2l6 The Irish Naturalist. November, 



these ups and downs being the unkind attentions of the 

 weeding gardener. Fortunately it has now spread to rather 

 safer situations, and has taken a firm hold of walls and out- 

 buildings. It is only, however, within the last five years 

 that the Lactuca has shown any decided tendency to in- 

 crease its somewhat restricted area by spreading to the 

 adjoining plantation, and when the locality was visited last 

 July, more than a hundred plants were seen scattered over 

 a space roughly fifty yards square. This remained the only 

 locality in which the plant was seen in the county until 

 1908, when two flourishing tufts were noticed on and at the 

 foot of the railway wall beside the Killarney station. A 

 new siding has since been made which swept away the 

 greater portion of these plants, but in July of this year 

 they were again established there. 



Introduced plants and shrubs surround both these Kerry 

 stations for the Lactuca, and as it appears to be quite absent 

 from the more remote and unplanted portions of the county, 

 many of them quite suitable for its growth, this plant can 

 have no claim to be considered a native in Kerry. 



The above three plants are examples of introductions with 

 a tendency to spread, the two following are illustrations of 

 how persistently an introduced plant will cling to a very res- 

 tricted area when once established, even if its surroundings 

 appear to limit its expansion. 



DiANTHUS PLUMARIUS L. 



In 1856 the Rev. W. M. Hind recorded Dianthus plumarius 

 in the Phytologist as growing " in considerable quantity" 

 on one of the limestone headlands iutting out into the 

 Lower Lake, Killarney. When first noticed by the present 

 writer in Mr. Hind's locality, now several years ago, the 

 plant was certainly not " in considerable quantity," a patch 

 extending over perhaps a square yard of ground was all 

 that could be found ; when last seen, however, in July of 

 the present year, the patch had not appreciably diminished 

 so for a period of probably well over sixty years, a member 

 of this xerophytic family has maintained its position in the 

 moist surroundings of the Kerry climate, and unless inter- 

 fered with will, no doubt, remain there for many decades 

 to come. 



