10 14 Proceedings of the Itoyal I?'isk Academy. 



occurred which is not found on some of the adjoining islands, a few of the 

 Caher plants have a limited distribution upon them : — 



Absent from Clare Island. 



Glyceria maritirna 



Asplenium Ruta-rnuraria 



Sparganiurn ramosum 



Lemna minor Absent from Inishturk. 



Potamogeton pusillus ' 



Ranunculus Baudotii "j 



Potamogeton pectinatus f Absent from Clare and Turk. 



1 



Ruppia rostellata ' 



Alisma ranunculoides Absent from Turk and Bonn. 



3. DESCRIPTION OF THE VEGETATION OF CLARE ISLAND. 



Character of the Island. 



In order that the flora of Clare Island, and the problems which it raises, 

 may be understood, it is necessary to recall briefly the position and features 

 of the island. 1 



Clare Island lies across the entrance of. Clew Bay ; and while distant 

 some fifteen miles from the land at Westport and Newport, only three miles 

 of sea separate it from Emlagh Point, which forms the southern entrance 

 of the bay, and the same from Achillbeg and the Curraun peninsula, which 

 form the northern entrance ; but these channels are deep and open, and in 

 the full swing of the Atlantic roll. The island is roughly triangular 

 in outline, measuring about 4 miles by 2| miles. Its area is 6^ square 

 miles, of which about one-third is under tillage or pasture, the remainder 

 consisting of stony heath, thin bog, or maritime sward. The dominating 

 feature of the island is the great east and west ridge (Croaghmore) 

 attaining an elevation of 1,520 feet, which occupies much of the north- 

 western shore. A second ridgy hill (Knocknaveen), attaining 729 feet, 

 forms a prominent feature in the centre of the island ; while a third parallel 

 one, much lower but still conspicuous, extends along the south-eastern edge. 

 The ground falls in many parts from the north and west towards the south 

 and east, thus protecting the surface to a limited extent from the fury of 

 Atlantic gales. The cultivated and inhabited portion of the island — it 

 harbours some seventy families — lies along the eastern and southern margins. 

 (See map, Plate II.) Much of the land formerly cropped has been allowed to 

 relapse into poor pasture. Every part not under cultivation, including the 



1 The following account is taken partly from my former paper on the flora of Clare Island (loe. cit.). 



