter
235. The average number per year is 144. It is possible that
the wetness of the spring of 1898 (when April and May registered
9^ inches of rain at Fassaroe) may account for the scarcity in
that year. The same period in 1894 had a still heavier rainfall,
nearly to inches ; but in that season also the number of queen
wasps killed (80) was considerably under the average. In the
dry spring of 1893 tne total figure is only 62 ; but this proves
nothing, as in that year few were looked for after the begin-
ning of May.

The majority of the wasps were in most years killed on
young shoots of hawthorn, and chiefly towards evening. On
one day in early June, in 1899, the gardener killed as many as
74 on the raspberry canes ; and it would appear from the
figures corresponding to this period in the table, that Vespa
vulgcuis and V. tufa were probably the species to which most
of these belonged.

Mr. Edward Saunders says in letter, 1897 : —

"I do not know of any character which distinguishes the nests of
" sylvestris and norvegica apart ;but then I have, unfortunately, few oppor-
" tunities of seeing nests.

" Please look for the $ of V. austi-iaca {arborca) as the autumn comes
"on, as that has only once been recorded from Britain. It may be known
" like the p by having no cheeks between the eyes and mandibles, and
" having black-haired tibiae. Sylvestris, &c, have black-haired tibiae, but
"then they have long cheeks. I should have expected, on account of
" the short cheeks, that austriaca would have associated with vulgaris or
"germanuttj or probably rufa, which last it special]}- resembles.
" Austriaca? like the p Fsit/iyri, probably hibernates in an impregnated
"state, and comes out with the other Wasps. It looks as if it lives at
" large late in the season, when the queens of other species are attending
'•' to their communities."

1 This was written before Mr. Robson's discovery placed beyond all
doubt the inquiline habit of austriaca in the nests of rufa, and before Mr.
Cuthbert obtained the first Irish specimen of the male.

1901. Barrington & Moffat. — Wasps in Wicklow. 201

At Fassaroe the nests of the tree-and bush-building wasps
are not nearly so common as thirty to forty years ago, and
those which nest in the ground appear to have increased dur-
ing the same interval. As no specimens were preserved in
the earlier years, the species cannot be referred to more
definitely.

To Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Kdward Saunders we are in-
debted for the identification of the specimens tabulated in this
paper. They would all be called "wasps :' by the general public
— who only recognize one species. One of the most recent and
far-fetched applications of the name "wasp," which has come
under our notice, occurred in the letter of a Light-keeper who
forwarded " a remarkable-looking wasp " on August 25th
from Old Head, Kinsale. It was a Death's-head Moth !

Fassaroe, Bray.

NOTES.

BOTANY.

The Moss Exchange Club.

We have received the Sixth Annual Report of the Moss Exchange
Club, which shows steady progress. The number of members is now
thirty-seven. The copious critical notes and reports on plants sent in to
the distributer should be of much value to students of bryology.

Another station for Lastrea Thelypteris in Co. Westmeath.

This interesting and rare fern grows luxuriantly over a small area of
the very wet marsh at the south-east end of Lough Owel. I noted it
there last August. Some of the fronds which I gathered were con-
siderably over two feet in length.

Charges P. D'Arcy.

Belfast.

Hypopithys multiflora near Roscommon.

Mr. S. V. Coote sends me fresh specimens of this rare plant from his

demesne, Carrowroe Park, Roscommon, collected on September 16; he

describes it as being "fairly common in the beech and fir woods"

there.

R. Lloyd Praejger.
Dublin.

202 The Irish Naturalist October,

ZOOLOGY.

Selection of Plants by Animals.

A Cottony scale-insect, which Mr. R. Newstead has kindly identified
as Cryptococcus fagi, occurs in the Trinity College Botanic Gardens. It is
curious in its habitat. We have a Weeping Beech that was originally
grafted upon the Common Beech as a stock, and the curious fact is that
the Cryptococcus exists on the stock portion only, rarely, if ever, spreading
over the grafting-line, that is to say, on to the adjacent bark of the scion,
or weeping variety above.

This is, of course, only one of the countless instances where " selection "
of the most discriminating kind is made by insects, molluscs, and even
fungi, as to their food or habitats.

We grow here, for example, two dwarf Narcissi, which ordinary visitors
often mistake for the same plant, though an expert at once can see a
difference.

The common Grey Slug also discriminates between them, andeatsoff the
flowers of the one (N. nirnar), while rarely or never touching those of the
other (TV. narrus). There are varieties of fruiting Hollies here which closely
resemble each other in early winter, and yet the endemic fruit-eating
birds of the garden — Blackbirds, Thrushes, etc., and the Mistle Thrushes
Fieldfares, etc. — that come down from the hills on approach of frost and
snow, clear off ever)' berry on some bushes, and leave those of others
untouched! In this case my own experience tells me that they eat
those berries containing most sugar, aud leave the acid or astringent
ones alone as long as possible short of absolute starvation.

But as even the plants show great discrimination in selecting food,
support, shelter, shade, or sunshine, etc., one need not wonder at beings
higher in nature's scale doing so as well.

F. W. Burbidgh;.

Dublin.

Agrotis cinerea — a new Irish Moth.

I captured at light, on June 21st, 1897, at Tullylagau, Co, T}Trone, what
I supposed at the time was a variety of Agrotis corticea.

Subsequently examining it more closely, I came to the conclusion that
it could hardly be a variety of that species, as the markings did not agree
in any way with that insect. On coming to Dublin I brought it to the
Kildare-street Museum, to make sure about it, where Mr. Carpenter
identified it as Agrotis cinerea. It agrees more with the continental than
with the British specimens in the Museum collection.

T. Greer.

Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

i9oi. Notes. 203

Abundance of Vanessa io in 1901.

The many references to the Peacock Butterfly in the current volume
of the Irish Naturalist, pointing to its local or relative abundance, or to
its appearance in places where it was hitherto rarely or never seeu, show
that some of the seasonable conditions which favour insect development
must have lately affected this interesting species.

Round Sligo, between July 18th and 22nd, I noticed it in great
numbers, in fact it was there by far the commonest of the coloured
butterflies. Likewise about Ivinierick, early in August I saw it
frequently ; and in Co. Kerry, along the Feale at Ballinruddery, and in
the woods of the Knight of Kerry's demesne.

At the latter place the Silver-washed and Greasy Fritillaries were also

numerous, but for every single example of these species there were at

least half-a-dozen Peacocks.

H. G. CuTHBER'f.
Dublin.

Sirex gigas, L., in Co. Down.

I captured a fine female example of the above large Saw Fly on the
20th inst, at rest on the trunk of a felled fir-tree in Clandeboye demesne
near Bangor. I was greatly surprised to meet with this extraordinary
insect, which is, I believe, of rare occurrence in Ireland.

L,. H. Bonaparte Wyse.
Bangor.

[S. gigas can hardly now be considered a rare insect in Ireland. EVery
summer several specimens came to the Dublin Museum from all parts of
the country. — G. H. C.

Habits of Humble Bees.

My little son has read with delight Mr. Burbidge's note in the Irish
Naturalist for September, on the behaviour of two bees. He wishes me
to write and ask —

1st. Why Mr. Burbidge calls them Humble bees and not Bumble
bees ?

2nd. Why should a queen bee that was already wet and chilled
require more cold water ?

3rd. Why did the worker bee fight viciously with the queen to whose
wants it was so assiduously attending a moment previously ?

4th. What did the worker bee " fetch " the water in ?

James R. Fitzgerald.
High-street, Clones.

204 The Irish Naturalist. October,

I will answer in all seriousness the four questions that have been
propounded.

1. I called Bombus tcrrestris a " Humble Bee," because that appears to
be the authentic designation of which " Bumble Bee " may possibly be
only a corruption.

2. Possibly the queen bee did not want more water, it might be that
the worker only wished to use some for moistening the wings that
adhered to the body.

3. I am not sure that the worker bee fought viciously with the queen
bee, it may have been vice versa, and that the worker was merely acting
as it did in self-defence. I said that they " seemed to fight viciously
with each other," not that either one or the other actually did so.

4. The worker bee to all appearance carried the water by the aid of its

jaws (maxillae).

F. W. Burbidge.
Dublin.

Entomological Notes from Abbeyleix.

During the present year I took the following beetles amongst many

more in this locality: — Chlcenius vestitus, Payk. Agabus bipustulatus, L. —

on a garden hedge. Halyzia conglobata, Iv. Sphccridium bipustulatum, F. —

one perfectly black specimen. Necrophorus ruspator, Er. Cychramus

fungicola, Heer. Sinodendron cylindricum, L.— numerous specimens in

rotting wood. Meloc prose arabcc us, 1^. — widely distributed from April to

early June. Adimonia tanaccti, L. — apparently widely spread here. Gale-

rucella vibumi, Payk. — numerous in the woods.

J. Montgomery Browne.
Abbeyleix.

Reported occurrence of the Red-throated Pipit in Ireland.

In the Zoologist for July, Mr. F. Coburn writes fully concerning two
specimens in his possession, which he considers undoubtedly referable
to this species — the one shot by himself in Mayo in 1895, the other by
Mr. H. Elliott Howard iu Donegal in 1898. We have not noticed this
record earlier, since we understand that our leading Irish ornithologists
are not yet satisfied regarding the identity of these specimens. We trust
that further investigation will definitely determine whether Authus ccr-
vinus is to be added to the Irish list.

Turtle Dove in Co. Dublin.

On Bank Holiday, 5th August, I obtained a Turtle Dove (male) in adult
plumage at Portmarnock, Co. Dublin. The bird was alone ; it would be
interesting to find this species breeding in Ireland, as most of the
specimens have been obtained early in spring and in the autumn, the
latter almost invariably being inmature birds.

W. J. Whwams.

Rathgar.

1901. Notes. 205

Wood Sandpiper in Co. Dublin.

On the 19th of August, whilst beating a small piece of marsh ground
near Sutton for Snipe, a bird rose uttering a peculiar note which I was
not familiar with. On shooting it I was much pleased to find it was a
Wood Sandpiper in immature plumage. This, I believe, is the first
occurrence of this rare Sandpiper in Co. Dublin, and the sixth occurrence
in Ireland — one having been obtained in Calary Bog, Co. Wicklow, 23rd
August, 1885, and two shot by Dr. Knox in same locality on the 3rd
August, 1896.

W. J. WlI.UAMS.
Rathgar.

Black-tailed Godwits in Co. Wexford.

On the 6th of August inst, my friend, Mr. A. L,. Otway, shot on the
mud-flats of Wexford Harbour a Black-tarled Godvvit, which he kindly
sent to me. Its head and neck were reddish, its breast barred, and its
back mottled with black, in the plumage of summer. I have sent it to
Messrs. Williams and Son for the Museum of Science and Art, Dublin.

On the 9th of August Mr. Otway shot another bird of the same species,
which he sent to the Museum direct.

Both specimens were shot on the slob-lands near the mouth of Wexford
Harbour, and many others were observed. [ am informed by Mr.
Otway that on two occasions he saw flocks of twenty to thirty, but that
in the majority of instances there were single birds. The white at the
base of the tail and the white base of the secondaries, described by Mr.
Warren, as easily distinguishing the Black-tailed Godwit, were noticed

After they were first seen these birds rapidly diminished, and by the
20th of August they had become very scarce.

The early date at which the first was shot, its occurrence in summer
dress, and the observation of flocks which appeared to be of the same
species are facts of interest, especially in view of the late discussion in
the Irish Naturalist by Mr. Barrett-Hamilton and Mr. Warren.

It is, however, to be observed that the flocks reported to the former,
were seen in winter, and were not fully identified as being of the same
species as the specimen he obtained.

R. J. USSHISH.

Cappagh, Co. Water ford.

206 October,

REVIEWS.

ALL ABOUT IRELAND.

Ireland: Industrial and Agricultural. Handbook for the
Irish Pavilion, Glasgow International Exhibition, 190J. Dublin:
1901. Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for
Ireland. Pp. 290. With numerous illustrations. Price 2s. 6d. net.

The new "Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for
Ireland " is to be congratulated most heartily, on the excellent " official
handbook" to the Irish Pavilion at the Glasgow Exhibition recently
published.

The Editor, Mr. William P. Coyne, sayc in his preface : — " It was
thought well to take the opportunity afforded by the publication of such
a work, to make it something more — indeed, something other — than an
ordinary guide to the Irish Pavilion. The book opens with a description
of the general geological and physiographic features of the country,
followed by articles 011 the climate, flora, and fauna of Ireland. An
analysis of the economic distribution of the population is then given,
preliminary to an account of the internal means of communication and
the banking facilities of the country. The next section is devoted to
agricultural and technical education and art instruction. As leading up
to the functions of the State Departments in regard to agriculture and
industry, an account is given of the splendid work done by some of the
great voluntary associations in Ireland in developing the material re-
sources of the country. Two chapters are occupied with a necessarily
curtailed analysis of the work of the Congested Districts Board, and the
powers and constitution of the Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland. The principal Institutions of Science and Art which
have now passed under the control of the Department are briefly described.
Special articles deal with agriculture, live-stock, sea and inland fisheries,
shipbuilding, the linen industry, the modern Irish lace industry, and
the art and cottage industries of Ireland."

I have quoted this statement from the preface because it states more
succinctly, and probably more clearly than I could do, what was the
object of the Department in publishing this handbook ; and it is the
merest justice to the Department to say that this handbook fully carries
out the promise held out in the preface. No doubt, in many of the
articles there are statements made, and in some there are views ex-
pressed, with which I at least cannot fully concur ; but this must
necessarily happen in a work of such general character as this is, and the
highest praise is due to the authors for the ability, learning, candour,
and care shown by them in the several articles to which their names are
annexed, and by the Editor or his unnamed — but very able — subordinates
in the unsigned articles.

Having said so much of the work as a whole, we must consider how
much of it comes sufficiently within the scope of the Irish Naturalist, as

tcpi. Reviews. 207

to the appropriateness between them. Six of the articles clearly do. Those
on " The Topography and Geology of Ireland," and on " Irish Minerals
and Building Stones," by Prof. Cole, F.G.S. ; on •« The Soils of Ireland"
and "The Climate of Ireland," by Mr. J. R. Kilroe; "The Flora of
Ireland," by Dr. Johnson ; and " The Animals of Ireland," by Mr. G. H.
Carpenter.

In addition to these, the articles on " The Dublin Museum of Science
and Art," by Col. Plunkett; on "The Ponies of Connemara," by Dr.
Kwart, F.R.S. ; on " The Irish Cattle Industry," by Mr. Robert Bruce;
and on "The Sea Fisheries of Ireland" and "Inland Fisheries," by Mr.
W. S. Green; and the unsigned articles on "The National library,"
"The Irish Horse-breeding Industry" and "Sheep-breeding in Ire-
land," are of great general interest to all who have the scientific, the
economic, or even the general interest of the country before their
eyes. The residue of the handbook relates to subjects which are too far
apart from these ordinarily dealt with by the Irish Naturalist to be ex-
pressly reviewed in it.

To deal now with the six papers which come directly into the field of
the Irish Naturalist, the first paper of Prof. Cole's — to which the second is
in substance an appendix — in addition to being a very clear and in-
teresting summary of the views now held of the early geological history
of Ireland, is by its eloquence a worthy proem to the whole book of which
it is the first paper. Those who read it as it should be read, can hardly fail
to form a desire to see with their own eyes the scenes therein so vividly
described.

