34 The Irish Naiiiialist. [Fel^ruary, 



runs along the wCvStern coast of Ireland and of Norway, as 

 far, at least, as Cape North. The centre oscillates somewhere 

 to the south-west of the Azores." This is the conclusion of 

 the latest of one of the "best authorities." 



On pageslxviii.jlxix., we read of DistrictXII. (Antrim, Down, 

 and Derry,) "though by its position not on the whole so 

 northern as District XI. [Donegal], the flora of this district 

 has perhaps a more northern character. It has, indeed, 

 but 29 Highland type plants to 30 in Donegal ; but this 

 deficiency is counterbalanced by the greater number of its 

 Hia'acmm species and forms, and of its Scottish and 

 Intermediate t3'pe plants, which ma}' be taken as repre- 

 senting the boreal element in our flora. Out of a total 

 for all Ireland of 29 species and forms of Hicrachnn^ District 

 XII. has 26 against 15 in Donegal, while the number of the 

 Scottish and Intermediate type plants taken together is 49 in 

 XII , to 43 in XI., out of a total of 60 for all Ireland." These 

 statements are erroneous, as examination of my Flora of 

 Do7iegal will show. There are eleven northern Hawk weeds in 

 Donegal which do not occur in the north-east, while the north- 

 east can claim only five northern forms absent from Donegal. 

 The absence of Hicrachmi 7nuror2ivi and H. boreale forms 

 from Donegal is quite in accordance with their non-northern 

 character. Donegal, in fact, is an easy winner in northern 

 Hicracia, so the argument on page Ixix. may be transferred to 

 the other side. H.prenanthoides (if it has been correctly deter- 

 mined) is the only important absentee from Donegal. 



It is to be hoped the herbarium specimens of the earlier 

 Hieracia records have been submitted to recent experts, other- 

 wise it is a misfortune that so many of them have been ad- 

 mitted to the Cybele ; and it would seem probable that 

 identical forms appear under different names. 



So far as my species and forms go, I have adopted the 

 Hieracia of the London Catalogiie (ninth edition.)^ 



■• There is one serious objection to linjiting British Hawkweeds to Sir 

 J. Hooker's classification. Since that was issued an industrious band of 

 botanists have worked out districts in Scotland (to say nothing of Ireland 

 and Kngland), which were wholly unexplored. The result has been that 

 many forms unknown to occur in these islands, new forms and con- 

 tinental forms, have come to light. Is our flora to be excluded from the 

 benefit of these ? 



