ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL ASSOCIATION. 231 



ported along with merchandise, ballast of ships, &c, but voluntarily, 

 for specific purposes. He supposes that the prevalence of gardens in 

 tho south-eastern oounties of England which are nearest the Continent 

 favour that view, most of the naturalized species being found in that 

 district. 



With respect to this country, he remarks that Ireland, so far as can 

 be judged from modern Floras, has received few species by naturalization, 

 though her climate may be favourable in the southern counties. The 

 reason of this, he considers, is explained by the small number and recent 

 date of Gardens — above all, Botanic Gardens (p. 702). As affording 

 proofs of his views, he instances the paucity of leguminous species 

 which are known to have seeds capable of resisting the action of salt water 

 better than those of many other plants among the number ; and also 

 how comparatively few there are among them belonging to Compositas 

 and Valerianaceae, which have seeds with downy pappus, capable of 

 being wafted to great distances by winds. It may be that he has un- 

 derrated the agency of birds, if the following instance be correct, which, 

 at the risk of being considered discursive, I shall here mention. 



About four years ago I received a parcel of seeds from a valued cor- 

 respondent residing at Buenos Ayres (Mr. Tweedie), to whom our Gardens 

 are so much indebted for many beautiful plants. On one of the papera 

 was written : — "I took these seeds out of the stomach of a wild duck 

 lately shot. — J. T." On looking at them, I saw they were leguminous, 

 and apparently sound. They were sown in the ordinary way, and soon 

 produced plants of 'a small-flowered annual Vicia ! I simply record the 

 circumstance here, however, without attempting to draw any inference 

 from it bearing on the naturalization of plants in Britain. 



Whilst on the subject of geographical distribution, I have the plea- 

 sure of laying before the Association some plants which I am not aware 

 of having been previously recorded as Irish, and also to mention a few 

 additional habitats of rare species, which possess some interest in that 

 point of view. Lycopodium inundatum was sent to me last year by Mr. 

 Isaac Carroll, of Cork — a very zealous Irish botanist, from whom much 

 may be expected. It was found by Henry Lubohm on the margin of a 

 small lake on the property of James Ellis, Esq., near Letterpack, Con- 

 neniara. This, it will be admitted, is a highly interesting addition to 

 our Irish Flora, affording, as it probably does, another instance of the 

 outlying types of the North American plants. It occurs only in a few 



ZOOL. A DOT. SOC. I'BOC. VOL. ft, 2 I 