To them, also, will appear the vast importance of noting, as indices of
whether or not there were local conditions which would allow of such
deposit being formed, in the North of Ireland — as in Scotland — the
Lower Carboniferous, with beds of coal, as at Ballycastle, resting
directly on much older schistose rocks ; and, perhaps, most remarkable
of all, the gap in the Devonian series which led Prof. J. Beete-Jukes
to divide the series into two groups. Or, on the other hand, as in
the case of the later Carboniferous strata in L,einster and Munster, which
show conditions proving the gradual removal of a great load of Coal-
measures and lower Carboniferous grits, which once lay over the Carbon-
iferous limestone, and has, except in bits, now disappeared.

Mr. Kilroe's two papers on the soils and on the climate of Ireland,
which immediately follow those of Prof. Cole, give a clear, succinct, and
intelligent account of the subjects dealt with, as might be expected
from the scientific position of the author.

Dr. Johnson's paper, which comes next, is of great interest, from the
valuable bibliography of Irish botany which it contains, and which will
give the intending visitor — no matter what branch of botany he may seek
to pursue — the fullest means of knowing where to find the guide for his
work. The last sentence of this paper is but too sadly true ; — " It must
be a matter of surprise that so much excellent work has been done, when
it is remembered that botany has hitherto received no encouragement
either in the Elementary Schools or in the Boys' Secondary (or Inter-

2o8 The Irish Naturalist. October,

mediate) Schools of the country, and that in the Girls' Secondary
Schools it has been treated as a polite accomplishment, largely taught
and altogether examined theoretically."

The remaining paper, which deals directly with the subject matter
with which the Irish Naturalist is mainly concerned, is that by Mr.
Carpenter on " The Animals of Ireland." This paper is remarkable not only
for the care with which it summarizes the points— both of similarity
with, and of difference between, the faunas of Ireland and of Great
Britain — but shows that wide grasp of the changes in local connections,
now more than ever necessary to be firmly held by one who wishes his
view of the relationship now existing to correspond to, and correlate
with, the known facts of earlier geological history. This paper also
points clearly out how the south-western " I^usitanian " and the northern
" Arctic" forms mix and overlap in the West of Ireland. This, familiar
as it is to anyone who has worked either at the fauna or the
flora of the West of Ireland, is specially interesting to anyone whose
acquaintance and knowledge of these overlapping forms is confined to
those existing in Scotland, where, from the difference in latitude,
the " Lusitaniau " forms are comparatively few and the "Arctic" forms
very numerous, and how in common forms like the Varying Hare
(Lepus variabilis) this " Arctic " type is that which is found throughout,
and gives its character to the entire country. This paper also points
out most clearly and distinctly how in Ireland, and especially on the
western coast, and most of all in the sea washing that western coast, the
" I/Usitanian " and the " Arctic " type overlap.

Mr. Carpenter has pointed out the different courses by which these
two sets of animals came to the west coasts of Ireland ; the earliest from
the south, then that overborne by those across the land connection with
Scotland and Scandinavia, and that communication finally cut off before
the later flow of animals from the east, Dr. Scharft's " Siberian migration "
could reach Ireland.

There are two points 011 which a more distinct statement of Mr.
Carpenter's views would have been more satisfactory than the way in
which they have been put forward. First, as to the remains of bear in
Ireland, Mr. Carpenter evidently does not look on the modern European
Bear {Ursus arctos) as the same species with the " Grizzly Bear" {Ursus
horribilis). If so, then the Irish Cave Bear was a species now found not
nearer than the " Barren Grounds " of British North America, or possibly
than the Rocky Mountains.

Second, in the refereuce to the former extent of distribution of
Helix pisana, there is no reference to the fact that both the Azores and
Madeira are " Pelagic " islands, so that even a wide extension of the
European coast line would fall very short of them. These are, however,
very small points.

The short summary of the " Economic Zoology " which follows and
concludes Mr. Carpenter's valuable treatise is of much interest. Even
if the Irish farmer can congratulate himself on the absence of the Voles

1901. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 209

and the Mole, the birds, molluscs and insect larvae described, give great
cause for anxiety.

This ends the list of those articles which deal directly with the matters
over which the Irish Naturalist is concerned. There remain, however,
a number of articles dealing with matters more or less closely connected
with the subjects. As to some of these it is not necessary to say more
than that the subject dealt with has been treated clearly and in-
telligently. As to four of these articles that, however, would not be
enough. Prof. Ewart's article on "The Ponies of Connemara " is, as
might be expected, a model of what a paper on that subject should be.
In his account of the existing varieties, the physical features of the
country which has produced these varieties, and, I am sorry to have to
say, his view as to the probable result of the present unregulated system
of replacing Connemara sires by Welsh cob or Hackney sires. Prof.
Ewart also deserves great credit for the illustrations to his paper,
which are most excellent.

Mr. Bruce's paper, which follows Prof. Ewart, gives a very clear and
definite account of how the present " Kerry " and " Dexter," if they are
to be taken as distinct breeds, has originated, and are now being kept
up, and is of great interest to those interested in the question.

The only other papers which I can here refer to are Mr. Green's on
" The Sea Fisheries of Ireland " and on " Inland Fisheries " ; two papers
in which the present conditions of the fisheries of Ireland are succinctly
described.

There are other papers in this volume to which praise might well be
given, there are many other papers well deserving of praise, but we
know that the field to which praise from the Irish Naturalist is appro-
priate is not a large one, and it is better to end by saying too little than
too much.

R. R. Kank.

IRISH SOCIETIES.

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include four Peafowl, from Sir J. Banks ; a Black-headed
Gull, from General Sir J. Davis ; a Carrion Crow, from Mr. T. P. Hart ;
and two Barn Owls, from Mr. Brooke.

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

August 24. — Excursion to Lucan. — Twenty-five members attended.
The party on arriving at Lucan walked from the Spa along the river-
bank as far as the Salmon Leap and back. The day was beautifully fine
and a good deal of collecting was done. After having tea at the Lucan
Hotel the party returned to Dublin by the 7.30 tram.

2io The Irish Naturalist. October,

BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

July 6. The Cave Hill. — The party numbered about twelve. They
visited the old stone fort at Ballyvaston and the ruins of the old church,
of which foundations only are to be seen. In the field containing the
fort some of the members found the Adder's-tongue fern. From the
summit of Cave Hill a line of forts was pointed out, one of which was
visited.

AUGUST io.— Benevenagh's attractions were spoiled by a very wet
morning, so that only two members turned up at the station.

July 11-13. The Antrim Coast Road. — Members and friends
assembled at the Northern Counties Station 011 Thursday morning in
time for the 9.55 train. Zoologists, geologists, and botanists were well
represented ; and the scientific results of the three days' work, when fully
worked out, promise to be creditable to the working members, and a
valuable addition to the " Proceedings " of the Club.

On arrival at Larne, the drive along the Coast Road was commenced.
The first stopping-place was Waterloo, where the party spent some time
examining the Lias and Rhaetic beds. On the land side of the road the
overlying beds of Greensand were next visited. Resuming seats, the
party proceeded along the coast through the Black Cave tunnel to
Ballygalley Head, where the well-known "corn sacks" were noted.
Passing O'Halloran's Castle, a more modern structure diverted attention,
namely, Ballygalley Castle, a small but quaint specimen of Scottish
baronial architecture, built in 1625. The Ballyrudder gravels were next
noted, being celebrated through the investigations conducted by the
B.N.F.C. some years ago. At the "Madman's Window," on the south
side of Glenarm, a considerable time was spent. Glenarm was the next
stopping-place. The party visited the large Chalkquarry on the Larne
road, and several good fossils were picked up. The premises and work-
ings of the Iron Ore Company were next examined, and the processes
explained.

The large landslips between Glenarm and Carnlough were observed
with interest. The next stopping-place was on the north side of Carn-
lough, where a small stream was examined and some specimens of the
fresh-water Limpet obtained. The best find of the day was Helix inter-
seda, being new to East Antrim. At Garron Point the party stopped
again, and, sending the luggage up to the hotel, spent some time ex-
amining the cliffs and rocks.

On Friday, the 12th, the party divided, the main body continuing the
investigations of the previous day, examining the old fort and the
natural history of the undercliff. After lunch this section continued the
drive round the coast road and up the beautiful Vale of Glenariff. In
the meantime the walking party, leaving Garron Tower at 9 o'clock,
ascended the steep cliffs at the back, and began the examination of the
botany and zoology of the moorland and bogs comprising the plateau.

1901. Proceedings of Irish Societies. 211

Everything being of value from these high grounds, a miscellaneous
collection was made — plants, beetles, spiders, shells, moths, butterflies.
The most important discovery of the day was a colony of Herring Gulls
breeding beside one of the lakes, being the first inland breeding-place
known in Ireland, although thousands breed on our sea-cliffs all round
the coast. For this and other reasons the walk took longer than was
anticipated ; but fatigue was banished on meeting the first section at the
teahouse in Glenariff. Here the party was increased by the addition of
some members staying in Cushendall, and the drive down Glenariff was
begun. Red Bay castle and caves gave rise to an animated discussion
At Cushendall a very pleasant evening was spent.

The following morning (Saturday) some of the members were making
ornithological notes by 5 o'clock, while the photographic section was
again early astir, and visited Waterloo t in search of artistic snapshots.
After 8 o'clock breakfast, the party again mounted vehicles and drove to
" Ossian's Grave." The "grave" was photographed, and the drive to
Cushendun resumed.

On arriving here the celebrated caves in the Old Red Sandstone were
visited and thoroughly explored. After inspecting the remain's of Garra
Castle, the steep ascent of Tornamoney Hill was undertaken, in order to
visit Tornamoney cashel. The large circle of stones is between 50 and
60 feet in diameter, and has a chamber in the thickness of the walls.
Another cashel on the opposite side of the hill was next visited, but it
was found to be in bad preservation and hardly worth the climb. De-
scending the hill, Cushendun was again reached, and soon the drive back
began ; it was with regret that Parkmore was reached. After a quick
run to Belfast the party separated.

August 24. The Gobbins It is now some thirty-three years since

the B.F.N.C. visited and explored the district of Islandmagee known as
" The Gobbins." On Saturday, 24th August, the Field Club again visited
the district. About one-half of the party of seventy started by the 12.50
train for Ballycarry Station. Arriving there, the majority of the party
soon reached the high ground overlooking the North Channel. Here they
descended from the cars, and proceeded on foot to the shore. In former
years it was somewhat difficult progress, but on this occasion it was
easily undertaken by everyone, as convenient stiles and footbridges have
been erected by the Northern Counties Railway Company. Passing the
first headland, a fine comprehensive view of the coast was obtained.
As soon as the features of the landscape had been grasped the " Smugglers' •
Cave" was explored.

Passing onwards, the path by the shore was followed. The railway
company has now built a pathway leading round the foot of the Gobbins
cliffs. This path has been carried round the foot of the headland well
above high-water mark along the ledges of basalt, and where walls of
rock used to meet the traveller in former visits he will now find short
tunnels cut through the solid rock. Where a gaping chasm yawned
there is now a hanging bridge constructed of bearers of rolled iron joists,
with a footway of solid plank. The party was conducted by Mr. B. D.

212 The Irish Naturalist October, 1901.

Wise round this path till we reached the first of that great series of caves
that are to be found at the foot of the Gobbins cliffs. An inspection
revealed ferns and liverworts of many varieties. Mr. Wise, the
Engineer of the Northern Counties Railway Company, explained the
intention of the company to carry the path further round the cliffs to
reach some more of these famous caves, and ultimately they hope to
provide access to the group of seven caves further along the coast. The
general opinion of the party was that in the dealing with the problem of
opening up this district Mr. Wise deserved great credit for his treatment
of the subject. In no case is the natural beauty destroyed. What has
been done is in keeping with the natural harmonies of the place. It is,
however, the geologist that can best gain an idea of the beauty and
grandeur of the place. But the interest is not confined to past history ;
the banks and fields are gay with flowers. Bird life is abundant among
the eyries of the cliffs ; the Peregrine Falcon and the Herring Gull find
a home in the fastnesses of the rocks. Butterflies, too, are in abundance
through the fields, one member noting the rare Peacock Butterfly
Vanessa io.

OBITUARY.

Eleanor A. Ormerod.

Miss E. A. Ormerod, the renowned authority on economic entomology,
passed away, at her home, St. Albans, England, on July 22nd, aged 74
years. We feel it due to join in the universal tribute to her memory
since her work on many occasions was of the most direct benefit to Irish
agriculture and industry. Many inquiries on injurious insects were sent
to her from this country, and all were dealt with in her characteristically
painstaking and thorough style. Of her the customary saying is no
empty compliment— she leaves a vacant place that cannot be filled.

Martin F. Woodward.

As we go to press we learn with the deepest regret that a boat accident
at Ballinakill, Co. Mayo, has caused the untimely death of this brilliant
young zoologist, the son of Dr. Henry Woodward, of the British Museum,
and Assistant to Prof. G. B. Howes, at the Royal College of Science,
London. Mr. Woodward had been spending his vacation helping the re-
search work carried on under the direction of the Inspectors of Fisheries.
Returning with two companions on the night cf the 15th September from
Inishbofin, a squall struck the boat just at the entrance to Ballinakill
Harbour, and she capsized. While the other two in the boat succeeded in
reaching land, nothing has been seen or heard of Mr. Woodward. He
has closed a career that promised to enrich zoology by much valuable
morphological research by laying down his life in the cause of Irish in-
dustry and Irish science.

November, 1901. 213

SOME NORTH-EAST IRELAND RUBI.

BY RKV. W. MOYLE ROGERS, F.L-S.

As bramble referee for the Watson Botanical Exchange Club,
I have had dried specimens of Co. Down Rubi sent to me for
annotation annually since 1893, the collectors being the Rev.
C. H. Waddell and the Rev. Canon Lett — to both of whom I
am very greatly indebted for help given me in the preparation
of this paper. The majority of their specimens have caused
me little or no difficulty, as they obviously belonged to familiar
British forms ; but in all of the packets in recent years there
has been no inconsiderable admixture of unfamiliar-looking
forms, which I only very gradually learnt to sort with any
confidence. I was especially glad, therefore, of an oppor-
tunity of seeing the living bushes, over a fairly extensive area,
under Canon Lett's guidance last July, while his guest for ten
days at Aghaderg, near the western border of Co. Down. As
we were favoured with exceptionally fine weather, we were
able also to explore part of the contiguous north-east corner
of Co. Armagh. These notes give the result. I have added
brief remarks on some Co. Antrim Rubi, also seen growing in
July last — partly by my son, Rev. F. A. Rogers, and partly by
myself ; and also a few earlier records for the three counties
by other collectors, whose specimens I saw. But I have
thought it best not to include the numerous additional records
for the three counties, which were published from time to
time in the Irish Naturalist and elsewhere, and are now
embodied in Mr. Lloyd Praeger's recently issued Irish Topo-
graphical Botany.

For the counties visited I give the comital numbers suggested
in Irish Topographical Botany, viz. — 37, Armagh ; 38, Down ;
and 39, Antrim. The living bushes were seen by me in every
instance in which the locality is not immediately followed by
the nsme of the collector. Glynn (near Larne), where I stayed
for the few days I spent in Co. Antrim, is but poorly furnished
with Rubi ; but the Aghaderg, Banbridge, and Newry neigh-
bourhoods (Counties Down and Armagh) are exceedingly rich in
distinct forms as in individual bushes. The bushes, however,
grow almost exclusively in hedges, and so present special
difficulties to the student ; — a circumstance which may to some

A

214 The Irish Naturalist. November,

extent account for the difficulty at first experienced in naming
some of them. But I now believe that in the vast majority of
cases Irish brambles are practically identical with those of
Great Britain. As usual an asterisk will be found prefixed
in the case of new county records. Where the collector's
name follows the locality given, the sign (!) is added as often
as I have seen specimens : —

Rubus Idaeus, Linn.— Appears to be generally distributed, though
in some districts rather sparingly.

