The I'lora of County A)mairJi. j;^ 



Cerastiutn tetrandrum, Curtis. _ t; 



On the G. N. Railway at Wellin.ij;t<)n cutting, K. M. 1'. 



Sperg^ularia rubra, Pcrs. n^ S. 



On the G. N. railwa}- a mile south of Portadown, and at Wel- 

 lington cutting near Newry, and abundant on the Greenore Kail- 

 way near Narrow-water. Found, strangely enough, on railway 

 ballast only, but the plant is certainly a natiye in the county, and 

 not imported, since the Narrow-water and Portadown Ijall'ast at 

 least is local material; the plant does not grow in the grayel-])it at 

 Skerries, where the Wellington cutting ballast was presumably 

 obtained. 



S. media, Pers. S. 



Estuary of Newry river, abundant. 

 IVIalva moschata, Linn. X. M. s. 



Tanderagee (Templeton), Flor. Ulsl. I r'ields on Lough Neagh 

 shore at Derryadd and Raughlan, H. W. L. spec! Roadside near 

 Lurgan (S. A. S.), Herb. N. H. P. S. ! Hedge-bank a mile north 

 of Newry, and in the upper and lower demesnes of Tanderagee, 

 R. LI. P. 



(TO BE continued). 



IS THE FROG A NATIVE OF IRELAND? 



BY W. F. DE V. KANE, M.A., F.E.S. 



Dr. Scharff's paper on the origin of this ubiquitous ba- 

 trachian in Ireland seems to imply that an undoubted 

 naturalization of some 200 years in this countr}- does not 

 confer the title of " native." But, joking apart, I would wish 

 to examine the interesting problems suggested, and, no doubt, 

 Dr. Scharff's remarks are more in the nature of a challenge 

 for discussion than an attempt to press the interesting evi- 

 dence he has collected in disproof of the tradition generally 

 accepted against its indigenous origin, which tradition I, as 

 an undoubted native, maintain. Now% with respect to the 

 introduction of a colony of frogs before the year 1700 into the 

 grounds then lying about Trinity College, Dublin, there is a 

 collection of MSS. preserved in the College Library, formed by 

 Dr. Thomas Molyneux, a portion of which was utilized in the 

 volume published in 1755, entitled "A Natural Histor}- of 

 Ireland, by Dr. Gerard Boate, Thomas Molyneux, M.D., F.R.S., 

 and others." From one of these MSS. it would appear that, 

 previous to the year 1700, there w^as projected a more compre- 

 hensive scheme than the meagre result above mentioned, and 

 I find that to Dr. Gwithers was assigned the collection of 

 information as to Irish quadrupeds, to the Provost and Dr. 



B 



