The Plants of Westmeath. 79 



the east of I,. Owel. This flow bog, which is three-quarters of 

 a mile long, and about one furlong wide, owes its name to the 

 'scraw' or mat of vegetation which, as it were, floats on the 

 water and mud beneath — and as there are many holes it is 

 essentially a dangerous place, especially after heavy rains, when 

 it is more or less submerged. The ' scraw ' is formed mostly 

 of Carex teretiuscula and C. filiformis, both rather uncommon 

 elsewhere ; other sedges are C. dioica, C. pulicaris, C. limosa, 

 &c. Vacciniuvi Oxycoccos here forms large beds from which 

 quantities of cranberries — or, as they are termed in Ireland, 

 bogberries — are gathered, while some of the drains are at the 

 proper time white with the delicate flowers of Hydrocharis 

 Morsus-1'ance. ; but the most beautiful plant here is Pyrola 

 rotundifolia, which grows in luxuriant profusion, generally 

 through tufts of willows ; Juncus obtusiflorus is also abundant, 

 and my friend Mr. A. G. More will have to modify the remarks 

 in " Cybele Hibernica " that the few Irish localities known are 

 " on or near the sea coast." In one of the small holes in this 

 bog Mr. H. Groves discovered, for the first time in Ireland, 

 that beautifully delicate little plant Nitella tenuissima. I have 

 searched diligently, but in vain, for this in other places ; it has 

 however been since found by Mr. Groves in a bog in the 

 County Galway. In some of the holes Potamogeton planta- 

 gineus occurs, and a fine form of Chara polyacantha, also 

 Chara fragilis var. barbata. In the list, frequent mention is 

 made of Knock Ross ; this hill, with its steep rocky slopes 

 covered with brushwood, which I believe to be indigenous on 

 its southern side at least, forms a promontory in the S.K. end 

 of I,. Derevaragh. Here occurs Cornus sanguinea, identical 

 with the Clare plant; there seem to be some doubts whether 

 it is truly indigenous in this locality ; but if it be not so, it is 

 at any rate thoroughly established and very plentiful. In the 

 wood, near the shore of the lake, I observed two rather un- 

 common grasses, Milium effusum and Festuca sylvatica, also at 

 the water's edge on the northern side Crepis pahidosa, and two 

 forms of Festuca elatior, var. loliacea, Huds., regarding which 

 some remarks will be found in the list. In the Knock Ross 

 woods I gathered most of the Rubi which are included in the 

 list below ; these have all been examined and named by the 

 Rev. B. F. Iyinton. I have no doubt that many more species 

 exist in this as well as in other localities in the county, and I 