SUBERECTI.

R. suberectus, Anders. — 38. Castlewellan Lake, Stewart \ The only
Irish suberectus that I have seen, except a Westmeath plant from Knock
Drin. I have seen no R. fissus.

R. Rogersii, Linton.— 38. Mill Hill Lane, Aghaderg ; very local.
Not yet found in any quantity in Ireland, but quite characteristic in this
Aghaderg, locality, — as at Gilhall, Dromore {Lett !), and Saintfield
{Waddell X), in other parts of Co. Down. I have also seen a Deny
specimen collected by Mr. Druce at Lough Neagh.

R. pltcatus, Wh. & N. — Locally abundant. 37. Lane by Dublin
road, Newry. 38. Anacloan ; Banbridge. *39. Ballymena ; Cushendall ;
Giant's Causeway ; but " not common," F. A. Rogers.

Rhamnifoui.

R. Lincllclanus, Lees. — 37. Lurgau ; Armagh, PraegerX Raughlin,
Waddell X and Lett X Lough Gilly, Druce X Scarva ; abundant. Near
Newry. 38. Aghaderg and neighbourhood ; common. At Saintfield
found only sparingly by Mr. Waddell. 39. Glendun, Shoolbred X Cushen-
dall ; Giant's Causeway (" not common "), F. A. Rogers. Glynn. In 37
and 38 usually very abundant and typical ; but the form with roundish-
cordate terminal leaflet referred to in my Handbk. Brit. Rubi, p. 28, as
received from Canon Lett, is quite frequent in his neighbourhood, and
in this one feature (the terminal leaflet of its stem-leaf), though not in
other respects, it recalls the true R. cordifolius of Rubi Germanici,

R. rhamnlfollus, Wh. & N.— 37. Armagh, PraegerX Bushy
ground near Newry. 38. Aughnadarragh, Saintfield, Waddell X Near
Gilford, Lett X Aghaderg. 39. Cairncastle, Stewart X The ordinary
British form. Apparently quite frequent.

Subsp. Bakeri, F. A. Lees. *38. Dry banks by the sea,
Killough, Waddell X

R. pulcherrlmus, Neum.— 37 and 38. Very abundant and character-
istic. 39. Cushendall and Knocknacarry ; Larue ; Cave Hill, Belfast,
Shoolbred ! Near Giant's Causeway, Bailey X and F A. Rogers X Glynn.

1901. Rogers. — Some North-east Ireland Rtibi. 215

Vii,i,icaui,es.

R. Selmeri, Lindeb.— 37. Tanderagee, Lett\ Scarva and near
Newry ; very abundant. 38. Saintfield, Waddell ! Common at Aghaderg 5
Anacloan. 39. Cushendall ; near Giant's Causeway, Bailey ! and F. A,
Rogers. Evidently as abundant and easily recognized through a great
part of Ireland, as in most parts of Great Britain. Under this I now
believe must come Canon Lett's Armagh (Tanderagee) and Antrim
(Glendun) plants, for which I formerly suggested the name R. gratus
Focke.

DlSCOI^ORKS,

R. argentatus, P. J. Muell.— *38. Aghaderg; local. Apparently
rare in Ireland.

R. rusticanus, Merc. — 37. Tartaraghan ; Armagh, Praegerl 38.
Annaghdroghal ; Comber and Castle Espie, Waddell \ Ballintaggart,
Lett ! Aghaderg : seen in two spots only, viz. — Mile Hill Lane and road-
side towards Banbridge. 39. Common, and especially abundant near
the sea.

[R. pubescens, Weihe.— 38. Saintfiekl, Waddell '! Doubtfully thus
named by me, and in need of confirmation.J

Sii,vatici.

R. silvaticus, Wh. & N. — 37. Field south of Newry, near the
reservoir, hb. Lett ! Apparently this, but needing confirmation here and
in 38 (Milltown and Clonallen, Lett. Saintfield, Waddell.)

R. myricae Focke, var. hesperius, Rogers. *38. Lane north of
Banbridge. Not seen in fruit, but clearly not distinct from Mr.
Marshall's Mayo and Galway plant (Jonrn. Bot., 1896,504), though nearly
eglandular in panicle, and so one step nearer to typical R. myricoz.

R. macrophyllus, Wh. & N.— 38. Saintfield, Waddell ! Agha-
derg. Wall near the lough, quite in the open, for a good many yards;
a conspicuous form with short roundish terminal leaflet, and very flori-
ferous large-flowered panicle.

Subsp. Schlechtendalii (Weihe).— One of the most abundant
and characteristic brambles of this part of Ireland. 37. Scarva.
Near Newry. 38. Saintfield, Waddell ! Aghaderg. Anacloan,
Banbridge.

VUSTITI.

R. in i cans, Gren. & Godr.— *37- Scarva. 38. Fairly frequent
Banbridge, roadside near " Mutton Hill," a handsome highly glandular
form. Aghaderg. Anacloan. Confirms previous uncertain record for
Co. Down. *39- Near Ballymena, about two miles on the Larne road ; a
very strong form, F. A. Rogers !

R. hirtifolius, Muell. & Wirtg — 38. Under this aggregate species
must certainly come a plant of Canon Lett's from Aghaderg, which I
have seen in the dried state more than once ; and also one from Saint-

A 2

2i6 The Irish Naturalist. November,

field collected by Mr. Waddell. They seem to go best with my var.
mollissimus ; as probably do the Westmeath (Knock Drin) plant, Linton !,
Mr. Marshall's from Mallaranny, West Mayo, and Mr. Bailey's from
Carnabridge to Portrush, Derry.

R. pyramidalis,' Kalt.— 37. Lurgan, PraegerX Lane and bushy
ground near the reservoir on the Dublin road, Newry. 38. Saintfield,
WaddellX Aghaderg, Lett ! Abundant at Ballynanny, Anacloan.
Reported by Mr. Waddell as " common at Saintfield, and in most
parts of the county." 39. Cave Hill, DruceX Cushendall ("very
little"), F. A. Rogers \

R. Ieucostachys, Schleich. — 37. Lurgan, Praegerl Scarva. Near
Newry. 38. Aghaderg. Anacloan. Banbridge. Apparently common,
though often uncharacteristic, in 37 and 38. 39. Cave Hill, Belfast, &c,
Shoolbred !

Egr^gii.
This group, it will be seen, is more highly represented than any other.
R. Lettli, sp. (or subsp.) nov. — " R. Gelertii, Frider. , Letlii, subsp.
nov.," Wats. Bot. Bxch. Club, 1900-1901 Rep., p. 14. Stem high-arching at
first, stout, bluntly angled, striate, glaucous, clothed with long fine shining
hairs ; its acicles very unequally scattered, and stalked glands very rare or absent.
Prickles mostly subequal and nearly confined to angles, remarkably com-
pressed and straight, long, slender, nearly patent, hairy, occasionally gland-
tipped. Leaves usually snate-pedate, concave, pale greyish-green, very soft
beneath with close shining hairs, often greyish-felted at first ; petioles long,
with many unequal partly gland-tipped organs. Leaflets somewhat imbricate
at first ; terminal slightly obovate, with fairly long cuspidate-acuminate
point, subcordate base, and compound teeth ; basal shortly stalked.
Panicle long cylindrical, lax below and usually only slightly narrowed at
the top ; about \ ultra-axillary ; the lowest branches moderately long, and
nearly erect. Rachis with very close grey felt under the long hairs, armed like
the stem though usually much more glandular and aciculate, with some
of the long slender prickles gland-tipped ; the prickles almost invariably straight, and
mostly patent or subpatent. Sepals (like rachis and pedicels) remarkably
grey-felted, rejlexed, often long-pointed, usually quite unarmed and
eglandular. Petals narrow, white or faintly pinkish. Stamens exceed-
ing styles. Young carpels somewhat hairy. Fruit abundant and
excellent.

While recalling R. Gelertii among the Egregii, and in earlier groups R.
Questierii and R. micans, this seems most closely allied to R. criniger
Linton, from which it may, however, without difficulty be distinguished
by the long remarkably compressed slender prickles, the somewhat
obovate terminal leaflet with more finely pointed teeth and less gradually
acuminate point, and the cylindrical panicle with stronger gland-
tipped organs, shorter more ascending lower branches, and broader
top. The extraordinary greyness of the whole plant is also a very
marked feature.

Under Canon Lett's guidance I saw it in great abundance in Aghaderg,
Anacloan, and Banbridge parishes along the western boundary of Co.

i9oi- Rogers. — Some North-east Ireland Rubi. 217

Down, and in Co. Armagh plentifully at Scarva, and more sparingly near
Newry. Mr. Waddell has sent it to me from Saintfield, and he and
Canon Lett are agreed in calling it " a very common Co. Down plant."
I know nothing exactly like it in Great Britain, though the Rev. A.
Ley has found a form which recalls it in Bolston Wood, Herefordshire.

R. Boraeanus, Genev.— 38. Aghaderg Glebe (locality now de-
stroyed), hb. Lett\ Probably this species, but if so, untypical in the
scarcity of the stem-pricklets and in the rather prickly panicle.]

R. cinerosus, Rogers. — *38. Caskum, Aghaderg; in one spot, rather
abundant. This is the fourth Irish county in which this species has now
been found.

R. mucronatus, Blox. — 37. Armagh, Praeger ! 38. Very local and
variable. Saintfield, Waddell 1 Aghaderg, Lett\ Bdenderry (typical) ;
Mile Hill Lane (a nearly eglandular form) ; Knock Iveagh (apparently
this), hb. Lett ! 39. Cave Hill, Belfast, Druce !

R. Gelertll, Frider. — *37. Near the Dublin road, Newry. *3g.
Glynn ; in considerable quantity ; a handsome exceptionally glandular
form.

R. anglosaxonlcus, Gelert. — 37. Newry; Tartaraghan (form near
subsp. raduloides), Praegerl

Subsp. vestltlformls, Rogers. — *38. Anacloan ; in one lane

several bushes ; a form with exceptionally long prickles. New

for Ireland.

R. Borrerl, Bell Salt. — 37. Near Newry, Praeger \ and Lett\ Lough

Gilly, Druce ! Quite typical, and in great quantity at Scarva and by the

Dublin road, Newry. *38. Aghaderg. Anacloan. Locally abundant.

R. Drejerl, G. Jensen. — "39. Glynn; hillside by limestone quarries.
Typical, but seen only in small quantity.

Subsp. hitoernicus, Rogers.— *37. Scarva, very abundant.
Near Newry ; in no great quantity. 38. Common at Aghaderg
and Anacloan, over a large area. Near Banbridge. Saintfield,
Waddelll In wood-borders and hedges, with the next.
R. dunensis, sp. (or subsp.) nov. — Stem bluntly angled, considerably
hairy, with scattered unequal armature, varying very greatly in amount,
but often quite Koehlerian in character. Prickles mostly slender from stout
base and rather short. Larger acicles and bristles often gland-tipped. Stalked
glands many, very unequal. Leaves very broad, always yellowish, con-
spicuously concave, opaque and thinly strigose above, at first softly hairy
beneath, with somewhat sinuate, sharply-pointed, compound teeth. Terminal
leaflet roundish -oval, with long acuminate point, and cordate base ; inter-
mediate exceptionally long, and usually over-lapping the subsessile basal ones.
Panicle with short close pyramidal top, and two or three distant lower racemose
branches, remarkably brown in upper half. Rachis slightly flexuose, with
patent brownish hair hiding the crowded, short-stalked glands ; gland-
tipped acicles exceeding hair rather few ; prickles weak, declining or
patent. Flowers cup-shaped. Sepals very glandular, brownish ; soon
rising, and often remaining erect. Petals narrow, faintly pinkish or
white. Stamens erect, exceeding styles. Carpels glabrous. Flowers

218 The Irish Naturalist. November,

early, and fruits abundantly. Fruit excellent. One of the few earlier
flowering and most abundant brambles in West Down and the adjoining
parts of Armagh. Received also from Saintfield, East Down. Strongly
recalls A. Drejeri and its two subspecies, but keeps quite distinct.

This is included under subsp. hibemicus, in Handbk. Brit. Rubi, p. 63 (as
a strong form); but when constantly growing with it under like conditions
it flowers a fortnight earlier, and can always be distinguished from it at
some distance by its yellow-tinted concave leaves and peculiar brownish
panicle, close-branched above and very lax below. The sinuation of the
leaf-toothing is usually less marked than in hibemicus, but is still very
unlike the shallow serration in Drejeri and the very even simple teeth in
Ley anus. In A'. Drejeri alone are the leaves chiefly 3-4nate, and the ter-
minal leaflet roundish, with short point.

I am convinced now that the right place for A. dunensis is not (as I
for a time supposed) among the Koehleriani near R. cognatus, but among
the Egrcgii, after aggregate /v. Drejeri. The four forms may be thus con-
trasted:—

I. Stem considerably hairy.

(1.) Leaves chiefly 3~4nate. Leaflets roundish, with rather
short cuspidate point and shallow, irregular teeth. Panicle
narrow, cylindrical.

A'. Drejeri — Stem fuscous, dull. Leaves flat, green. Prickles
often falcate, especially on panicle.

(2.) Leaves usually conspicuously 5nate. Leaflets with long
acuminate point and compound sinuate toothing. Panicle pyra-
midal.

A. dunensis. — Stem and leaves yellowish. Stem very prickly and
aciculate. Leaves concave, thick, soft beneath, very broad, the
long intermediate leaflets overlapping the basal. Panicle close
above, with distant lower branches. Flowers early.

A. hibemicus. — Stem and leaves green. Stem with thinly-
scattered prickles and acicles. Leaves soon quite flat, thin, com-
paratively narrow, rarely imbricate. Panicle long, lax throughout,
with rigid upper branches. Flowers late.

II, Stem subglabrous and shining.

R. Leyanus. — Stem yellowish-brown, with very variable armature.
Leaves mostly 5nate, green above, often grey-felted beneath,
sharply evenly toothed. Panicle rather lax, much narrowed
above, but with less formal outline than in A. hibemicus.

The existence of R. Leyanus in N. B. Ireland now needs confirmation ;
but I am still disposed to refer to it Mr. Marshall's plants from Wexford
and Mayo (see Irish Top. Bot., pk 105). Mr. Druce's records for 39 and 40
may also be right (as I thought at the time) ; but I no longer have his
specimens to refer to.

i9oi- Rogers. — Some Noith- cast Ireland Rubi. 219

Radui,^.
R. radula, Weihe.— Typical, or nearly so. 38. Newcastle, Bruce I
Lisnagade, Aghaderg, Lett\ 39. Near Giant's Causeway, Bailey \ Cave
Hill, Druce !

Subsp. echlnatoides, Rogers.— 37. Tanderagee ; Ballymore,
Lett\ Scarva, abundant; near Newry. 38. Aghaderg, in several
places, but rather local. I am satisfied now that it was an excep-
tionally slender form of this subspecies that I named R. rudis
Weihe for Canon Lett a few years ago (see Irish Top. Bot., p. 106.)
39. Glenarm, Lett and Druce ! Cave Hill, Druce ! and Waddell !
Less glandular than usual.
R. echlnatus, Lindl.— 37. Markethill, Druce !
R. oigocladus, Muell. & Lefv., var. Newbouldil, Bab.— *37.
Scarva. In great quantity near Newry. 38. Aghaderg Anacloan.
Banbridge- Locally abundant, but very variable ; the Newry plant
especially going a long way towards var. Bloxamianus (Colem.), though
on the whole, perhaps, best kept under Newbouldii.

