284 The Irish Naturalist. [.No v., 



playground, but the Sun-Spurge {E. Helioscopid) is every- 

 where, despite of its being so often crushed to show the *' milk." 

 As for Dog's Mercury {Mercurialis a7inud) it springs up in every 

 shady corner, and the Nettle is not unknown. The Wall 

 Pellitory {Parietaria officinalis) too, with its curiously elastic 

 filaments, causes great amusement ; and one or two Orchids, 

 now and then, appear spontaneously ; though of those I have 

 transplanted there scarcely one has ever flowered, whilst 

 preserving life enough to throw up leaves. A few Wild 

 Hyacinths {Endymion mita7is) and Cuckoo Pints {Arum 

 maculatiini) have survived, out of many which I planted ; 

 but the flowers of the former grow less every year, and the 

 latter have never flowered at all. Thus after many years 

 observation I find that some specimens of nearly all the 

 great Natural Orders spring up spontaneously, in most 

 unlikely places, while others can be domiciled without any 

 trouble ; and even of those that require care to make them 

 bloom profusely, it is possible to preserve the life, without 

 unduly interfering to assist ; for to do this would, I contend, 

 remove them from the category of wild flowers altogether. 

 If these remarks, from which all mention of grasses is 

 excluded, induce anyone to take more interest in the plant- 

 life — though it be but of the commonest — around him, I 

 shall be satisfied. 



