1 24 May, 



TEN YEARS' WORK OF THE FAUNA AND FLORA 



COMMITTEE. 



BY R. I.I.OYD PRAEGEK. 



It is now ten 3'ears since the committee of naturalists 

 commonly known as the " Fauna and Flora Committee" was 

 first appointed by the Ro3'al Irish Academy to "frame a 

 Report on the present state of our knowledge of the Flora 

 and Fauna of Ireland, and as to what is needed to bring this 

 knowledge up to date." It ma}" be of interest to briefly review 

 the work of the committee during the intervening decade, and 

 to enquire as to how far it has succeeded during this period in 

 furthering our knowledge of Irish natural histor3^ 



For many years past — since 1S68, to be precise — the Royal 

 Irish Academy has given grants of money in aid of scientific 

 research in Ireland, these grants being voted by the Academy 

 to applicants engaged in original work. It was thought by 

 Dr. E. P. Wright, at the time Secretary of the Acadeni}-, that 

 as regards natural historj^ a little organizing of the workers 

 and of the work might have good results in economizing funds 

 and increasing the output of scientific results. On his 

 initiative., a committee was formed, •' consisting of Dr. Scharff,"*^ 

 Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger,* Mr. A. G. More, Mr. R. M. Barrington, 

 Mr. Greenwood Pim, Dr. H. Dixon, Dr. M'Weeney, Mr. 

 G. H. Carpenter,* Professor T. Johnson,"* and Professor E. P. 

 Wright,'' and a grant was given them early in 1893 for the 

 objects stated in the first paragraph of this article — to report 

 on the state of Irish natural history. The Committee held its 

 first meeting on iSth March, 1893. Dr. Scharff was elected 

 chairman, and G. H. Carpenter convener. The Committee 

 then resolved itself into two sections, charged respectively 

 with the drawing up of reports upon the flora of Ireland, and 

 upon its fauna (including Tertiary palseontology). In a few 

 months the whole report was laid before the Academy Council. 

 It was a valuable and a voluminous document, including 

 separate reports on the various groups of plants and animals 

 by R. M. Barrington, G. H. Carpenter, J. E. Duerden, Louisa 



* Members of preseut Coiiitiiittee. 