R. regillus, A. Ley. — 38. Gillhall demesne, Lett I A form less
glandular than the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire type.

Sub-Koehi,e;riani.

R. Babingtonii, Bell Salt— 37. Ferry Hill, Lettl Rather doubtful.
*38. Drumcrow, Waddell in hb. Lett!

R. mutabilis, Genev.— *38. Lisnagade, Aghaderg; one clump ; in
shade, and so hardly typical, making some approach towards subsp.
nejuorosus Genev. An imperfect specimen from this thicket was wrongly
named by me R. adornatus, P. J. Muell., for the Watson Bot. Exch. Club.
(See Report 1900-1901, p. 17, 2nd paragraph). New for Ireland.

Rs Bloxamll, Lees. — *37- Lane near Newry, in some quantity, nearly
typical ; but with exceptionally stout prickles and lax panicle.

SUB-BElylyARDIANI.

R. scaberj Wh. & N.— 30. Lurgan, Praeger\ 38. Aghaderg Glebe;
fairly abundant locally, with leaves exceptionally large in shade, and
mostly 3 nate.

KOEHI^ERIANI.

R, rosaceus, Wh. & N., var. hystrlx (Wh. & N.) 39. Glen-
dun, ShoolbredX Also form near subsp. infeamdus Rogers, near Maralin
(38), Lettl

R. Koehlerl, Wh. & N, — 38. Newcastle, Druce ! Aghaderg; — seen
in two places only, (1) Mile Hill Lane, (2) Glebe field.

Subsp. dasyphyllus, Rogers. — 37 and 38. Common; ap-
parently the most abundant and generally distributed glandular
bramble in N. Ireland, as in N. England.

Beu,ardiani.
R. saxicolus, P. J. Muell. — 38. Saintfield, Waddelll Apparently
R. horridicaulis, P. J. Muell., the strong form which Dr. Focke associates
with R. saxicolus.

220 The Irish Naturalist. November,

QjEsii.

R. coryllfolius, Sm.— 37. Armagh, rraeger\ 38. Castlewellan,
Stewart \ Aghaderg, Lett ! 39. Cairncastle, Stewart ! Cushendall, Bailey !

Var. SUblllStrlS (Lees). 3S. Lisdalgin, Saiutfield, Waddell ! Var. eye Io-
phyllus (Lindeb). 37. Tartaraghan, Fraegerl Ardmore, Lett ! 39.
Larne, Shoolbred\ Widely distributed arid variable. I saw no charac-
teristic sublustris growiug. As an aggregate, found by my son to be
frequent from Larne to Giant's Causeway.

R, caesius, Linn. — 37. Scarva. 39. Larne to Giant's Causeway;
" fairly common," F. A. Rogers.

West Bournemouth.

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a Suricate, from Major H. Charasse ; a Diamond
Snake, from Mrs. W. de C. Duff; and two Crocodiles, from Dr. Egan.

DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB.

The Club met on Wednesday, 9th October.

Mr. F. W. Moore showed flowers of a very minute Orchid (Stelis sp.)
from Roraima Mountain. The flowers were not more than s-inch in
diameter, and were covered with hairs on the inside of the segments, as
well as along the edges. On the outside of the segments there were
numerous glandular hairs, which gave a peculiar speckled appearance to
the buds. Under a low magnifying power these flowers formed a very
pretty object.

Mr. M'Ardi^E exhibited Lejeunea mici-oscopica, Tayl., in fruit, in which
condition it is very rarely found. The delicate papillose perianth bear-
ing at the apex the capsule and spores, and the oval antheridia singly
enclosed in the leaf lobes, are beautiful objects.

It is frequent in the Co. Kerry, and is found growing on the leaves of
mosses and the larger hepaticse, always sparingly. Mr. M'Ardle showed
the specimens as they were collected by himself and Canon Lett, on the
bark of Alder, in a damp rocky wood near the shores of Lough Conn,
at Pontoon — about three miles from Foxford, Co. Mayo— in May last.
The plants cover the bark in neat strata, scarcely discernible to the
unaided eye ; there is no record that it has been found in Co. Mayo. |§| ■{

He also exhibited the rare Cephalozia Francisci, Hook., fertile, from the
same locality. It was found on damp peat, among rocks near the shores
of the lake. It is now known to be found in four counties in Ireland,
viz. — near Bantry, Co. Cork (Miss Hutchins) ; Hill of Howth, Co. Dublin
(D. M'Ardle); Mourne Mountains, Co. Down (Rev. Canon Lett); and
Pontoon, Co. Mayo (M'Ardle and Lett, May, 1901).

I90I. 221

THE PUPARIUM OF THE GROUSE-FLY.

ORNITHOMYIA AVICUI,ARIA.
BY GEORGE H. CARPENTER, B.SC, F.E-S.

It is nearly 160 years since De Reaumur in his fascinating
Memoir/ "Sur la maniere extremement singuliere dont nais-
sent quelques especes de Mouches a deux Aisles apellees
Mouches Araignees," made known the remarkable mode of
reproduction that characterises the " pupiparous " Diptera.
He dwells at first on the marvel that would be aroused if
" une espece de quadrupedes dont la femelle d'une taille egale
a celle d'un bceuf ou d'un chameau, met au jour un animal
aussi grand qu'elle-meme," It would be judged incredible, he
writes, " qu'ily a une espece de poules, par exemple, qui pond
des oeufs d'oii sort une poule ou un coq, qui dans le moment
meme ou il paroit au jour ne cede .aucunement en grandeur a
la mere." He considers that the marvel would be neither
increased nor diminished on account of the small size of any
animal exhibiting such a mode of reproducing its kind, and
announces that "Thistoire des insectes avoit un tel prodige a
nous montrer."

To modern entomologists, familiar enough with the repro-
duction of the Pupipara, it is refreshing as well as instructive
to see how the facts appealed to the first investigator of these
insects. And our admiration for De Reaumur's philosophic
grasp of his subject increases as we notice that, although
throughout his Memoir he uses the term "oeuf" for the
extruded puparium, he arrives at the conclusion that a com-
plete transformation must be carried on within the body of
the mother-fly. In this respect he, far more than Dufour, his
successor in the study of these insects, anticipated the know,
ledge of to-day, for Dufour2 emphatically denied the existence
of a larval stage in Melophagics.

Since the works of De Reaumur, and Dufour, it is strange
how little has been written on the puparia of these insects.

1 De Reaumur. Memoires pour servir a l'Histoire des Insectes.
Tome VI., Memoire XIV. Paris, 1742.

3 Iv. Dufour. Etudes anatomiques et Physiologiques sur les Insectes
Dipteres de la Famille des Pupipares. Ann. Sci. Nat. (Zoo/.) (3) iii., 1845

pp. 49-95, pis- 2-3-

A 3

222 The Irish Naturalist. November,

The researches of I^euckart3 and Pratt4 have made known the
details of internal transformation, and have shown that the
abnormal process in the Pupipara is readily derivable from
the ordinary metamorphosis of the higher Diptera. But the
outer structure of the puparium seems well worthy of study,
and I am glad to be able to contribute a few details on that of
the " Grouse-fly," Ornithomyia avicularia.

It is now well known that the structure actually " laid " by
the mother-fly is a mature larva, of which the hind -region
surrounding the stigmata is already hard and chitinous, while
the greater part of the body remains white and membranous.
As the larval skin hardens to form the puparium the whole
surface becomes firm and dark in texture. This process in
Hippobosca equina is well figured in De Reaumur's " Memoir,"
and quite recently Miss Ormerod published a short descrip-
tion and drawing5 of the newly-born larva of Ornithomyia
avicularia. She contented herself, however, with indicating
the general form of the body, and of the area around the
stigmata.

In the spring of last year my friend, Mr. G. P. Farran,
brought me from Templeogue, Co. Dublin, two females of
O. avicularia which he had taken the previous evening from a
dead Kestrel. The flies had been imprisoned in a glass tube
during the night, and when examined in the morning this
tube was found to contain two small shining black ovoid
bodies, while the abdomens of the flies, greatly distended, so
Mr. Farran told me, when taken from the host, had a shrivelled
aspect. No doubt could be entertained that during the night
the flies had brought forth larvae which had already become
completely changed to puparia. These were put on one side
for future examination, and when I looked at them in the
summer of this year I found that from one a fly had partly
emerged, but had died without being able to extricate itself
completely (fig. 7).

3 R. Iveuckart. Die Fortpflanzung und Entwickelung der Pupiparen.
Abh. Naturforsch. Gesellsch. Halle, vol. iv., 1858, pp. 145, 226, pi. 3.

4 H. S. Pratt. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pupiparen. Arch.f. Naturgesch.
Jahrg. lix., 1 Band, 1893, pp. 151-200, taf. 6.

5 E. A. Ormerod. Report of Injurious Insects, &c, 1899. London 1900
(pp. -63)

1901. Carpenter. — The Puparium of the Grouse-Fly. 223

Of the puparium of Ornithomyia Dufour writes : —

" La pupe de l'Ornithoinyie, deux ou trois fois plus petite
que celle de l'Hippobosque, est noire, plus lisse, plus luisante
et de la meme conformation generale, mais sans echancrure en
arriere. Son bout posterieur, un peu plus petit que l'autre, offre,
en y regardant de tres pres, une empreinte lineaire circulaire,
et deux tres legeres eminences separees par une depression en
gouttiere, ou je n'ai pas pu decouvrir le stigmate que l'analogie
permet d'y supposer. On apercoit au bout anterieur un
vestige des deux sutures signalees dans l'Hippobosque."

The brilliantly-black surface of the puparium is indeed re-
markable ; the general aspect is that of a Histerid beetle or
an Oribatid mite. The shape of the puparium is ovate, the
fore-end being the broader; it is flattened dorso-ventrally
the lateral edges being sub-carinate (figs. 1, 6). Almost the
whole surface is ornamented with fine lines, forming very
small irregular polygonal areas (fig. 2), somewhat like those
which adorn the integument of certain Water-mites. In addi-
tion to these there are series of punctures forming lines, of
which ten sets, running transversely, appear to be arranged
segmentally, while four others run lengthwise on both dorsal
and ventral surfaces roughly parallel with the lateral margins ;
those on the dorsal surface being finer and more continuous
than those on the ventral (figs. 1, 6, 7). The two foremost
and the hindmost of the transverse lines are continuous on
the ventral surface, while all the others are interrupted for a
considerable distance in the middle. On the dorsal surface
the hindmost line is interrupted centrally, the broken ends
being turned backwards ; the one next in front is continuous
across the back, but all the others, except the foremost, are
broken. Microscopic examination shows that the punctures
forming these lines are not strictly regular in their arrange-
ment, but that they pursue a slightly sinuous course (fig. 2).

On the ventral surface, the hindmost transverse line is in-
terrupted in the middle where the position of the anus is
marked by a small circular pit (figs. 4, 5). At the head-end of
the body, a small oval area raised into a low papilla, grooved
dorso-ventrally, surrounds the larval mouth, which is situated
towards the dorsal or narrow end of the area. From the mouth
opening a series of excessively fine wrinkles radiate (fig. 3).

224

The Irish Naturalist.

November,

^J-J

<i-H.e.

8«.

Fig. I. Pupariuiu of Ornithomyia aviailaria, ventral view. X 12.

2. Small part of surface, showing markings and punctures, x 60.

3. Mouth and surrounding area, x 35, /. lateral suture.

4. Hinder region of Puparium from beneath and behind. X 16.

5. Edge of a small portion of the stigmatic area. X 35.

6. Side view (dorsal aspect to^

right). X 12.

7. Puparium with emerging fly.

Dorsal view. X 12.

j

8. Stigmatic depression, showing stigmata. X 35.

/. lateral suture.
/. transversesuture.

i^6i. CarpknTKR- — The Puparium of the Grouse-Fly. 225

In addition to the lines of punctures, the lateral and trans-
verse sutures (the " deux sutures " of Dufour and the " Bogen-
naht " and " Ringanht " of Iyeuckart and Pratt) along which
the forepart of the puparium splits open to allow the escape
of the imago, can be traced. The former appears as a simple
furrow in the integument, while the latter shows as a very
narrow band, distinctly lighter in colour than the surfaces
that it separates ; this appearance agrees with the microscopic
structure of the cuticle and underlying skin as investigated
by Pratt in Melophagus. The transverse suture (" Ringnaht ")
surrounds the puparium just in front of the fourth set of
transverse puncture-lines (figs. 6, 7). The arched lateral
suture (" Bogennaht ") runs around the forward edge of the
puparium, uniting the two opposite lateral points of the trans-
verse suture, and passing close to the dorsal edge of the
mouth-area where it undergoes a slight deflection (figs. 3, 6).

The most striking region of the puparium is the hinder end.
For a short distance in front oi, and a rather greater space behind
the last transverse line of punctures, the fine lines forming
polygons are absent, and the surface of the puparium exhibits
only minute irregular wrinkles. Behind this comparatively
smooth area comes the elliptical region, surrounding the deep
central depression at the extreme tail-end, at the bottom of
which are situated the six stigmata. This elliptical region is
most regularly and exquisitely ornamented. It is divided
into twelve radiating, wedge-shaped areas (figs. 1, 4, 8). Six
of these, of which two are bisected by the central dorso-ventral
plane of the body,- exhibit a surface broken up into deep
elongate polygonal depressions, separated by markedly raised
ridges (fig. 5). The alternating six areas (whereof a pair are,
of course, cut by the plane of the lateral edges of the puparium)
are far less rugose, but are studded with a number of hemi-
spherical tubercles. Strange and interesting in structure
though the flies of the Pupipara are, no one has probably
claimed admiration for them on the ground of their beauty.
But the shining black puparium of Ornithomyia, its whole
surface, as it were, cunningly wrought into the most delicate
of tracery, appeals to the eye of the observer as strikingly
beautiful. For the present at least we can but admire, and
Wonder what the meaning of all this ornament may be.

Science and Art Museum, Dublin.

226 November,

SOME NOTES ON THE WEIGHT OF BIRDS' EGGS.

BY W. H. WORKMAN.

Reading, some time ago, in Miller Christy's book on Birdnest-
ing that it would be an interesting thing to have some record
of the weights of eggs of our British birds, I thought I would
make a start last season and get as many examples as possible
which, I am sorry to say, are very few. In all, I got ten
species. One living in town has very little chance of getting
any but the very common eggs ; but, next season, I may
get more, and other observers who have more time on their
hands might take the subject up. I used a pair of chemical
balances weighing down to J grain ; this, I should think, is
quite low enough for ordinary purposes. Of course much finer
and more expensive balances can be got. I have taken the
greatest care in weighing and measuring the eggs given below,
so as to make my statements as accurate as the means in my
power would admit.

A great many people, in fact the majority by a long way,
have no idea of the weight of eggs at all, still fewer know
that there are great differences in the eggs of one clutch.
I have come on some with as much as 10 to 21 grains
difference in the one clutch, and, taking one nest with another,
the differences will be found much greater. I have only
come across one other paper on the weights of birds' eggs ; it
appeared in the Zoologist of this year. I give the length and
breadth after each egg, as, of course, it has a lot to do with
the weight, but not as much as one would expect, for, as
will be seen, some eggs with the same, or nearly the same
measurements, have very different weights. This may be due
to a difference in the thickness of the shell, or perhaps the
yolk in some cases may be heavier than in others, or the yolk
may be larger and the little air bubble less. Another question
arises here, which is the egg with the greatest weight ? the
one laid first or the one laid last ; one would naturally say the
first, but I have not been able this year to look into this
question.

