2IO 



The Irish Naturalid. 



Tabi,e showing the species of Shamrock used in various 



Irish Counties. 



Here again the employment of T. repens as the national 

 badge would appear to be more extended than that of T. mimis, 

 the former being used in sixteen, the latter only in thirteen of 

 the Irish counties. But there is further evidence forthcoming 

 on the side of T. minus ; for Mr. James Britten, editor of the 

 Jour7ial of Bota7iy, gives the following strong testimony in its 

 favour, in a valuable note on the Shamrock in the Dictionary 

 of English Plant Names (p. 425).' 



" At the present day, Trifolium minus is the plant most in repute as the 

 true Shamrock ; it is this species which forms most of the Shamrock sold 

 in Covent Garden on St. Patrick's Day, and in Ireland it is used as such 

 in the counties of Antrim, Down, Meath, Fermanagh, Dublin, Wicklow, 

 Carlow, Westmeath, Wexford, Limerick, Waterford, Cork, and Kerry." 



When entering on this inquiry some five years ago, I was 

 quite unaware of the existence of this interesting contribution 

 to the subject, which only came under my notice so late as 

 the April of this year. Had I known of these previous re- 

 searches, by which the results recorded in these pages were so 

 largely anticipated, I should probably have thought it unneces- 



» Published by Trubner & Co. (for the BngHsh Dialect Society), Lon- 

 don, 1886. All who are interested in the obscure history of the Shamrock 

 are strongly recommended to read Mr. Britten's note, which gives, in 

 condensed form, the fruit of much antiquarian research. 



