^0 The Irish Naturalist, 



NOTES. 



BOTANY. 



CHARACE^. 



Chara canescens, Loisel, In Ireland. — I found this pretty 

 Chara growing in the lake at Castlegregory, Co. Kerry, last August. 

 This is a welcome addition to the range of the plant, hitherto restricted, 

 I believe, to two localities in the S. W. of England. 



R. W. Scui,i.Y, Dublin. 



PHANEROGAMS. 



Wild Flowers in the Clynns of Antrim In IVI id-Winter.— 



Walking and driving through the Glens near Cushendall on the i6tli and 

 17th of December, with some friends who were spending the week's end 

 there, I collected the following plants in flower. In Glencarp and north 

 side of Glendun the Red Campion {Lychnis diurnci) ; Dog Daisy {Matruaria 

 inodora) ; and Sheep's Scabious [Jasione monlana). On Tornaniorey Point, 

 or the old road to Torr, on a ver}- exposed bank facing east, the Bramble 

 {Rubles friiticosus) ; Marsh Ragweed {Senecio aquaiicus) ; Marsh Thistle 

 {Carduiis palustris) ; and Cat's ^2X {Hypochccris radicatd) ; on sheltered banks 

 and ditches all over the district, the Primrose {Primula vulgaris) w^as in 

 bloom, and the Gorse ( Ulex europceus') ; and I noticed a few plants of a small 

 Umbellifer, which I did not collect, just opening. Owing to the mildness 

 of the winters at Cushendall medical men in Belfast frequently send their 

 patients there now, and few hotels in Ireland are so beautifully sheltered 

 from the north and east or are such "Bomes from Home" as the 

 " Glens of Antrim" Hotel there. I have to thank Mr. S. A. Stewart for 

 verifying the plants for me. 



R. Wei^ch, Belfast. 



ZOOLOGY. 



CRUSTACEANS. 



The Freshwater Crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis) In Co. 

 Dublin.— On the 3otli December last, Mr. Dunlop of Lucan and his 

 sons pointed out to me some remarkable ponds at CoUierstown along the 

 banks of the Grand Canal, about nine miles from Dublin. Anyone 

 looking for a town there or even a village, Avill be disappointed, though 

 large mounds of rubbish may mark the sites of former habitations. 

 Anyhow zoologists and botanists will find this locality well worth a visit. 

 We found the large freshwater Craj'fish {Astacus fluviatilis) in abundance, 

 and although once before recorded from Co. Dublin, viz. : — from the 

 Tolka near Finglas, yet it is such ararity that it is worth calling attention 

 to this second locality. It had previously also been taken on the Royal 

 Canal at Maynooth, by the late Dr. Ball, and in several other places in 

 the Co. Kildare. 



It is surprising that, as far as I know, no attempt has ever been made 

 in this country to utilize this source of wealth, as it is well known that 

 Crayfish are occasionally imported from abroad, in order to be ground 

 down for the famous " soupe d'ecrevisses," a dish greatly esteemed by 

 connoisseurs. The supply from the CoUierstown ponds would hardly be 

 large enough to start a commercial speculation, but I believe they are 

 more abundant in Kildare, and Messrs. Pile, Powell and Mooney assure 

 me that they could promote a trade for them. 



R. F. SCHARFFj Dublin, 



