148 The Irish Naturalist. iJune, 



River Corrib, meanders along a valley for a few miles, and 

 vanishes abruptly under a rocky hill. The modest twisted 

 flower-spikes of Spiranthes autumnalis^ with their delicious 

 fragrance, accompanied me everywhere. A five-mile gallop on 

 a rough dusty road in a cart without springs, accompanied by 

 wild 3'ells in our beloved Irish tongue, brought me in a some- 

 w^hat breathless condition back to Oranmore. 



The coastline of the upper end of Galway Bay, between Oran 

 and Kinvarra, is broken by long peninsulas and inlets, like 

 the teeth of a comb, so that the twelve miles between the 

 points named is increased to fifty if one follows the shore. 

 The coast is low, bare, and inhospitable, excessively stony, 

 and devoid of sand or shingle beaches ; and so tangled are the 

 land and sea that one hardly ever gets a glimpse into the open 

 bay. I devoted two days to the exploration of this totally 

 unknown region, w^orking half way down the coast and 

 on into Kinvarra by road on the 25th, and next day working 

 up the other half of the coast and into Oran by road. Kven 

 omitting a number of long promontories, this gave close on 

 thirty miles of rough walking each day. The results were 

 poor, but not disappointing. The most remarkable plant of 

 the region is Artemisia 7naritima^ which first put in an appear- 

 ance near Kilcaimin, and throughout my two days re-appeared 

 in profusion at frequent intervals from there all the way to 

 Kinvarra. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that there is 

 more of this rare plant on that bit of coast than in all the rest 

 of Ireland put together. The only Galway record for the 

 plant is one from Carranroe, just on the border of Clare. 

 Polygo7ium Raii, near Ardfry, was the only other uncommon 

 maritime plant noted. On the first day, after leaving the 

 coast, I struck a delightful piece of ground at Ksker I^ough, 

 lying remote amidst a great tract of limestone pavement or 

 '* crags." The lake is a mile long, quite straight, and only 50 to 

 100 yards wide. Except in wet weather it is filled not with water 

 but wnth a level deposit of cream-coloured limy mud, hard 

 enough to walk on. Bushes of Rha?nnus catharticus and Coriius 

 sanguinea rise along the margin, and tall clusters of Lastrea 

 Thelyptetis ; the adjoining rocky slopes are covered with sheets 

 of A rctostaphylos and Dry as,, and a search revealed the fruit- 

 stems oi Neo tinea 3.n& of Gentiana ver?ia. Heavy rain and failing 



