Hart — On the Flora of South - West Donegal. 443 



XXI. — Eeport obt the Floea. of Sotjth-IVest Donegal. By Henky 

 Chichestek Hakt, B.A. 



[Eead, February 23, 1885.] 



The following Paper combines the results of my explorations in 

 southern Donegal in the years 1883 and 1884. In the latter year I 

 had the assistance of a grant from the Academy, and as the results of 

 the previous season are still unpublished, and belong to the same 

 district, I take the opportunity of combining the two into one report. 



The districts explored extended over the whole south of the 

 county; several of the localities visited require, however, further 

 examination and earlier visits. My head-quarters lay chiefly at 

 Carrick, Killybegs, and Donegal ; but I also paid visits of two or 

 three days' duration each to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Pettigo, and 

 Stranorlar. 



To enumerate my various expeditions would be tedious and un- 

 profitable, but I may be pardoned for giving a rapid geographical 

 sketch of the ground traversed — chiefly in the baronies of Banagh and 

 Tirhugh. Thus I examined the coast line from Tormore to the 

 county boundary south of Bundoran, leaving no creek or shore un- 

 searched or promontory unencompassed. I spent several days on 

 Blieve League, and climbed the range at about its middle height along 

 the seaward face, as well as exploring minutely the inner and more 

 profitable cliffs. The shores of Lough Eske received a careful search, as 

 well as numerous other lakes in the neighbourhood of Carrick, Pettigo, 

 and Ballyshannon : the banks of the rivers Finn, Beelan, Loughhead, 

 Eany, Glen, and Erne were botanized, as well as some other smaller 

 streams. In a previous year I had examined the Bluestack range of 

 mountains^ which lie in the district under consideration, but otherwise 

 the botany of this part of the county was almost unknown to me, and, 

 except superficially or at a few isolated points, undealt with at all. 



Numerous interesting discoveries rewarded my labours. As these 

 sometimes occurred in whole batches, I will give a short summary of 

 the rarer plants in the most productive stations. The most prominent 

 of these is Slieve League : with it I propose to deal in full. 



It will be well, however, first to draw attention to the geological 

 structure of this part of Donegal, for on it the botanical interest 

 mainly depends. On leaving Slieve League, a short distance in an 

 easterly direction along the coast brings us from the usual shales, schists, 

 and quartzite of the older formations to a band of carboniferous lime- 

 stone, which extends almost uninterruptedly along the outer headlands 

 and shores of Donegal Bay to Bundoran. It is occasionally replaced 

 by Silurian rocks and sometimes by an almost equally fertile limestone 



1 See Journal of Botany, 1882. 



E.T.A. PROC, SEll. II., VOL. IV. SCIENCE. 2 S 



