INTRODUCTION. xxiii 



occasionally present rugged faces of cliff, which afford hahitata for 

 sub-alpine plants. The "castles" of Donard and of Bignian are fine 

 examples of such cyclopean structures. The highest land in Ulster is to 

 be found here ; Slieve Donard having an elevation of 2,796 feet above the 

 sea, vrhile several other peaks exceed 2,000 feet. The surface of the 

 county, generally, is very uneven. The roads usually wind through a 

 succession of low, gently rolling hills, of tolerably uniform size, where 

 the traveller rarely sees beyond the nearest eminence. The ancient roads 

 which passed directly over the crests of the hills, if less convenient, were, 

 at all events, more interesting. Little lakes, dotted over the surface, and 

 lying in the hollows of the rocks, are likewise another feature of the 

 county. 



In Antrim we get not only change of rocks, but also a different 

 arrangement of surface. The hills commence near Belfast, in the south of 

 the county, and continue round the coast, in an interrupted chain, to 

 Bally castle in the north. They usually present steep fronts to the sea, 

 ^vith altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 feet, and tail off in decreasing 

 heights inland. The continuity of this chain, which thus girdles the 

 coast, is broken with charming effect by the streams which in their head- 

 long rush to the sea have cut deep into the strata. This is especially the 

 case in the north, where are located the famous Glyns, or Glens of 

 Antrim. Commencing far up in the hills as narrow, rugged defiles, 

 and widening out as they approach the sea, there is afforded at the 

 same time the finest subjects for the artist's pencil and the best collecting 

 grounds for the naturalist. The centre of the county is largely made up 

 of moory table lands, of no great elevation, the drainage from which flows 

 mainly inland to Lough Neagh and the Biver Bann. 



The mountains in Derry form two extensive tracts, with elevations in most 

 cases above 1 , 000 feet, but rarely exceeding 2,000. From Benevenagh in the 

 north, one series stretch across the centre of the county until they meet the 

 Camtogher and Sperrin Ranges in the south. These last named groups, which 

 are of great magnitude, occupy the principal part of the southwestern bound- 

 ary and extend into Tyrone. The basaltic mountain of Benevenagh, in the 

 north, has a majestic range of cliffs which give picturesque effects, and 

 also yield some hawkweeds and other rare plants : the same may be said 

 of Benbradagh in a lesser degree. The Camtogher and Sperrin Mountains 

 are of greater altitude, and more massive, but in all other respects are most 

 uninteresting. Dart, 2,040 feet, has a somewhat rocky summit, but with 

 this exception these mountains may be classed as heathy moorlands with 

 rounded summits, and long, wet, boggy slopes, devoid of beauty, and the 

 home of little but the most common plants. The lover of the picturesque, 

 and the naturalist too, who explores the glens of the Eoe and the Faughan 

 in the north, Mill be much more amply recompensed for his toil. 



The principal rivers in our three northeastern counties are the Bann, 

 the Lagan, and the Foyle ; the former being the most important. The 

 Bann first appears as a rocky streamlet issuing from the heart of the 

 Mourne Mountains near the southern limit of our district. Flowing in a 



