r>8 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY. 



consigned to Mr. Ward, had never reached him, and I was 

 particularly desirous of sending a second supply. On this 

 high ground few other ferns made their appearance ; some 

 feeble plants of Osmuncla, and an occasional F'dix-foemina 

 or Filix-mas, with plenty of Lomarla spicant^ were all that 

 I observed. The heaths, as everywhere else in Ireland, were 

 beautiful : the bells of Erica Tetralix were larger, and of a 

 brighter and more varied colour than I have ever seen them 

 in England. 



How my heart leaped within me when I peeped over these 

 Tralee hills ! When, after an ascent of five hours, I saw the 

 Reeks, Tomies, Carran Tual, Mangertoii, Glena, and Turk, — 

 names familiar as household words, — and, while their dark, 

 empui'pled, cloudless summits were relieved against a sky 

 of the purest blue, w^atched the snow-white clouds drifting 

 amongst them, passing in front of one huge peak and behind 

 another ! I instantly singled out Carran Tual as the highest 

 land I had seen in Ireland, but I knew nothing of the others, 

 and contented myself with admiring the beauty of the group, 

 without making any attempt to ascertain the names of indi- 

 viduals. 



On leaving Tralee I had determined on staying that night 

 at Cloghereen, and had entrusted my knapsack to the care of 

 tw^o gentlemen w^ho w^ere going there in the afternoon by the 

 mail-car ; had it not been for this, I believe I should have 

 made for " the Reeks" at once, bent my course southward to 

 Kenmare, and missed the lakes of Killamey, the mob of 

 guides, and Trichomanes speciosum. It was a long struggle, 

 but the knapsack and Trichomanes gained the day, and I 

 began to descend the hill towards the most celebrated of all 

 touring localities, with anything but anticipations of pleasure, 

 for I really hate touring-places, and touring people, and tour- 

 ing guides : however, I resolved to face it, and so forthwith 

 put myself in order to see the lions of Killarney. Having 

 made up my mind I began to descend from the heights, and 

 it was really a fine walk ; the beautiful mass of Kerry hills 

 shut out the horizon, and that dark, grove-like, mountain- 

 locked basin at their feet, contained the lakes which were 

 weekly visited by hundreds of felicity-hunters. Throughout 

 the walk I found abundance of the dumetorifw variety of 

 Lastr<Ba, dilatata, and many other forms of the same plant, 

 but I could not quite satisfy myself that they merged in one 

 another. Osmmida regalis, not abundant ; Pteris, still less 

 common ; Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum, As^jI. Ruta-mura- 

 ria, and Aspl. Trichomanes^ on walls and ruins ; and, ap- 

 proaching Killarney, Polystichum acnleatiim^ Lastrcea Filix 



