244 '^^^^ Irish Naturalist. Deceinbcr, 



September i8. — Excursion to Ballea Castle. — A party of thirty, 

 most of whom travelled by 3.30 p.m. train to Carrigaline about a mile 

 and a half distant, assembled at Ballea Castle, the residence of Captain 

 F. J. Hodder, who kindly entertained the party at tea. Captain Hodder 

 pointed out some peculiar architectural features of the Castle. The 

 grounds which are well-wooded and in part planted with rare shrubs, 

 were then visited. The Owenbwee River is immortalised in a well-known 

 poem by the late Denny Lane, the first Vice-President of the Field Club. 



NOTES, 



BOTANY. 



Leucojum aestivum in North Tipperary and King's County. 



While botanizing near Riverstown along the banks of the Little Brosna 

 River, which separates North Tipperary from King's County, on the 28th 

 of May last year, I discovered several clumps of Leucojum aestivum growing 

 on each side of the river in low -lying pastures which, in winter and some- 

 times, as during last July, in summer, are completely under water for long 

 periods. Though the habitat is in r any respects a perfectly natural 

 one for this species, I am not certain that it is indigenous to the localitv. 

 as it is cultivated about a mile lower down the stream in the garden of 

 Birr Castle, and also occurs on a swampy islet in the demesne a quarter of 

 a mile from the garden. 



The seeds of this plant are dispersed by water, and it is difficult to see 

 how they could drift for a mile up stream, and there is also the possibility 

 that it may originally have been introduced from a wild station to the 

 garden, still, under the circumstances, it seems safer to regard it as, though 

 perfectly naturalized, a doubtful native in these two counties. 



R. A. Phillips. 



Cork. 



The Robertsonian Saxifrages. 



Mr. Lloyd Praeger's remarks on pp. 205-6, deserve the greatest respect ; 

 he knows this group very well, and has evidently paid special attention to 

 it, I cannot pretend to have had anything like his experience ; my 

 reply is, therefore, to a considerable extent, only tentative and provisional. 

 We agree in regarding 5. Geum as a distinct species, and in believing 

 that natural hybrids are fairly frequent in districts where it occurs in 

 company with 5. umhvosa ; indeed, I am at present inclined to suspect 

 that all the members of this group (given opportunity) cross rather freely, 

 and that secondary hybrids, or mongrels, are not very uncommon. 



It is quite true that in the north and west of Ireland 5. umbrosa is, as 

 a rule, remarkably constant ; but this is not the Linnean type (described 

 as having crenate leaves), and has, I think, rightly been referred by Syme 

 to var. punctata. In the Cambridge Herbarium I find (excellent S. serrati- 

 folia Mackay from Maam, Galway (Babington, 1836), where 5. Geum is 



