1897.] pRAEGER.— 77/^ Botany of a Railway Jour^iey, 211 



must have been before the drainage operations in the middle 

 of the century laid them bare, and drove away many of the 

 rarest plants from their habitats ! Calamagrostis Hookcri is gone 

 from several of its stations, but happily survives in others ; 

 Carex B^ixbaitmii appears to be on the verge of extinction ; C 

 elo7igata, C. filiformis, and C/^^zz^;;^ have disappeared ; Tolypella 

 nidifica has never been refound ; Subularia, Lathyrus palustris, 

 Pilularia, formerly abundant, are now very rare ; Slum lati- 

 folitmi and Elatine Hydropiper have not been seen at the lake 

 by the present generation ; Rhavinus catharticus seems to have 

 gone too, though the rarer R. Frangiila survives in one station 

 at least ; Lastrea Thdypteris, formerh^ plentiful, we now seek 

 in vain. Truly the interests of the botanist and the agri- 

 culturist are w^idely divergent ! 



A long whistle heralds our entry to Portadown, and our 

 rapid rush down into the valley of the Bann ceases amid the 

 hum of the vacuum brake. We are soon off again, and cross 



on a jingling iron bridge 



" The gay Httle river 

 That smiles as it flows to the main." 



The Bann is here a slow and deep stream, bordered by green 

 pastures, and frequented by canal-boats ; and for the botanist 

 offers little interest. Jerking across the points, we now turn 

 southward, and speed along with the flat river-meadows on the 

 left, and Brackagh Bog on the right hand. The bog is for the 

 most part cut away, and pools and swamps are left, where 

 Sundews {Drosera anglica and D. rotundifolia), and Bladderworts 

 and Royal Fern grow ; and from this place Mr. lyCtt recently 

 added Lycopodiiim clavattwi to the flora of Armagh. Beyond 

 Tanderagee, the railway runs alongside the Newry Canal, here 

 bordered by deep pools. From the train we catch sight of tall 

 plants of Cicuta and of Qi.7ianthe Phella?idriuvi. White and 

 yellow Water-lilies float on the surface, and among them 

 Water-hens and Dabchicks splutter out of sight as the train 

 thunders by. The canal is fringed with a grove of Arrow-head 

 and floating Bog-bean in full blossom, and as we flash past we 

 wish for an opportunity of exploring a spot that looks so 

 promising. The speed decreases as the line begins to ascend, 

 and climbs along the slope on the Armagh side to Goraghwood 

 Junction, perched on the steep hill-vSide. And now we get a 



