128 The Irish Naturalist. June, 



situations, but it is also found growing on rocks. A very 

 comprehensive list of habitats will be found in Woodruffe- 

 Peacock's paper. 



2. Is the species found only on ground that has been cultivated 

 or 7na7iured, or on artificial structures such as walls'^. Dandelion 

 is common on cultivated ground, but may also be found on 

 the shingle of the sea-shore, or on ground that has never 

 been broken up. Red poppies, on the other hand, are, pro- 

 bably, alwa3^s found on ground that has been disturbed. 

 Geranium lucidtan, lyinn., occurs in the clefts of limestone 

 rocks ; it is also found on walls, these being the nearest 

 approach to its natural habitat. 



3. In ivhat other countries is the species Jound^ and ivhat is the 

 centte oj its distribution ? If, for example, a species occurs in 

 Great Britain, and in Western Europe, there is nothing un- 

 reasonable in its being found in Ireland also ; on the other 

 hand, a species occurring in Ireland, which has its home in 

 Australia, would be liable to strong suspicion. 



4. What other species of plants or ofaiihnals are associated with 

 it in the areas in which it occti7's, a?id have any of these a similar 

 distfibution in foreign cou7itries ? Some authorities have ex- 

 pressed a doubt as to the Arbutus which occurs in the Spanish 

 peninsula and shores of the Mediterranean being a native of 

 Ireland. But several animals found in the south-west of 

 Europe also occur in Ireland — such as the Kerr}^ Slug, Pyre- 

 nean Weevil, a millipede, and two vSpecies of earthworms — 

 and it will hardly be suggested that these were introduced. 



5. Have seeds or other 7'e77iai7is oJ the species ever bee7i foimd 

 ti7iderlying peat bogs or i7i lacustfi7ie or fluviatile deposits or 

 associated with crannogs ? 



Compared with the extensive researches of Mr. Clement 

 Reid, and others in Great Britain, little or nothing has been 

 done in Ireland in the investigation of lake deposits. What- 

 ever be the age of these deposits it is extremely improbable 

 that any of the .species found therein were introduced by 

 human agency. In the case of crannogs the seeds of culti- 

 vated cereals have been found, but it is highly probable that 

 the timbers used in building the crannog were all native and 

 grew in the vicinity. 



