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XXII.— NOTE ON THE BOTANICAL TOPOGEAPHICAL DI- 

 VISIONS OF lEELAND. By W. E. Mc NAB, M.D., 

 F.L. S., Professor of Botany, Eoyal College of Science, 

 Ireland ; Scientific Superintendent of the Eoyal Botanic 

 Garden, Dublin. 



[Read, January 21, 1884.] 



Being at present engaged in the re-arrangement of the collection 

 of British and Irish plants in the Herbarium at the Eoyal Botanic 

 G-arden, Glasnevin, it was necessary for me to consider what steps 

 dught to be taken towards the formation of a collection illustrating 

 the " Cybele Hibernica." Special considerations rendered it advis- 

 able to keep all the British and Irish plants together for the present, 

 the space at my disposal not permitting of the formation of a special 

 " Cybele Hibernica " collection. All the advantages I wished for 

 could, I found, be got by simply introducing a printed sheet into 

 the Herbarium with each species, headed " Cybele Hibernica," and 

 bearing the number, name, and the recorded distribution of the 

 plant in Ireland. Taking Watson's " Topographical Botany " as a 

 good model, it became necessary to revise the whole Botanical 

 Topography of Ireland, and to bring the ".Districts" of Moore 

 and More's " Cybele Hibernica " into greater conformity with the 

 divisions adopted for England, Wales, and Scotland. At the same 

 time it was of the utmost importance to make as little alteration as 

 possible in Babington's Districts as adopted by the Authors of the 

 "Cybele Hibernica," as all alterations would tend to produce con- 

 fusion. Watson adopts a division into Provinces, Yice-provinces, 

 and Yice-counties, for the " Cybele Britannica," and Babington 

 divided Ireland into Districts. I propose simply to adopt Babing- 

 ton's " Districts," but to call these " Provinces," distinguished not 

 by a number only, but by a roman numeral and a name. In this 

 way the name will obviate the necessity of constantly referring to 

 a map when any District or Province is mentioned by number. 

 Vice-provinces, as adopted by Watson, are unnecessary in the 

 Botanical Topography of Ireland. The next division, that of Yice- 

 counties, or of Counties and parts of Counties, must however be 



SCIliN. PliOC. U.D.S.— \-0L, IV. I'T. V. TJ 