1901. Workman. — Some Notes on the Weight of Birds' Eggs. 227
Common Thrush (Turdus miasms) : —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

(a) Weight 94^ Measurements

1-13

X

0-82

(t>) 9$

1*12

X

0-82

00 9i

ro8

X

0-82

(d) 86

1*06

X

078

The lightest Thrush's egg I got was 75

grains

x i-8

X 078, very

much lighter than (a).

MISSED Thrush (Tardus viscivorus) : —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

(a) Weight 1354 Measurements

I"22

X

092

(*) *3o

I*20

X

0-92

(') 125^

117

X

0*91

BLACKBIRD (Turdus meruld): —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

(a) Weight 116 Measurements

1-23

X

0-84

(*) "3i

1*2

X

0-82

(V) 1 12 J

I-2I

X

0-82

(W) no

1-19

X

0-82

The lightest one I found weighed 85 grains x I'I2 X 0*82. This one
was pretty far on in incubation, but I am not sure whether that wTould
have anything to do with it ; I rather think not.

HEDGE Sparrow [Accentor modidaris) : —

Grains. Inch. Inch,

(a) Weight 32 J Measurements 0-84 x 0-58

Common Sparrow (Passer domestic us) : —
Clutch I.

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

(a) Weight

42 \

Mi

easurenients 0^87

X

o-6

«

42

0-85

X

0-51

Clutch II.

to

3«>i

0-82

X

o-6i

(*)

30

075

X

0 61

00

28:

0-82

X

o-6i

There is a great difference in the weights and also in the dimensions
of these two clutches.

SwiFT ( Cypselus Apus) : —

Grains. Inch. Inch,

(a) Weight 36 Measurements 0-98 X o*66

228

The Irish Naturalist.

November,

Chaffinch (Fringilla ccelebs) : —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

0) Weight

275

Measurements

o-8

X

°'54

0)

26£

broker

].

(c)

25i

071

X

o*54

(0

25*

076

X

0-56

Greenfinch (Ligurinus chloris) : —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch

(a) Weight

35

Measurements

083

X

0-58

(6)

34

o-8i

X

0-58

<3

33*

0-82

X

o'57

w

3i

o-8

X

0-56

(<)

30

o-8

X

056

Magpie (/V«t rustica) : —

Grains.

Inch.

Inch.

(a) Weight

198

Measurements

1-26

X

0*96

0)

196^

1*24

X

0*96

(0

193

1*24

X

o*95

(<0

i87i

1*21

X

0-94

w

i85i

1 22

X

095

(/)

180

—

—

I got only the weight of the last (e) ; it was quite rotten and broke,
all the yolk having gone into a hard ball. This may account for its
lightness, it had also lost nearly all its colour.

WaTFR-HFN (Gallinula chloropus) : —

Grains. Inch. Inch.

(a) Weight 3 14 \ Measurements 1*69 x ri8
(b) 294 i-68 x 1-17

Here we have a large difference in weight, and very little in dimensions.
Windsor, Belfast.

NOTES.

BOTANY.

Salix herbacea in County Antrim.

Bean D'Arcy is not quite correct in stating (/. N., x., 194) that Salix
herbacea had not been observed on Slievenanee since Templeton's time,
when he noted it there last summer. See '■ Irish Topographical Botany,"
p. 285.

R. Li*OYD PRAEGER.

igoi. Notes. 229

Plants of Co. Antrim.

In the October number of the Irish Naturalist I have read a very in-
teresting article on Glenariff. I desire to make a few observations. This
district is not an unknown one to me, as I have known it and this
neighbourhood and its plants since 1867. I cannot understand how the
authors of the Flora of N.E. Ireland considered the Yew extinct in the glen
in 1888. I have known it to be in the place where Templeton observed
it, on the rocks on the north side, as long as I have known this part of
the country, and all the plants which Dean D'Arcy observed. Sedum
rupestre was planted by Miss Hassard many years ago ; it was only the
other day I was pointing it out to her brother, and said it would soon be
considered native.

Samuel Arthur Brenan.
Cushendun.

Irish Rubi.

In August I spent a few days in Co. Wicklow and Co. Kerry, but I had
little opportunity of botanising. At Killarney, near Ross Island, I
gathered Rubus plicatus, a new county record ; and about Muckross
Rubus mutabilis, Genev., was seen, as also in another locality near
Killarney. This is the second time the plant is recorded for Ireland, being
seen this year in Co. Down by Rev. W. M. Rogers, and it is an addition to
the flora of Co. Kerry. Rubus pulcherrimus, Newtn., was also gathered near
Killarney, a new county record ; and R. pj/ramidalis, Kalt., occurred as a
very hairy plant in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, with a form of R.
leucostachys, and another form of that plant grew at Killarney. R. Schlech-
tendalii, Weike, was frequent in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. At Glen-
dalough also occurred a plant which the Rev. W. Moyle Rogers (who has
named all the above-mentioned Rubi) says is apparently R. podophyllus,
but more complete specimens are required in order to make the identity
certain; and the same may be said of another bramble, which is
apparently R. micans, Gren. & Godr., the latter not yet recorded for
Wicklow, and the former not known as Irish. Another distinct looking
bramble from Muckross, Killarney, Rev. W. M. Rogers refers to R.
hemistemon, P. J. Muell., but the leaves are harsher than usual and the
outer stamens abnormally long. New to Kerry. At Killarney also grew
a plant which is probably shade-grown R. pyramidalis. At Dalkey I got a
plant which Mr. Rogers says "very strongly recalls R. Questierii, L,efv. &
Muell., especially in panicle; but for that Genevier gives ■ tige glarescente
verdatre,' and though I have a Kent form of it with stem considerably
hairy, that is still unlike this. So I think this Dublin plant must stand
over for the present." R. Questerii is not recorded for Ireland.

G. CivARiDGE Druce.
Oxford.

230 The Irish Naturalist, November,

Sisyrinchium angustifolium on Lough Erne.

When inspecting a farm on 2nd August, 1898, in the townland of
Derryvore, adjoining Upper Lough Erne, I observed a blue flower among
the grass on the lake shore. I thought at first that it was a flax blossom,
but on examination found that it was one which I had never seen before.
Accordingly I brought home some of the plants. I brought a specimen
shortly afterwards to Mr. F. W. Moore, who at once identified it as
Sisyrinchium angustifolium (otherwise anceps, or Bermndianuni). I brought
growing plants to Mr. Moore the following spring, which, I believe, are
at present in the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin. I have some of the
original plants still, which have flowered every year since. Derryvore
is a promontory at the western side of Upper Lough Erne, near its
southern end, and lies about five miles from and nearly due north of
Belturbet. I was informed that this plant was as plentiful on the
western side of the promontory, as it was on the eastern side where I found
it. I am well acquainted with this locality, and know of no place from
which Sisyrinchium would have been likely to reach Derryvore, which is
in a very isolated situation.

W. A. Barnes.

Westland, Kells.

ZOOLOGY.

Monkfish in Belfast Lough.

On September 23rd my friend Mr. Arthur Hill Coates, of Bangor,
brought me a specimen of Squatina angelus, which had been taken in a
trawl on the Cultra ground of the lough by J. Lance, a Bangor retired
coastguard, on 21st inst. None of the Bangor men knew it, and it was
taken to \V. Scott, the fishmonger there, who, not knowing it either,
sent it on to me. This was only the third specimen I had ever seen, and
the first local example. It was but a small one, 2i£ inches long by 10^
inches broad, and was much lighter in colour than the larger examples
(from Portrush and Magilligan respectively) which I had seen before.

The latter of these two was sent on 9th June, 1893, by the proprietor
of an important fishery there, who had never seen one before— another
proof of the extreme rarity of the fish in North of Ireland waters.

R. Leoyd Patterson.
Holywood.

Tawny Owl in Co. Antrim.

It may be of interest to record that another of the introduced Tawny
Owls (see Irish Nat.,?.., 24, 72) was shot at Dunmurry on October 1st.
It had so annoyed the gentleman on whose ground it was shot, by its
nightly hooting, that he offered a pound for its destruction — a contingency
not anticipated by the introducer !

Robert Patterson.

Belfast.

i9oi« Notes. 231

Rare Irish Birds in the National Museum.

Several of the unique or very rare specimens of Irish Birds hitherto in
the Trinity College Museum of Natural History have now been de-
posited in the National Museum of Science and Art, where they are ex-
hibited in the Collection of Irish Birds.

The birds referred to and their history are probably known to most
of the Irish ornithologists, but it may interest those who will now see
them for the first time to learn something more about them.

They are four in number, as follows ; —

1. The Griffon Vui/TURE {Gyps fulvus) was caught alive in the
autumn of 1843 on the rocks near Cork Harbour. This specimen is
the only example of the Griffon Vulture which has ever been taken
in the British Islands. Its nearest habitat to Ireland are the
Pyrenees and the mountainous part of the Spanish Peninsula.

2. The Spotted EAGivE {Aquila maculatd), shot near Youghal, Co.
Cork, in January, 1845, is the only Irish specimen which has been
preserved. It has occurred three or four times only in the British
Islands.

3. The American YEIvEOW-bieeED Cuckoo (Coayzus americanus)
shot at Youghal, Co. Cork, in 1825, is the first specimen obtained
in Ireland. Another has since been secured, and is now preserved
in the Queen's College Museum at Cork. It also has occurred
several times in the British Islands.

4. The Bei/TED Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyoii) shot at Annsbrook, Co.
Meath, in the autumn 1845, also an American [species. Only one
other Irish specimen of this bird has been obtained, and both are
now in the National Museum. As no other instances of the occur-
rence of the Belted Kingfisher are known in Europe, it is generally
supposed that these have escaped from confinement.

Red-throated Pipit in Co. Mayo.

I learn that the Pipit described by Mr. F. Coburn {Zoologist, 1901, p. 264)
as having been shot by him on 26th May, 1895, in Co. Mayo, has been
examined by Messrs. Howard Saunders, Bowdler Sharpe, and Ogilvie
Grant, and that it is a true specimen of Anthns cervinns. I understand
that it is otherwise with regard to the Co. Donegal specimen, concerning
which Mr. Coburn will doubtless publish further information.

R.J. USSHER.
Cappagh, Co. Waterford.

Foxes in Co. Donegal.

I am informed by Henry Musgrave, Esq., that this year Foxes have
been remarkably numerous in S.W. Donegal, and interfered largely with
shooting. On his estate alone between thirty and forty Foxes were
trapped or shot in four weeks this autumn, and he heard of ten other

232 The Irish Naturalist November, 1901.

captures on the neighbouring estate. Not content with grouse, ducks,
and geese, they killed a number of lambs, and did a lot of damage.
Several times while shooting, the dogs found grouse half-eaten and
buried in the ground for future use. Has any increase in the number of
Foxes been noticed in other parts of Ireland? Perhaps the dry spring
and summer favoured the cubs.

Belfast.

Robert Patterson.

REVIEW.

FLATWORMS AND NEMERTEANS.

A Treatise on Zoology. Edited by Prof. E. Ray Lankester,
IvE.D., F.R.S. Part IV. The Platyhelmia, Mesozoa and Nemertini. By
W. B. Benham, d.sc, m.a. London: Adam and Charles Black,
1 901 ; pp. vi. + 204- 15s. net.

Another volume of Professor Lankester's treatise on Zoology, Part IV. ,
has just been issued. To those still immersed in reading the last
volume, the title, Platyhelmia, sounds rather strange, as Mr. Bourne in
his article on the Ctenophora always referred to them by the name of
" Platyhelminthes." Besides dealing with the group of " Flatwonns "
or Platyhelmia, to which the tape-worm belongs, the volume treats of
the Mesozoa (an aberrant group of minute parasitic forms), and of the
Nemertini.

It is unfortunate, as the Editor points out, that Dr. Benham, the
author of the present volume, had his part already in print three years
ago, when he left England for New Zealand. At the same time the
Editor is satisfied that no important omissions due to this fact occur
in the book. However, when we come to examine the chapter on the
Nemertini — a very interesting group of elongated worms characterised
by the possession of a muscular eversible proboscis — we lind a few rather
serious omissions. Thus we fail to notice any mention of the genus
Planktonemertes, described by Woodworth in 1899, or of the more recentl)*
described remarkable Baicalonemertes — a fresh-water genus which is sup-
posed to form a link between the meso- and the metanemertines.

Again, in the chapter on the Turbellaria, such genera as Bohmigia^
Mesocastrada, and Diplopenis, all of which were described in 1898 and 1899 j
have been left out.

We notice " the Mesozoa," prominent on the title-page ; but the chapter
which treats of the group is headed " Rhombozoa " and " Orthonectida,"
and only a passing reference to the term Mesozoa occurs at the end.

The illustrations, as in previous volumes, are mostly excellent while
the type is good and practically free from misprints. Though the volume
before us is somewhat disappointing after the two previous ones referred
to in last year's Irish Naturalist, yet it cannot be denied that it is the best
work on the subject which has yet been written.

R. F. S.

December 1 901 . 233

NOTES ON IRISH TOPOGRAPHICAL BOTANY,

WITH SOME REMARKS ON FLORAL DIVERSITY.
BY NATHANIEL COLGAN, M.R.I. A.

IT is hardly possible within the limits of the few pages to
which ordinary reviews are restricted to do full justice to a
work of such magnitude as Mr. Praeger's Irish Topographical
Botany. Some of the features of the book have consequently
received but scant discussion in the reviews hitherto
published, so that the following supplementary notes sug-
gested by a leisurely study of the volume may, it is hoped, be
found helpful towards a better appreciation of its merits.

In the first place, Mr. Praeger's treatment of that attractive
but difficult subject, the soil relations of plants, deserves
special commendation. Man has been defined as a general-
ising animal ; and there are few fields of inquiry in which the
free indulgence of the bent towards generalisation is more
likely to lead him rapidly and profoundly astray than this of
the soil affinities of plants. Here, in an eminent degree, a
little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The inductions which
appear amply justified by the study of a parish flora may be
completely upset by the botanical survey of a county or even
of a barony. And, indeed, a very wide knowledge of plant
distribution — an intimate acquaintance with the flora of a
whole Irish province — is not enough to guard the investigator
against serious error. Your table of calcicole and calcifuge
plants, based perhaps on the labour of years in the Leinster
counties, may suffer some rude shocks when confronted with
the flora of the " crags " in Burren or in East Galway ; and
as your field of view widens you will come to regard many of
the cherished inductions of your earlier stage as the dog-
matisms of half-knowledge. Ever}- reader of Mr. Praeger's
work must recognise how close a study he has made of this
difficult subject, and how completely the wide range of his
observations and his appreciation of the complexity of the
factors which operate in plant distribution, have enabled him
to avoid anything approaching to crude generalisation. The
section of his Introduction which deals with " Plant Groups
dependent on Soil or Moisture " and the many remarks on

A

234 -L'ie ^ris"- Naturalist. December,

soil relations scattered through the text, make without doubt
one of the most interesting and valuable features of his
book.

