122 I'hc Irish Nattiralist. June, 



Bushy Park is in the Carboniferous limestone area, and 

 some xerophile Helices, which are maritime dwellers in 

 other parts of Ireland, even on the limestone of the north- 

 west, come inland here and live in profusion in the short turf 

 along the upper dry margin of the unwooded, grass-grown 

 portion of the thirty-foot Boulder-clay scarp. This margin is 

 characterized by the presence of such xerophile and calcicole 

 plants as 0?w7iis a?'ve7iS7S, CarlUia vulgaris, Oi'iganuni vttlgare. 

 Orchis pyramidalis and Broimts erectus. It is baked as hard as 

 brick in dry weather, but after a summer shower it simply 

 swarms \\A\\\ Helix c?-iceto7'U7)i, H. virgata, and H. acuta. 



The marsh is the main stronghold of the smaller molluscs ; 

 Vertigos, small H3^alini8e, some Planorbs, and Pisidia live 

 here in abundance. This marsh is a long, and, in the main, 

 narrow strip, lying between the high Boulder-cla}' bank and 

 a narrow ridge of limestone debris, supporting the wall which 

 divides the demesne from the Dodder. A certain amount of 

 it is perenniall}' under water, but the major portion consists 

 of wet ground, covered with an abundant growth of the rush, 

 J7mc7is glaitcus. It was formed some thirty-five years ago by the 

 removal of a bed of river gravel, which formed a low terrace 

 between the old scarp and the stream, the gravel being exca- 

 vated down to the underl3'ing Boulder-cla}-. The water 

 which is brought from the Dodder by a conduit to feed the 

 ponds in the grounds, runs into the marsh at one end and out 

 at the other. Above this, along the artificial stream, there 

 are many damp, mossy areas in the woods, with thick under- 

 brush of biiars and saplings. Other good ground is supplied 

 by a large shallow pond below the house, full oi I\Iyriophyllu77i 

 spicat7(7)i, Water-lilies, Elodca, and several species of Pond- 

 weed, and by an old waste area near the garden, where large 

 quantities of cut logs are stored. These are remnants of the 

 great trees blown down in the cj^clone of February 28, 1903, 

 and it was under them that most of the slugs were found. 



Our first two visits were paid in September last, when we 

 confined our attention to the marsh}^ area and the dry bank 

 above, collecting 46 species in all in about three hours. 

 R. Welch afterwards visited, at the end of April, the woods, 

 gardens, ponds, and greenhouses, in company with Sir F. W. 

 Shaw, Bart, (the owner), and Mr. R. LI. Praeger, when 16 

 more species were found in two hours' work. 



