74 NOTKS ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY. 



curious rock has so precisely the appearance of a huge horse 

 standing on the surface of the water, with his head down, as 

 though grazing or drinking, that it seems ahuost impossible 

 to get rid of the illusion; as we approached it, however, it 

 proved very rock-like, and seven corvorants flew off, and 

 skimmed in a line along the surface of the water to some lit- 

 tle rocks we had just before passed. After leaving the horse 

 I soon landed, and returned for the night to Cloghereen. 



I next paid my respects to Turk waterfall. Owing to an 

 excess of rain the fall was really very striking, — far more so 

 than 1 had expected to find it : it was a continuous sheet of 

 foam. I first found Trichomanes speciosum to the left of the 

 seat whence visitors take the first view of the fall. About 

 fifteen yards higher up the stream, the rocky bank projects 

 into the river; the projection is only to be approached by 

 leaping from stone to stone, along the bed of the torrent, 

 which, in times of flood, as happened to be the case when I 

 paid it this visit, is rather an exciting and ticklish operation. 

 You are so close to the fall as to be covered by the spray, and 

 the roar is almost deafening. Having reached the projection, 

 the botanist must ascend it by means of the roots and branch- 

 es, — a feat very readily performed, and there is a little plat- 

 form at the top, where he can stand very comfortably ; and 

 while so standing, he will find the rocky bank, just on a level 

 with his eye, completely clothed with Trichomanes, the dark 

 green fronds hanging heavily down, dripping with wet, and, 

 if the sun happen to shine, begemmed with sparkling drops. 

 It is a beautiful sight, and well worth the wet feet, which, 

 when the flood is on, form a necessary accompaniment 

 of the expedition. The scenery around is well worthy the 

 rare fern which it cherishes in its bosom. The rhizoma of 

 this fern is black, velvety, tough, and remarkably long r it 

 formed a kind of network on the perpendicular surface of the 

 rock, in which its roots had no kind of hold : this was the 

 character of the plant when most luxuriaut, but I found other 

 and much smaller plants, which possessed more root and less 

 rhizoma^ and the roots were fixed in a thin layer of moist 

 earih, among a profusion of moss and Hymenopliyllum. 



At this waterfall, and again in various localities along the 

 road winding towards Kenmare, I found both species oi Hy- 

 menopliyllum growing together in the greatest luxuriance and 

 profusion, sometimes on rocks, and sometimes clothing the 

 stems of oak trees to the height of three or four feet from the 

 ground. 



In walking under Turk Mountain on my way to Kenmare, 

 I found Asplenium marinum in considerable abundance, to 



