INTRODUCTION. 



Sherrard, visited the country, and bestowed some attention on 

 its natural history. To Dr. Sherrard we are indebted for the 

 first notice of Subularia aquatica in Ireland, which he found 

 growing in Lough Neagh. Threlkeld's work, entitled " Synopsis 

 Stirpium Hibernicarum," is extremely imperfect, as the char- 

 acters of the plants are seldom given, and the arrangement is 

 alphabetical ; it is, however, a work written, as Dr. Pulteney ob- 

 serves, in a quaint and amusing style, containing many sound 

 observations, and evincing a pretty extensive learning. In 1735 

 Dr. K'Eogh published a similar treatise, which is now rare, and 

 of inferior value to that of Threlkeld. 



By far the most eminent Irish naturalist of this period was Dr. 

 Molyneaux, the earliest describer of the Fossil Elk, and who first 

 made known the occurrence of the remains of the Fossil Elephant 

 in Ireland. He also contributed a catalogue of rare plants, which 

 is published in an appendix to Threlkeld's work : and it is to be 

 regretted that so excellent an observer has not enriched our 

 literature with more extensive publications. These observers 

 were succeeded by the writers of the statistical surveys of the 

 different counties ; works chiefly undertaken under the auspices 

 of the Royal Dublin Society, and which contain valuable inform- 

 ation on statistics and agriculture, and some of them useful 

 botanical details. I may more particularly mention the. histories 

 of Cork and Kerry by Dr. Smith, which possess very consider- 

 able merit and accuracy with regard to the localities of plants, 

 as I found during my botanical excursions through that part of 

 the country. In 1772 Doctor Rutty published his Natural His- 

 tory of the county of Dublin— a work conceived on a good plan, 

 and containing much useful information. The next botanical 

 works were those of Dr. Wade, who published his Flora Dub- 

 liniensis in 1794, and in 1804 his Plantae Rariores, or Habitats 

 of the rarer plants found by him in Ireland. These publications 

 are not without merit, and were considered by him as only pre- 

 paratory to a more extensive work (a Flora Hibernica), which 

 he stated his intention of publishing. This work, he says, was 

 deferred until " as soon as genuine and valuable materials could 

 be collected for the purpose, conceiving that no work of a 



