Hart — On the Botany of the River Stiir. 331 



possessed no hotel at first had filled us with dismay, but we soon 

 found ourselves far better ofi than in an average Irish village 

 inn. 



On the 1st of June we made an early start from Golden. Al- 

 together the scenery is delightful. Castles, abbeys, and other pic- 

 turesque remains of the past abound. A more melancholy feature 

 is the number of recently-abandoned handsome dwelling-places. 

 Eichly wooded and diversified scenery, amongst fertile hills and 

 valleys brought us merrily along for the first few miles on firm 

 banks on the west side of the river. The most interesting feature 

 in the botany here was Orchis morio. It was very abundant, and 

 of many hues and great luxuriance. I picked several pure white- 

 flowered plants, and one really well-marked variety with the upper 

 petals and sepals very dark and the lip nearly white — sweet and 

 very large — of it and the white variety I procured bulbs. About 

 Grolden I noticed Rubus idceiis, Saxifraga tridactylites, and Ononis 

 arvensis. After a few miles we found it necessary to cross the 

 river, which was now about sixty yards wide, with a strong cur- 

 rent. Practical experience taught us that this is a little beyond 

 the limit of distance which one can swim, holding his clothes dry 

 overhead in one hand. The result of this painful experiment was 

 that our clothes were mostly soaked for the remainder of the day. 

 During the distance between Suir Castle and Cloughabready I no- 

 ticed Thalictrum fiavum, Q^nanthe phellandrium, Sparganium mini- 

 mum, and Potamogeton perfoliatus. The banks are now usually 

 high and firm, the course of the river is more decided, and neigh- 

 bouring swamps are fewer. The result of this is that the larger 

 plants are scarcer, and many do not re-appear. On the right or 

 west bank of the river, near Cloughabready Mill, I gathered Carex 

 paludosa and Scirpus sylvaticiis. The latter is very rare in the south 

 of Ireland, and scarce in Ireland generally. It was a great 

 pleasure to find a new locality for one of the handsomest of our 

 native plants. I met with it again further on, near Cahir. I 

 noticed Nymphcea alba, Hippiiris vulgaris, (Enanthe phellandrium, 

 and Juncus glaucus, a long way inland for the last-mentioned 

 species. 



The following morning, June 3, we left Cahir, and followed 

 the right bank of the river through the beautiful demesne of Lady 

 Margaret Chartreuse. Here first I met with Scrophidaria aquatica, 



