1903. Praegkr. — The Flora of Clme Isla7id. 279 



While producing a fairly fertile soil in some areas, in others 

 the drift is exceedingly stony and barren. The deepest soil 

 is found in one or two small valleys in the east. Thin boggy 

 soil covers the greater part of the island, but no great depth 

 of peat is now found, except perhaps on the top of Croagh- 

 more. A single small area of blown sand occurs behind the 

 bay at the Quay. This is the only sandy shore on the island. 

 A few boulder beaches occur, but the coast is almost every- 

 where rocky, and generally cliff-bound. While along the 

 southern and eastern sides the cliffs are generally under loo 

 feet in height, elsewhere they are higher, and along the north- 

 western side of the island attain magnificent proportions. 



• I?MP 



Fig. 2 »Sketch-map of Clare Island. 



Unshaded area = farm land. Dotted = unreclaimed land up to 500 

 feet. Hatched = do. 500 to 1,000 feet. Cross hatched = do. 1,000 to 

 1,520 feet. Scale, \ inch = i mile. 



The impression, as regards the vegetation, left by one's first 

 view of the island, is its wind-swept and stunted character. 

 No groves of trees meet the eye, no hedges even. Beyond the 

 narrow limits of the cultivated ground, poor stony heath 

 forms the prevalent feature, passing into bog-land as one 

 ascends. 



CuivTivATED Area. — The approximate limits of the culti- 

 vated land are seen on the sketch-map. They are fixed partly 

 by questions of exposure (that is, exposure to the west), and 

 of elevation, partly by the nature of the soil, which often down 

 to sea-level consists of a stony drift with a thin skin of peat, 

 hopeless even as pasture. The usual crops are potatoes and oats, 

 with some barley, rye, turnips, mangolds, and cabbages. The 



A 2 