Even the severest of reviewers might condone a good deal
of incompleteness in a work of such magnitude and intricacy
as Irish Topographical Botany ; but there is really nothing of
this kind to call for indulgence. The work has been not only
rapidly done but thoroughly done, so thoroughly, I believe, as
to surpass the results achieved in Great Britain in a similar
field of inquiry by the labours of many botanists spread over
a period of fully twenty years. The first edition of Watson's
Topog7raphical Botany was completed in 1874, the second
appeared in 1883, and the ninth edition of the Lo?idon
Catalogue, showing the latest published statistics of comital
plant distribution for Great Britain, appeared in 1895. This
last edition of the London Catalogue, then, presents us with
the fruits of some twenty years of field work by British
botanists, and a comparison of this catalogue with Mr.
Praeger's book would seem to warrant the conclusion that
his five years of skilfully planned work in Ireland have
accomplished more than twenty years of desultory effort in
Great Britain.

In endeavouring to estimate the comparative thoroughness
of the botanical surveys of Great Britain and of Ireland we
may take as basis the number of species ascertained to occur
in all the comital or vice-comital divisions of each of the two
areas to be compared. It appears from Mr. Praeger's very
lucidly arranged Table of Distribution, that out of a total
Irish flora estimated by him at 1,020 species, 260 are
ubiquitous, that is to say, known to occur in all forty divisions
of the island.1 The question then becomes, how many species
out of the total British flora, taken at 1,500, should we expect
to find recorded as ubiquitous if the botanical survey of Great
Britain were as well done as that of Ireland ?

The problem is by no means reducible to a case of the Rule
of Three, since the proportion of ubiquitous species to the
total flora must vary with the variation of several conditions

1 The number of species actually ubiquitous in Ireland, though not
yet shown to be so, is no doubt much larger than this, since it appears
from the Irish Distribution Table that some 45 species are at present
on record for 39 out of the 40 divisions.

i9or- Coi^GAN. — Notes on Irish Topographical Botany. 235

which affect plant distribution. Perhaps the most potent of
these conditions, at least for areas of considerable extent in
latitude, is temperature, as any large variation in this
condition must limit the number of ubiquitous species by
constituting mutually exclusive northern and southern floral
groups increasing in size with increase in the difference of
the regional temperatures. Other things being equal, tem-
perature varies with latitude, and the range in latitude of
Great Britain being twice that of Ireland, we have in the
consequent wider range of temperature alone good reason for
expecting a much smaller proportion of ubiquitous species in
the larger than in the smaller island. A further reason for
such an expectation will be found in the far greater number
of divisions in Great Britain than in Ireland, since the risk of
a particular species failing to find in all divisions the precise
conditions of soil and surface which it demands, increases
with the increase in the number of divisions.

If we assume then for the purpose of the comparison it is
desired to make here, that the proportion of ubiquitous
species to the total flora in Great Britain should be only half
the proportion of such species to the total flora in Ireland, we
can hardly be charged with undue severity toward British
field botanists. To remove, however, the smallest suspicion
of any such severity, let us reduce the number of British vice-
counties from 112 to 109 by excluding the three purely insular
divisions of the Orkneys, the Shetlands, and the Outer
Hebrides, as, quite apart from climatic considerations, many
of the ubiquitous species of a mainland may fail to reach an
adjacent insular area. Ireland, it may be noted, has no
comital divisions purely or even largely insular. Taking
then as ubiquitous for Great Britain such species as occur in
not less than 109 of its vice-comital divisions, and assuming
that the per-centage of such species in the British flora should
be one-half of the per-centage of such species found in the
flora of Ireland, we are in a position to compare the results of
British and of Irish research in matters of topographical
botany.

From Mr. Praeger's Table we find that the percentage of
ubiquitous species in Ireland is 25-5 of the total flora, or 260
out of 1,020, so that, on our assumption, the British flora should

A 2

236 The Irish Naturalist. December,

yield 1275 per. cent, of such species, or 191 out of a total of
1,500. But an examination of the ninth edition of the London
Catalogue shows that in 1895, after twenty years' work in this
field of inquiry, British botanists had ascertainedthe occurrence
of only 179 ubiquitous species in Great Britain, while we may
fairly assume the disparity in the areas of the two islands to
have been counterbalanced by the greater number of com-
petent workers in the larger. These considerations will, it is
hoped, enable students of Irish Topographical Botany to
appreciate the really wonderful amount of sustained and skil-
fully directed energy which its author has brought to bear on
the botanical exploration of Ireland.

A discussion on ubiquitous species naturally raises the
whole question of what may be called floral diversity, a term
which requires some explanation. It is almost an axiom in
distribution that perfect identity in the floras of two distinct
areas cannot occur. This is true even if the areas be con-
tiguous and of no larger extent than a parish, or even a town-
land ; it is true a fortiori if the areas compared be large and
widely separated. Should the number of species in one area
happen to be precisely equal to the number in the other, yet
the species of one will not be always those of the other ; each
area will have some species peculiar to itself as compared
with the other. This greater or less departure from identity
of species in the floras of two distinct areas is what is meant
here \>y floral diversity ; it is simply an expression of the vary-
ing intensity and complexity of the influences which operate
in plant distribution.

The existence of such a book as Irish Topographical Botany
enables us to discuss this interesting question in greater
detail than was possible with the data supplied by the second
edition of Cybele Hibemica. In such a discussion, it is first
of all necessary to fix on some uniform method of expressing
these floral dissimilarities, of calculating, in short, an index of
diversity for each pair of areas to be compared. It seems to
me that the most satisfactory index will be found in the ratio
which the total of species ?iot common to both areas bears to the total
flora of the two areas combined. By this method total floral
diversity, such as exists, say, between the Co. Dublin and a
strip of virgin forest on the Amazons, would be represented

i9oi. Coi<GAN. — Notes on Irish Topographical Botany. 237

by 1, lesser degrees of diversity being indicated by fractions
receding further and further froin this maximum as the floras
approach more and more nearly to identity of constitution.

A few instances drawn from Mr. Praeger's Table of Dis-
tribution and from his estimates of the total floras of the
various divisions, will serve to show the application of this
method of comparison. First, let us take two divisions
which a priori might be expected to yield the highest index
of diversity for Ireland, No. 1, South Kerry, situated in the
extreme south-west, and No. 39, Antrim, in the extreme north-
east. Of the 680 species in the flora of South Kerry, we find
that 78 are peculiar to that division as compared with
Antrim, that is to say, do not occur in the latter division.
Deducting these peculiar species from the total flora of South
Kerry, we have 602 species common to both South Kerry and
Antrim, and deducting the number of these common species
from the Antrim total, 777, we leave 175 as the number of
peculiar species in Antrim. The total of distinct species,
then, for the two divisions combined will be obviously
the common species plus the peculiar species, that is,
602 + 78 + 175, or 602 + 253 = 855, and the index of diversity
for South Kerry as compared with Antrim will be fff, or

•296.

The diversity just shown may be taken as largely, perhaps
mainly, climatic in its origin, since the physical features of
the two divisions are not very dissimilar. To a like origin we
should chiefly attribute the diversity for the extreme south-
west as compared with the extreme north-west ; but the
degree of this diversity we should expect to be less than in
the case of the south-west and north-east divisions, since,
while the physical features are fairly similar, the climatic
difference between South Kerry and West Donegal (35) is less
than that between South Kerry and Antrim. This expecta-
tion is justified by the Table of Distribution. Comparing
the floras of the two divisions, 1 and 35, each being
estimated by Mr. Praeger at 680 species, we find that of
the South Kerry species 92 are peculiar, leaving 588
common both to South Kerry and to West Donegal. The
floras of the two divisions being equal, West Donegal,
too, must have 92 peculiar species ; so that the total flora

238 The Irish Naturalist. December,

of divisions 1 and 35 is 588 + 184, or 772, and the index of
diversity is y?4> or *238, as against an index of "296 already
shown for South Kerry as compared with Antrim.

Taking now the extreme south-east and extreme north-west
divisions, Wexford (12) and West Donegal (35), we should
expect to find these yielding a higher index than that just
shown for the extreme south-west and north-west divisions ;
and here again the statistics justify the expectation. The
total flora of the two divisions is 818, the total of peculiar
species 267, and the index '326, the diversity here being an
expression of dissimilarities, both of climate and of physical
features. Again, as another instance of diversity between
north and south, let us take Wexford (12), in the extreme
south-east, and Antrim, in the extreme north-east. The total
flora for the two divisions is 860, and the total of peculiar
species 254, yielding an index of '295, very slightly lower
than that shown for the extreme south-west and north-east.
And, finally, before passing from the maritime divisions, a
comparison of east and west diversity with north and south
diversity may be of interest. Taking Dublin (21) and West
Galway (16), both lying in the same latitude, but separated
by the whole breadth of the island, we find that the total
flora for the two divisions is 845, and the total of peculiar
species 275, giving as index "328. This, it will be seen, is a
considerably higher diversity than that between South Kerry
and Antrim ; a somewhat unexpected result if we take only
climatic influences into account. But these influences are
strongly reinforced in this case by dissimilarity of physical
features and the unequal operation of human agency.

To touch briefly now on the diversities of some inland
divisions, Fermanagh and Roscommon, lying close together,
and with floras of almost equal richness, have a diversity
index of "25 ; Westmeath and Queen's County, separated only
by the breadth of King's County, and having also, like the
counties just mentioned, nearly equal floras, yield the higher
index of '272 ; while North Tipperary and Kildare, whose
surface conditions, relatively the one to the other, are fully as
diverse as those of Westmeath and Queen's County, yield the
much smaller diversity index of -237, which is yet almost as
large as the index for such widely separated divisions as
South Kerry and West Donegal.

i9oi- CoLGAN. — Notes on Irish Topographical Botany. 239

Those who are interested in questions of distribution can
readily apply this method to the various other botanical
divisions of Ireland, bearing in mind, however, that trust-
worthy results can only be looked for in the case of areas
which have been fairly well explored. Unfortunately, the
materials are still wanting for the working out of such
indices for Great Britain, where the variations in the con-
ditions are often much wider than in Ireland. The weakest
point in this statistical method is obviously the uncertainty of
the data as regards introduced species. There are many
instances in which perhaps no two botanists would agree on
the question whether a given alien plant has so far established
itself in a given area as to deserve enumeration in its
permanent flora. Where, however, the data for the various
areas compared are selected by one authority, as is the case in
Irish Topog7raphical Botany, this uncertainty is of less moment,
as we may assume that the severity or laxity of judgment has
been applied to all divisions with a fair approach to uni-
formity.

It may be asked how the results just deduced from an
examination of Mr. Praeger's book would compare with those
to be drawn from the second edition of Cybele Hibemica.
A little reflection will make it clear that no very close
correspondence between the diversity index for any pair of
the Cybele Districts and for any pair of the included comital
divisions need be expected. Floral diversity depends largely
on diversity of physical features in the areas compared. If
one area be flat and the other mountainous, if one be rich and
the other poor in lakes and rivers, if one have large tracts of
limestone and the other have none but primitive rocks, these
diversities will inevitably find expression in the floras. But
since physical differences tend more and more to disappear as
the areas increase, the index of diversity for two Cybele
Districts should, as a rule, be less than that for a pair of the
included counties. And for the same reason, wherever
climatic influence is preponderant, that influence should more
clearly express itself in the index of Districts than in the
index of included comital divisions,

An instance or two will serve to illustrate this. Taking as
data for the Districts the Distribution Table of the second

240 The Irish Naturalist. December,

edition of Cybele Hibernica, written up to the opening of the
present year, we find that the index for Districts I. and XII.
is '22i, as against '297 for the divisions of South Kerry and
Antrim which are component parts respectively of I. and
XII. Similarly, comparing East with West, Districts V. and
VIII. give an index of '255 nearly, as against '328 for the
component divisions, Dublin and West Galway. Again,
Districts IX. and X. give an index of '225, while the com-
ponents, Roscommon and Fermanagh, give '25. And, finally,
to take the two most truly inland districts, III. and VII., we
find that they 3Tield an index of -205 as against '272 for the
components, Queen's County and Westmeath.

Having followed patiently this rather tedious discussion on
floral diversity, the reader may grow querulous. He may ask
what is the good of your index, and what does it prove ? To
be quite candid the index proves nothing ; it demonstrates no
new truth. Yet it may be claimed on its behalf that it serves
some humbler uses. It not only gives a simple and uniform
method of expression for complex groups of facts, but may
also be applied in some sort as a touchstone for the detection
of error. If, for instance, in the case of two areas subject to
closely similar conditions as to physical features, climate,
geographical position, and the various other factors which
affect plant distribution, we find the statistics giving a higher
diversity index than is yielded by two other areas where the
conditions are obviously and widely dissimilar, we imme-
diately infer some grave error or defect in the statistics. The
data are more closely scanned ; we find, perhaps, that the
flora of one of the areas has been explored by a judicially
minded botanist accustomed to the weighing of evidence,
while the investigation of another has fallen to the lot of an
uncritical enthusiast who has charitably given asylum to a
host of aliens and casuals. And thus the index has served as
a critical instrument. It is perfectly true that it has but led
us indirectly to results that might have been directly gained
by a study of the statistics themselves. But how confusedly
these results glimmer through lengthy catalogues of plant-
names, when compared with their clear and condensed
expression in a few decimals.

Sandycove, Co. Dublin.

I90L

241

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF IRISH BATS.

BY N. H. ALCOCK, M.D., AND C. B. MOFFAT.

The L,ong-eared Bat,
Plecotus auritus, L,innaeus.

The subject of the present paper is, perhaps, the best known
of our Irish Bats, and the species is unmistakable even to
the most casual observer.

Dobson's measurements are : —

>>

nd

. . 0

i«

u

Ih

a

J-l rr)

a

<D

OJ

Leng
Head an<

r-J

H3
ed

n

u

o5

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a

rt
<u

0

ft

be

a

•r-l

14

bfl

a

•lH
ft

.d

10

cd
H

0
0
ft

u

Cd

O

'rt

a

1-4"

o-6"

1 -8"

r8"

o-65"

X

0-65"

X

0-2''

i-5w

265"

2-1"

07"

o#35"

07"

The most interesting peculiarity is the enormous length
of the ear, which almost equals that of head and body
together ! Yet when the animal is asleep the ear is nearly
invisible, being folded back and covered by the wing-
membrane. The inner earlet, or tragus, is at such times
liable to be mistaken for the true ear.

The fur is dark at the base of the hairs, a light shining
brown at the tips on the dorsal surface, pale ash or dirty
white on the ventral; it is long, and beautifully fine in texture.
Two observers have recorded albino specimens (Baring,
xxxiii. ; Oldham, xxxiv.) As noted by Jameson, there is
a buff-coloured example, of Irish origin, in the Dublin
Museum.

In treating of the habits of the I^ong-eared Bat, it is necessary
to discard much that has been previously written, as the par-
ticular observations on which general statements have been
founded are not on record; and some of the general statements

A3

242 The Irish Naturalist. December,

are strikingly at variance with the results of our own personal
investigations. For instance, Lydekker (" Handbook ol British
Mammals," pp. 23-24) begins his account of the habits of this
bat by stating, that it is " essentially an inhabitant of the open
country, and not resorting to the neighbourhood of trees and
plantations." From all that we have been able to ascertain
by frequently watching this species on the wing in Ireland,
we are obliged to adopt the diametrically opposite conclusion
from Mr. Lydekker' s — namely, that the Long-eared Bat is a
peculiarly arboreal species, and one which, when flying,
practically escapes the notice of observers, because the foliage
of the trees amid which it seeks its prey effectually screens it
from view.

In some of its favourite haunts at Ballyhyland it can be seen
among Ash-trees every evening from June to September, and
the observations dealing with its habits of flight contained in
the present article are based on what has been noted in that
locality.

