274 Ihe Irish Naturalist. December, 



plant-distribution in Ireland, nor did Rutty's Essay towards a 

 Natural History of the Co2inty of Dublin (1774) do much in 

 that way either. A great advance was, however, made in 1794, 

 when Walter Wade, first Professor of Botany to the Dublin 

 Societ}^, published the earliest Irish County Flora — Catalogus 

 systcmaticus Pla7itaruvt indigenaru^n i?i comitatu Dublinensi 

 inventarum ; and when he followed this up in 1804 with his 

 well-known Plantcc Rarioi'cs in Hibernia inventcB, and induced 

 the Society to found a Botanic Garden at Glasnevin, no doubt 

 Irish botanists considered that they had now abundant means 

 at their disposal for the study of their favourite hobby. But 

 the Irish plant-list was still ver}^ incomplete, and two or three 

 localities were all that even the most interesting species could 

 boast. Twenty 3^ears later that industrious Scotchman, James 

 Townsend Mackay, first curator of Trinity College Botanic 

 Garden, presented to the Royal Irish Academy his important 

 Catalogue of the Lidigenous Plants of Ireland, ** the result of 

 twenty years observation during numerous excursions made 

 to almost every part of the country that was likely to afford 

 interesting matter to the Botanist." This was published in 

 vol. xiv. of the T7'a7isactions of the Academy. 



Mackay's list is the first enumeration of Irish plants that 

 has any claim to completeness, and as such its appearance 

 marked a distinct forward step. Meanwhile John White, of 

 Glasnevin Botanic Garden, an enthusiastic field-botanist, had 

 amassed a considerable body of plant-records as the result of 

 excursions to various parts of Ireland, and Miss Katherine 

 Sophia Baily (afterwards Lady Kane), then twenty-two years 

 of age, edited and published these in The Irish Flora (1S33) 

 adding a brief description of each plant, and suitable references. 

 This little book must rank as the first Flora of the country, in 

 the modern acceptation of the term. The Irish Floia was 

 destined to have but a short reign^ for three years later Dr. 

 Mackay brought out Flora Hibernica, on which he had been 

 engaged for many years ; a comprehensive work, including 

 not only the flowering plants, for which he himself was 

 responsible, but the mosses, hepatics, lichens, and seaweeds, 

 edited by Dr. Taylor and W. H. Harvey. The researches of 

 Templeton and Drummond were now given to the public, and 

 the many discoveries recently made by Mackay's late pupil, 



