224 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



tide-riven slobland at the head of the estuary (Enantlie lac'hinalii, 

 Blymms rufus, and Carex extensa are common. Asj^erula cynancliica has 

 disappeared on this shore of the promontory. On the east side of the 

 estuary, in corn-fields by the coast, occurred Scanclix pecten-veneris, 

 Stachys arvensis, and Silene anylica, the latter abundantly. The dis- 

 tribution of Schwnus niyricans is curious, salt marshes and mountain 

 uplands being its favourite haunts. Senecio sylvaticus was first met 

 "with at Bull's Head, where I looked on one of the loveliest views of 

 mountain and sea I ever beheld. MacGilli cuddy's Reeks were clear 

 from end to end, although Brandon, as is frequently the case, was 

 clouded. At Minard there is an interesting old castle and a narrow 

 estuarine flat between steep hills of most unusual appearance — a sort 

 of winding fiord a few feet above sea level, about a mile and a-half 

 long and a-quarter of a mile wide, with a boundary of sheer and 

 steep hills, and filled with impassable bog, bog-plants, and aquatic 

 fowls. The plants were not rare, and I went out as far as possible 

 from one tussock to another of Carex panicidata without meeting any 

 novelty. The contrast between the dry slopes and the level bog is 

 here so remarkable as to give one the idea of an attempt at artificial 

 reclamation. 



On the 18th I was again doomed to disappointment. I made a 

 desperate effort to verify the only Irish habitat of Lathyrus maritimus 

 at Inch Point. It was desperate, because a wearier trudge than that 

 round Inch Point I have seldom undertaken — amongst endless sand- 

 hills and in a blazing sun. But there was neither vetch nor pea 

 at Inch Point. The original record comes from Smith's Kerry, 

 perhaps the most unreliable authority on Irish botany that is ever 

 quoted from, or it might be fairer to say "unintelligible," for no 

 doubt in his records he often alluded to plants known to himself 

 whose identity we cannot determine. In this instance, besides the 

 record of Pisum maritimum, '' on the south point of Inch Island in 

 the bay ai Castlemaine in considerable quantities," there is also at 

 p. 174 (ed. 1756), another and bewildering statement, " towards the 

 southern point of the island (as it is called, although properly an 

 isthmus), considerable quantities of white peas grow spontaneously, 

 the seed of which was probably scattered here by some shipwreck." 

 l^ow the flowers of Lathyrus maritimus are purple. I cannot learn 

 that the plant has ever been gathered here since Smith's time, but 

 Mr. More is of opinion that the habitat is correct. The plant appeared 

 in a collection bought by my friend Mr. Barrington from a coastguard 

 of the place. He informs me it is labelled " Sandhills, Killorgiin 

 Bay, 1845." This points to a different locality, since Killorgiin is on 

 the opposite or south side of Dingle Bay, about ten miles from Inch 

 in a south-easterly direction. I went right round the isthmus and 

 scoured the point carefully, but without success. I noted Thrincia 

 hirta, Euphorlia par alias, E. portlandica, Gentiana campestris, and in 

 ditches near the mainland Lycopus europcBus. From here I made my 

 way into Tralee, as the coast became low and cultivated, and devoid of 

 botanical interest. 