To observe this bat on the wing, it is a good plan to wait at
dusk under some tree whose foliage is not too dense to be seen
through — an Ash is probably the best that can be selected —
and watch for its appearance amongst the branches overhead-
From about thirty-two or thirty-five minutes after sunset, its
figure may, almost any summer evening, be thus detected
against the sky, gliding and hovering in a stealthy manner
among the outer sprays of the tree. It threads its way with
a beautiful facility among the twigs and leaves, often seeming
rather to swim than to fly, so slight is the visible movement
of the wings. Poising, at times, like a humming-bird, it appears
to be picking something from the leaves ; at other times it
suddenly plunges into the middle of a spray, and remains for
several seconds clinging to the twigs, no doubt securing or
eating some insect. It is not uncommon to see one Ash-tree
occupied at the same moment by five or six of these bats —
though each comes and departs by itself — all gliding in the
same noiseless and lemurine fashion among the leaves, and
all, to the casual by stander, practically invisible. The long
ears are often thrown forward so as to resemble a proboscis,
and may be distinctly seen if the observer is posted im-
mediately below the bat.

i9oi. Ai<COCK & MOFFAT. — The L 07i g- eared Bat 243

When one of these bats leaves a tree, if its object is merely
to pass to another quite near at hand, it darts through the air
with a swift arrowy flight ; but when a longer expedition is
contemplated the mode of quitting the tree is different. The
bat plunges headlong to within an inch or two of the ground,
and then skims away in jerking zigzag fashion — much as a
Nightjar does — over the surface of the field. The swift plung-
ing descent taken on these occasions is very remarkable, and
renders it a difficult matter to keep the animal longer in
sight.

In early May, when trees, as a rule, are still sparsely clad,
we have seen this bat hunting in Oak-woods ; and in April it
visits, as many observers have noted, the catkins of various
willows {Salix Caprea, S. cinerea, &c), on which small moths
are st rest. Tomes (xvii., pp. 76-7) describes having seen it
on one occasion in the morning twilight, " actively engaged
around the sprigs of a Spindle- tree," which was "in bloom at
the time, and was surrounded by a cloud of minute micro-
lepidoptera on which the bat was feeding." The writer adds,
that " with scarcely an exception, the moths were picked from
the leaves while resting there, only one or two being taken
on the wing." This accords exactly with what has been ob-
served of the bat's habits at Ballyhyland, where, even when
hovering round the outskirts of trees, it seems invariably to
fly with its face pointing to — and almost in contact with — the
foliage.

From all the foregoing observations it is not difficult to
infer that the IyOng-eared Bat feeds chiefly on those insects
which it can seize at rest. In short, it plays among the trees
by night, much the same part as birds of the " leaf-warbler "
group (Chiffchaff, Willow-wren, &c.) do by day ; while the
Pipistrelle rather emulates the part of the Swallow, and catches
its prey almost exclusively on the wing. We need not, how-
ever, suppose that trees are absolutely necessary to the Long-
eared Bat, since it seems also to hunt low over the ground,
probably for such insects as lurk in — or fly very near — the

grass.

This animal has often been seen to attack a Pipistrelle,
which has ventured too near its feeding-grounds. The latter,
on such occasions, nearly always beat a rapid retreat.

244 The Irish Naturalist December,

As regards the time and duration of the Iyong-eared Bat's
flight, there is still much to be learnt by exact observation ;
but a certain number of facts may be stated.

This bat is decidedly later than the Hairy-armed in appear-
ing on the wing. In August, 1900, the time of its first appear-
ance about a favourite Ash-tree was noted on nine consecutive
evenings, with the following result : —

August 4th. Long-eared Bat first seen 26 minutes after sunset.

)}

5th

>>

6th

>>

7th

>J

8th

>J

9th

>>

10th

»

nth

««

1 2th

36

M

>>

36

>>

»J

33

>>

>>

34

t)

))

32

>)

>>

33

>)

))

37

>>

n

34

J>

)>

Thus, in eight evenings out of nine the first appearance
was between thirty-two and thirty-seven minutes after sunset.
On May 2nd, 1901, a female was caught in the act of leaving
her sleeping-place — a hole in a Beech-tree — twenty-eight
minutes after sunset. Another example was timed emerging
on April 13th — also from a hole in a Beech-tree — fifty-one
minutes after sunset. We may, therefore, conclude that
some individuals are much later than others in coming out,
but that few emerge earlier than half-an-hour after sunset.
By what mental process the bats ascertain the time is not
clear.

Having once started on its nocturnal flight, there is good
reason to conclude that this animal does not return to its
sleeping-place until the following morning, about an hour
before sunrise.

That the Long-eared Bat flies all night was the opinion of
Tomes, who writes (xvii., p. 75) of having heard its " shrill
chatter" in the fields "at all hours, through thedeadof thenight,
and in the darkest nights" ; and who, as we have seen above,
had also observed it feeding before sunrise in the morning.
At Ballyhyland this bat has been identified on the wing at
midnight, as well as at 1.30 a.m., and in the morning twilight.
The specimen which was identified at midnight was in the
habit of flying in and out of a conservatory, at frequent in-
tervals, in quest of moths. By watching until it was seen fly

1901. Alcock & Moffat. — The Long- eared Bat. 245

in at 12 o'clock, then shutting the door and lighting a candle
in the conservatory, the fact of its being Plecotus aiiritus was
clearly ascertained. The identification at 1.30 a.m. was
effected in the same manner. Both observations were made
during the third week of August, when the duration of night
in the south of Ireland is between nine and ten hours.

As a rule, this species probably retires very early in the
morning, since few are seen at that time. Of some that were
watched flying about a group of Ash-trees on the morning of
June 9th, 1901, the latest disappeared from view sixty-eight
minutes before sunrise. We have occasionally recognised
stragglers later — up to about forty-five minutes before sun-
rise— but the majority seem to seek their hiding-places while
the morning light is still dim.

The present is thus a typically nocturnal bat, while the
Hairy- armed Bat is essentially crepuscular, the habits of the
two types being very distinct in this respect.

Like all our bats, this species -sleeps during winter. The
earliest date on which we saw it flying in 1900 was April 18th ;
the earliest in 1901, April 13th. In both instances it was
observed hovering about a small willow-tree, which at the time
was in flower.

In autumn there are repeated records of its capture in
November ; one sent to Mr. Barrington had been caught at
the Tearaght Lighthouse on November 17th, 1891. There is,
however, a dearth of available data as to the time at which
hibernation normally commences. By the middle of October
the bats have ceased to frequent the Ash-trees at Ballyhyland,
but this may be due to other causes than the commencement
of hibernation. On the other hand, the occurrence of in-
dividuals in November affords no proof that torpidity has not
commenced ; for the winter-sleep of the Long-eared Bat —
despite some statements to the contrary — is liable to be broken
at all seasons by a moderate degree of warmth. Some evidence
on this subject may be presented here.

On December 21st, 1900, a bat of this species was found
hibernating at Ballyhyland, in a convenient position for ob-
servation in situ. The sleeping-place was a hole in a Beech-
tree, 5^ feet above the ground. On the insertion of a finger
the Bat snarled savagely enough ; but when let alone it soon
relapsed into an apparently profound slumber.

246 The Ifish Naturalist, December,

On the next day (December 22nd) it was gone, having
evidently flown during the night. This desertion must in
fairness be ascribed to its having been disturbed, and slightly
alarmed, on the previous afternoon. The remainder of
December, and the first two nights of the ensuing January,
were characterised by cold and frost, and during this period
the hole continued unoccupied.

The night of January 3rd was mild ; the thermometer until
nearly midnight remained at 460, and the Pipistrelle was seen
flying. On the morning of the following day the I^ong-eared
Bat was found to have returned to its hole in the Beech-tree.

For about three weeks from the above date this bat was
looked at every day, and often with a lantern during the
night. From January 4th to nth the observer detected no
change of attitude ; but on some of these days, when the
temperature was as high as 440, the little creature fidgetted
slightly during sleep. On January 12th, at a temperature of
460, it became very restless ; and after sunset crept out of its
hole, and sat for about three hours in an exposed position on
the trunk, with its eyes open, but its ears still folded back
beneath its wings. A high wind was blowing, which probably
prevented the bat taking flight On the following night —
during a great storm, and at a temperature of 49^ — the animal
wras again found outside its hole, this time with one of its ears
unfolded and protruded in front of it, while the other was still
tucked below the wing. Though the bat's eyes were wide
open, and it seemed in attitude ready to fly, it manifested no
concern at having the lantern held over it. Flight in such a
storm would at any rate have been impossible, and before
9 p.m. it was back in its hole. During the next seven evenings
it was invariably found asleep in its den at whatever hour
visited ; and on the night of the 21st of January it was still
there at 6 p.m., one and a-half hours after sunset, though the
temperature was high (510) and the wind light. Next day,
however, the hole was empty. A long spell of cold weather
immediately set in, and the bat was not seen again until
March.

It returned for a few days about March 17th, during the
observer's absence from the locality, and deserted again on
the 25th. On April 10th it was once more in possession.

1901. Ai<cock & Moffat. — The Long-cared Bat. 247

By this period of the spring one might have supposed that
its hibernation was over; but the Bat's conduct proves the
reverse, for during the next three nights — April 10th, nth,
and 12th — it did not fly at all. On the iotb it was visited with
a lantern at 7.35, 9.5, and 11.5 p.m. ; on the nth at 8.45 p.m. ;
and on the 12th at 8 and 10.30 p.m. ; and on all these occasions
was seen sound asleep. On the evening of April 13th, how-
ever, it quitted the hole at 7.45 p.m., and did not again return.
On the same night, as already noticed, a bat of this species —
probably not the same individual — was seen flitting round a
willow.

The respective temperatures for the four nights of April
10th to 13th, taken about 8 p.m., were 430, 410, 430, and 450.

Other observers have recorded similar facts. Mr. C.
Oldham informs us that he has found individuals of this
species in winter in the caves at Alderley Edge, and that these
repeatedly shift their quarters. 'Many similar instances can
be adduced. So that hibernation in the case of the Long-
eared Bat, at any rate, is not as profound or as unbroken as
was at one time supposed, but is repeatedly interrupted ; and,
apparently, this is liable to occur whenever the thermometer
rises above 460 F.

In the cases just mentioned we have instances of the L,ong-
eared Bat passing the winter and early spring in a solitary
condition. On May 2nd, 1901, another solitary specimen was
found, also inhabiting a hole in a Beech-tree, 8 feet above
ground. This animal is not, therefore, of universally
gregarious habits. It is, however, frequently found in
enormous colonies ; and it would be of great interest to ascer-
tain under what conditions it is respectively a solitary or
gregarious bat.

The haunts of the largest and best-known colonies are
generally in the roofs and towers of churches. Jameson (x.)
instances Kilmore cathedral (Co. Cavan), Charlestown church
(Co. L,outh), Castlemacadam church (Co. Wicklow). and
Cappagh church (Co. Waterford), as abodes of large colonies ;
we may add, also, Rosdroit church (Co. Wexford). Where
dates are given, these places seem generally to have been ex-
plored in summer; but there is no evidence that they are
deserted, even partially, by the bats in winter. Smaller
colonies, or " swarms," of this species occur from time to time

248 The Irish Naturalist. December,

in stables, cow-houses, and barns. These gatherings are
chiefly noticed in summer, and seldom remain more than a
few weeks. In two consecutive years, 1898-1899, a space
between the woodwork and wall of the farm-stable at Bally-
hyland was occupied by a swarm of L,ong-eared Bats during
the first fortnight of August, which disappeared soon after the
middle of the month. In the second year of their visit (1899)
particular pains were taken not to disturb them, but by August
20th none remained- In August, 1900, there was a swarm
over the doorway of a neighbouring forge, of which not a
trace could be found in September ; and in July, 1901, a smaller
assemblage took possession, for one or two days only, of a
space between two beams in the roof of an old mill. This
last-mentioned swarm probably consisted of females, with new-
born young ; for an infant specimen, with eyes still unopened,
was found on July nth crawling on the floor immediately
below the crevice in which the adult Bats were at the time
visible. Since these swarms are so much more frequently
noticed in July and August than at other seasons ; and since
there is also evidence (as in the instance last cited) that they
are not composed exclusively of the young of the year, it
seems natural to infer that the social instincts of this species
are strongest in summer, and that individuals which have
lived solitary lives during the rest of the year become, at that
season, gregarious.

The shrill "thin" chirping cry of this bat is somewhat
celebrated, owing to the fact that a good many persons, not
otherwise deaf, are unable to hear it. It is generally assumed —
perhaps with too much confidence — that only the L,ong-eared
species possesses this very shrill note. It is uttered both on the
wing and at rest, and a young individual, only a few days old,
when in captivity used this piercingly shrill but faint cry at
frequent intervals, apparently as a sign that it wanted food. On
summer nights, we often hear a similar cry from some fixed
spot in a tree, repeated at intervals of about a second (or
sometimes faster) for many minutes together. This is heard
at nearly all hours of the night, and most frequently from
about the end of July to the first or second week of September.
It probably proceeds from bats of the present species,
perhaps from young specimens not sufficiently practised in
flight to spend the whole night on the wing.

1901. Ai<cock & Moffat. — The Long-eared Bat 249

This species is readily kept in captivity, and many accounts
are given of its habits. At first it is generally very wild and
shy, but soon becomes tame. All observers find that the
Long-eared Bat shows much more intelligence than other
kinds ; for instance, Mr. C. Oldham notes that his specimens
picked up meal worms that they had dropped on the table,
while the Whiskered Bat did not. We have often observed
the Long-eared Bat fly round a room ; in this case the ears are
always carried forwards.

The food of this bat when at large is not confined to any
particular species of insect. Mr. G. H. Carpenter, examining
fragments in the droppings, found remains of Coleoptera,
Lepidoptera, and Diptera ; he named definitely the Common
Blue-bottle, Calliphora erythrocephala. Mr. O. V. Aplin (i.)
found remains of the Yellow Underwing moth, Triphama, the
Silver Y, Plusia gamma, and the Buff Ermine, Spilosoma
lubricipeda, under the haunts of this bat. Mr. Harting (ix.) has
observed it to feed on species of Tceniocampa, while our own
observations recorded above also point to Lepidoptera as a
favourite prey.

In most parts of its ascertained range it appears to be rather
abundant. Observers in Kerry, Cork, Carlow, and Westmeath
consider it more common in their districts than the Pipistrelle,
and in Leitrim and Monaghan it has been pronounced about
equally plentiful with that species. In Mayo, however, Mr.
Warren reports it as somewhat rare. Comparison as to
relative frequency with the Pipistrelle is difficult, and may
be misleading, because, as Thompson long ago remarked, the
Long-eared Bat is the more easily found in its hiding-places,
and the Pipistrelle oftener seen flying about.

The Long- eared Bat has been found throughout Ireland,
with few exceptions, and in the accompanying map the
counties where it has been observed are shaded. It is evident
that this method of considering the distribution is most
imperfect ; no account can be taken of the small " migratory "
movements recorded above, still less of the considerations
that induce the bats to reside in one place rather than
another. Many other objections to the plan we have adopted
can be urged with justice. Nevertheless as our knowledge
of the whole subject is so fragmentary, we have judged it
well to continue these so-called " records." .

250

The hish Naturalist,

December,

1HM1®,

Dittoed into Coontibs and Vr*b (Vwirrtu.

R U.CTD rRAECER M January. 1*6.

Firm tines shorn county boundurits ; Jotted,

lines rue county boundaries.

