June, 1904. 121 



THE MOI.LUSCA OF BUSHY PARK, DUBLIN. 



BY R. WKI.CH AND A. W. STKI.FOX. 

 PI.ATE I. 



Thk rough little glens, filled with native scrub of Hazel, 

 Birch, Holly, Ash, Oak, and Mountain Ash, which abound 

 round the Antrim Coast and on the talus slopes of the greater 

 glens of that county, have long been known as sanctuaries for 

 a varied and in some cases rare moUuscan fauna. This is also 

 true of portions of Belvoir Park near Belfast, and possibly of 

 some old wooded localities in Co. Wicklow. With these 

 exceptions, the maritime counties of the east coast of Ireland 

 do not seem usually to give what might be called a long list 

 from a small area. By this we mean a list sufi&ciently large to 

 show that the area worked was really what we call a sanctuary 

 for our ancient fauna — such a list for instance as is yielded by 

 Colin Glen, which is deeply cut in the Liassic, Cretaceous and 

 basaltic rocks of the Belfast hills, or by Murlough, a little sea- 

 glen just south of Fair Head. 



Such an area, however, exists well within the zone of the 

 street lamps and electric trams of Dublin. Bushy Park, 

 Terenure, with over 60 species of Mollusca — rather more than 

 half the species which are known to live in Ireland — must be 

 looked on as such a sanctuary. The fact that a marshy area, 

 a stream, and some ponds occur in the demesne, in addition 

 to woods containing old trees, places it, as an ideal habitat, 

 before such glens as we have mentioned ; and even before the 

 damp limestone glens of Sligo, South Donegal, and Fer- 

 managh, unless the presence of an old marsh area helps to 

 enrich the fauna of the latter. 



In Bushy Park, the high Boulder-clay scarp, along one side 

 of the marsh, has probably been always wooded, first with 

 native trees, later chiefly with introduced forest trees ; and 

 for the last 150 years the ground has lain undisturbed, so that 

 the original fauna of this part of the Dodder valley has had 

 every chance of survival. Mr. Praeger tells us that several 

 rare Dublin plants, such as Epipadis latifolia and Milium 

 effiisuDi, still linger along this old wooded scarp, which is 

 such a marked feature in the scener}^ of the Dodder River. 



A 



