164 FLORA OF THE ISLE OP MAN. [June, 



nian sisters, Mona still waits her Babington. This is not perhaps 

 to be wondered at ; for we may as well at once candidly confess, 

 that in spite of all advantages of climate and surface her native 

 flora is neither numerous, well-marked, nor rare, and therefore, 

 except to the algologist, not very attractive. Nevertheless, teste 

 the indisputable authority of Professor Forbes : " Considered 

 with respect to the British flora generally, and especially as bear- 

 ing on the geological history of that flora, it is not unimportant. 

 The greater part of the plants of the British Isles are colonists 

 from Central Europe. They emigrated hither after the upheaval 

 and over the upraised bed of the Pleistocene Sea. Of such plants, 

 as might be expected, the rarer species are to be met with in the 

 eastern English counties, whilst those only capable of the widest 

 diffusion, and consequently of becoming commonest, found their 

 way to Ireland and the Isle of Man before the breaking- up of 

 that portion of the upraised Pleistocene Sea-bed which occupied 

 the area of the now Irish Sea. This event happening before some 

 plants generally common in England had diffused themselves so 

 far, excluded them from the Manx flora. Before this upheaval 

 of the Pleistocene Sea-bed, such parts of Britain as were above 

 water existed in the condition of islands in an ice-charged sea, or 

 of land connected with other land very far north, whence a vege- 

 tation of a boreal or arctic character were derived. This vegeta- 

 tion still remains on the summits of the Scottish, Cumberland, 

 and Welsh mountains, and consists of alpine plants in (from ?) 

 the north of Scandinavia. These plants, in the north of Scan- 

 dinavia, where climatal conditions nearly similar to those which 

 prevailed within our area during the Pleistocene epoch are still 

 maintained, are there seen, not only on the mountains, but grow- 

 ing down to the edge of the shore. In the Isle of Man we have 

 no trace of this flora. There are no truly alpine plants upon our 

 mountains, which in all probability were during some part of the 

 Pleistocene epoch wholly submerged. 



" In the south of England and of Ireland there is a flora con- 

 sisting of such plants as are commonest in the West of France, 

 and which must have emigrated at the time of the- union of those 

 parts of our islands with the continent. Of such we have no 

 traces on the Isle of Man; nor yet of the peculiar Asturian flora, 

 which gives a character to the vegetation of the hills in the west 

 of Ireland. 