>g&^^ WEST 0

n$3tm+ Mn/ 6 *— c — — L*

Distribution of the Long-eared Bat in Ireland.

i9oi. Alcock & Moffat.— -The Lo7ig-eared Bat. 251

Most of the references will be found in Jameson's paper (x).
W. F. de V. Kane (xxxi.) has found the Long-eared Bat in
South Kerry and Leitrim. Barrett-Hamilton (xxxii.) has
recorded it from St. Mullins, which is commonly stated to be
in Kilkenny, but is really in Carlow. District-Inspector
Hill, R.I.C., has observed this species in some numbers at
Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, while we possess additional
records in the counties already known, not of sufficient
interest to quote.

Authors quoted (continued from vol. viii., p. 174) : —

xxxi. Kane, W. F. de V. /. Nat., vi., p. S8. 1897.
xxxii. Barrett-Hamii/Ton, G. E. H. I. Nat., ix., p. 134. 1900.
xxxiii. Baring, A. H. Zoologist (4), ii., p. 261. 1898.
xxxiv. Oi<dam, C. Zoologist (3) xiv., p. 349. 1890.

REVIEWS,

ORNITHOLOGY MADE EASY.

A Ready Aid to distinguish the Commoner Wild Birds of
Great Britain. By David T. Price. London: Gurney &
Jackson. Pp., 60. Price, is. 6d. net.

The type of student for whom this booklet is written may be imagined
from the author's closing words on the Peewit; " Do not mistake this
short-Tailed bird for the long-tailed Magpie." To save this sort of
person the " trouble," a trouble which to every intelligent novice is a
pleasure, of consulting some rational work on natural history, Mr. Price
has constructed a catalogue of common birds, grouped according to
their sizes—" larger than a Thrush,'' " size of a Thrush," "smaller than
a Thrush and larger than a Sparrow," &c, &c. — with a cross- grouping
according to the haunts in which they are likely to be found. We venture
to think that the beginner who needs (or imagines he needs) this kind
of " ready aid " might as well remain in the state of ignorance which
has hitherto sat so easily upon him. Even if the plan of the book were
otherwise commendable, it would be spoilt for use in Ireland by the
omission of many birds frequently met with in this country — amongst
others the Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Twite, Crossbill, Scow Bunting,
Brambling, Chough, Long-eared Owl," Peregrine Falcon, Gannet, Red
Grouse, Golden Plover, Redshank, Oyster-catcher, and Razorbill. The
author makes some blundering statements ; the worst, in his assertion
(given in large letters) that the Meadow Pipit never perches on trees.
The fact that it frequently does so should be well known to everyone
with the slightest pretensions to ornithological lore.

C. B. M.

252 The Irish Naturalist. December.

A NEO-LAMARCKIAN.

" Use-Inheritance, illustrated by the Direction of Hair on the Bodies
of Animals." By Walter Kidd, m.d., f.z.s. London: A. & C.
Black, 1901 ; 8vo ; pp. 47. Price 2s. 6d. net.

In this little volume, hardly more than a bound pamphlet, Dr. Kidd
has given a popular account of his researches on the distribution of the
body hair of Mammals, and the conclusions they have led him to ; and we
must congratulate him on the admirable way in which he has introduced
the general public to facts hitherto veiled in the learned pages of the Jour-
nal of Anatomy and Physiology and the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.
It has been known that the slope of the hair is displayed in the foetus
before birth, since Bschricht described and figured it in 1837. Our author
has investigated this point in a large number of animals, and found great
constancy in each group, with only such differences as indicate problems
to be solved. For purposes of description it is necessary to have a
proper nomenclature, and the terms chosen are readily comprehensible.
A whorl is a group of hairs radiating from a given point, and usually
forming a diverging spiral. & feather is a short tract which has its hairs
diverging obliquel}-, feather-like, from a median line, and usually starts
from a whorl at one end. A crest is a line bounding two diverging sheets
of hairs; usually a feather, which starts at a whorl, terminates at a crest,
and, indeed, at its sides, is bounded by a pair of crests. This relation
may well be studied on the face of the horse, short hair, of course, giving
the most typical appearances. A whorl is obvious in our own heads, as
in those of the apes, towards the point of the lambdoid suture, whence
the hair radiates to front, sides, and back, and the special reason for this
appears to be that with long hair on a convex spheroidal surface, some
such arrangement is necessary. With the other whorls, this explanation
will not serve, and Dr. Kidd regards their appearance in all other regions
as the expression of dynamical causes, for: — '' 1. They all occur where
opposing traction of underlying muscles is found. 2. They never occur
over the middle of a large muscle, and seldom in a place where there
is not a hollow or groove in the superficial anatomy. 3. They are
most uniform and most marked in animals with very strong muscles,
and those that are actively locomotive. 4. Their constancy appears to
depend upon range of action and activity of function of the muscles
in the part and individual animal affected." The formation of whorls
under these conditions is compared with that of dimples in the human
face.

As the muscles whose action is involved have not yet come into use
at the time when the slope of the hair follicles, inducing the slope of the
hairs, is decided in the embryo, we have to choose between the assump-
tion that this slope is sufficiently important to have "selection value,"
and to have decided for each group the survival of those that possessed
it, or else to admit the author's thesis, that the arrangements are due to
"use-inheritance." Such a book as this is calculated, at least, to give
pause to the Weismanniaus. Dr. Kidd has broken ground in a command-
ing position, and we are anxious to see how his attack can be met.

Marcus Hartog.

190I. 253

IRISH SOCIETIES,

ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Recent gifts include a Peregrine Falcon from Col. G. T. Plunkett, a
Parrot from Mr. J Purdy, a Zebra Cow from the Earl of Kilmorey, a
very large Chacma Baboon from the Officers of the North Cork Rifles,
and a Marmoset from Capt. Gill. A Serval, two Ringtailed Coaties, three
pairs of Flamingoes, an Australian Ibis, a pair of Golden Eagles, and a
pair of Laughing Kingfishers have been bought.

DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB.

November 5Th. — The Seventeenth Winter Session of the Club was
inaugurated with a Conversazione, held in the rooms of the Royal Irish
Academy, Dawson-street, which was largely attended by members and
visitors. Several representatives of the Belfast Field Club were also
present, and two of them, Messrs. Welch and Orr, contributed interesting
exhibits. The President, Mr. Greenwood Pirn, formally opened the
meeting, and after a few words of welcome to the visitors, called on the
Hon. Sec. to read the judges' reports on the collections sent in for the
Club prize competitions. The awards were then announced as follows: —
Flowering Plants — Miss Dorothy Herdman ; Freshwater and Marine
Mollusca — Miss Massy ; Pleistocene Fossils — Mr. Hindi. The Hon.
Secretary, MrvSeymour, then gave an account of the Club's excursion
to Sligo last July, the narrative being illustrated by means of a large
number of lantern transparencies from photographs taken during the
three days' visit to the neighbourhood. The remainder of the evening
was spent in examining the numerous scientific exhibits shown by
members. Amongst these the collection of Irish Birds' Nests shown by
Mr. R. J. Ussher, of Waterford, was much admired, as was also the very
interesting collection of plants from the Botanic Gardens, exhibited by
Mr. Moore. The various collections sent in in competition for the Club
prizes were of very distinct merit, and deserve special mention also.
The following is a list of the more important exhibits, besides those
already referred to : — G. H. Carpenter, B.Sc. — Some Irish Spiders with
their nests and webs, including photographs by R. Welch ; Prof. G. A. J.
Cole and T. Crook — Modes of occurrence of Metallic Ores; Dr. A. H.
Foord — Unpublished illustrations of Irish Carboniferous Fossils, and
specimens of Goniatites ; J. de W. Hinch — Collection of Shells from
Glacial deposits; Professor T. Johnson, D.Sc. — The Potato Blight
(Pkytophthora infestans) causing a Tomato disease; G. W. Lamplugh —
Remains of Lepidurus (Apus) glacialis, from a post-glacial lake silt
deposit in Scotland; D. M'Ardle— Microscopic slides of rare Irish Mosses
and Liverworts; Miss A. L. Massy — Shells of Helix Busbii, peculiar to
North Island, New Zealand; A. R.Nichols, B.A. — Some examples of
Albinism in Irish Birds; H. L. Orr (B.N.F.C.)— Collection of Land and

254 The Irish Naturalist. December,

Freshwater Shells ; Dr. G. H. Pethybridge, B.Sc.— Photos of Botanical
subjects; Greenwood Pirn, m.a., President — Some lantern slides; R. L.
Praeger, B.A. — Rare plants recently found in Ireland ; Dr. R. F. Scharff
— Collection of the remains of the Irish Bear ; F. U. Sellens — Micro
examples of pond life; H. J. Seymour, B.A., Hon Sec. — Specimens of
Mineral Ores from University College Museum ; R. Welch (B.N.F.C )—
Collection of Land and Freshwater Mollusca, and Floating Bricks made
from the Bann diatom earth ; E. Williams —American Pectoral Sandpiper,
Tringa metadata ; the Sooty Shearwater, Puffinus griseus ; the Great
Shearwater, Puffinus gravis; Mealy Redpolls, Linota linaria; and Wood
Sandpiper, Tetanus glareola, all recently obtained in Ireland ; W. B.
Wright, B.A., and H. J. Seymour, B.A., Hon. Sees. — Album of photo-
graphs taken on the Sligo excursion.
Four nominations for membership were announced at the meeting.

NOTES.

ZOOLOGY.

Notes on the Hedgehog.

On September 23rd a female Hedgehog in my possession gave birth
to four young ones. They all died in an hour or two ; whereupon the
mother proceeded to devour one, biting it in two and sucking the blood.
I then took them away for examination. They were born blind, and the
teeth did not protrude above the gums. Their ears hung down slightly,
and their snouts were short and round— very unlike the adult form.
The}- weighed f of an ounce each, and were 2h inches long. The spines
were soft, white, very small, and lay close down on the back. There was
no trace of hair on any part of the body, but the claws on both hind and
fore-feet were sharp and well-developed. There was a deep and narrow
groove down the centre of the back from head to tail. The upper surface
was grey-blue coloured, under surface flesh-coloured, head flesh-colour
tip of nose grey. The general shape was remarkably like a pig. The end
of September seems to me to be very late for such small and helpless
young to be born ; and it is difficult to see how they could have lived
through the winter. I always understood the female produced her
young quite early in summer, and would be glad if this note elicits in-
formation en this point from readers of the Irish Naturalist. On September
15 I skinned a male Hedgehog, and I was struck by the thick la)'er of
fat I found underneath the skin. The fat was fully a quarter of an inch
thick over the entire upper surface, and reminded me of the " blubber"
on a Dolphin I skinned earlier in the year. Does the Hedgehog draw
on this store of fat during its winter sleep ? Perhaps, someone who has
skinned a Hedgehog in early spring will tell us if this layer of fat was

noticed then.

Robert Patterson.
Belfast.

1901. Notes. 255

Sirex gigas in Co. Wat erf or d.

I have read with interest my friend Mr. L. K. Bonaparte Wyse's note
on the above insect (ante, p. 203). It occurs in most seasons in this
neighbourhood, but I cannot say that it is common. A fine living
specimen was given to me this }*ear by a constable of the Royal Irish
Constabulary. He caught it in his house at Portlaw, on 19th August.

WlI«I,IAM W. FLEMYNG.
Coolfin, Portlaw.

BOTANY.

New Records and Stations for Cybele District IV.

I was botanizing for a few weeks this autumn around Rosslare,
Wexford, and found Atriplex laciniata and Lcmna polyrhiza, both first
records for the above district.

Atriplex laciniata grows plentifully for half a mile immediately to the
southward of Rosslare Coastguard Station. It also occurs for about a
dozen yards at Rosslare Harbour; and possibly occupied at one time the
intervening mile or two of coast — for the sea seems to be encroaching on
the land at this place, and has reached, and is attacking, the base of the
clay cliffs. This is a great southward extension of the species, as no
station south of Dublin is given in " Cybele."

Lemna polyrhiza grows plentifully in a wayside pool on the western side
of Lady's Island Lake, near a farm called Reedstown on the Ordnance
Map. I also found it sparingly in a pool near an old windmill about
half a mile south of Broadway, and in fair plenty in a ditch near the sea,
close to the little village of Carnabout two miles north of Carnsore
Point.

I also noted the following plants in new stations : —

Salix Hoffmanniana.—Nzzx Rosslare Harbour Station and near Lady's
Island Lake, but evidently planted.

Lemna gibba. — In great abundance in a pool on the western side of
Lady's Island Lake, and plentifully in a pool near an old windmill about
half a mile to the south of Broadway.

Polygonum macu latum,— In fair plenty, and very typical about the south-
western corner of Lady's Island Lake.

Cuscuta Trifolii.— Grows on the bar separating Lady's Island Lake from
the sea. It extends eastwards along the coast, and occurs sparingly at
Carna on the east coast.

Potcntilla procumbens. — This plant is quite common in hedge-banks south
of Rosslare Harbour Station, and it also grows on the Rosslare sandhills.

Glyceria Borreri.— Very sparingly on the edge of a salt-marsh pool in the
extreme south-western corner of Wexford Harbour.

Anchusa officinalis and Lycium still hold their ground at Rosslare Point,
and Marrubium is in process of naturalization there.

Cecil P. Hurst.

Recess, Connemara.

256 The Irish Naturalist. December, 1901.

GEOLOGY.

Exploration of the Keish Caves.

On behalf of the Committee appointed to explore Irish Cave-deposits,
Dr. Scharff communicated to the recent meeting of the British Associa-
tion at Glasgow an interim report. He stated that the Committee
selected for the first operations a series of caves on the slopes of Keish-
corran Mountain, Co. Sligo. Owing to the unsettled state of the
weather, the excavation of the caves could uot be commenced until the
middle of May, 1901, though a preliminary survey was made early in
April by Dr. Scharff and Mr. Praeger.

After careful measurements were taken a deep trench was dug across
the mouth of one of the caves, so as to expose a section of the various
deposits, which were as follows from above downwards: —

1. Black earth, containing bones of domestic animals, charcoal,
and human implements (similar to those found in crannoges), with
a depth of from 6 inches to 1 foot.

2. Breccia, consisting of limestone blocks fallen from the roof
in a tufaceous deposit. This appeared as a natural arch in the
section varying from 1 foot in the centre to 3 feet at the sides, and
contained numerous remains of land shells and bones of small
mammals.

3. Brown clay, containing large blocks of limestone and numerous
bones of small and a few of large mammals. At a depth of 6 feet
from the surface a much waterworn block of limestone was found,
indicating proximity to the floor of the cave.

As the excavation in this cave was carried to the interior it became
unpromising and unsatisfactory owing to the difficulty of removing the
large masses of limestone. It was, therefore, decided to abandon it.
Datum levels having been carefully marked on the sides of the cave, it
will be possible to resume work and complete the excavation should the
results obtained in the other caves render it desirable.

A second cave was then opened in a similar manner, proceeding from
the mouth inward, with very satisfactory results so far. Mr. Ussher,
who was left in charge of the work, reports that the upper stratum of this
cave contained much charcoal and bones of domestic animals — broken for
the marrow — and a Red Deer's antler. With these were associated a stone
celt, bronze pins, and portion of an iron saw of ancient pattern. Beneath
the above another stratum, consisting of cave-earth, was found, in which
were various remains of Bear and Deer, besides human teeth and charcoal.
The collections have been deposited in the Dublin Museum, and are at
present being worked out by the staff.

The Committee has been re- appointed by the British Association,
with a renewed grant for the presentation of their researches.

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