Clare Island Survey — Phaneroc/amia. 10 15 



hill-tops and sea-cliffs, is closely grazed by sheep, cattle, horses, and donkeys. 

 The live-stock, which is the pride of the islanders, is certainly pretty severe 

 upon the vegetation. 



There is little to be said regarding the geology of the island as affecting 

 its vegetation. The slates and allied rocks yield a light loamy, lime-free soil ; 

 but this is generally thin. The hard sandstones and pebbly beds in the east 

 are very intractable; and much of the area occupied by them is thickly 

 boulder-strewn, with the rock close below. Glacial drift covers much of the 

 lower parts of the island — i.e., the east and south — and in the north-east attains 

 a great thickness. A blue limestone Boulder-clay underlies the local drift, 

 but appears mainly in sections along the coast or by streamlets, and has no 

 noticeable effect on the flora. 



While producing a fairly fertile soil in some areas, in others the drift is 

 exceedingly stony and barren. The deepest soil is found in one or two small 

 valleys in the east. Thin boggy soil covers the greater part of the island, 

 hut no great depth of peat is now found, except near the top of Croaghmore. 

 A single small area of blown sand occurs behind the bay at the Harbour. 

 This is the only sandy shore on the island. A few boulder beaches occur 

 but the coast is almost everywhere rocky, and generally cliff-bound. While 

 along the southern and eastern sides the cliffs are generally under 100 feet in 

 height, elsewhere they are higher, and along the north-western side of the 

 island attain magnificent proportions. 



The impression, as regards the vegetation, left by one's first view of the 

 island, is its wind-swept and stunted character. No groves of trees meet the 

 eye, no hedges even. Beyond the narrow limits of the cultivated ground, 

 poor stony heath forms the prevalent feature, passing into bog-land as one 

 ascends. 



Maritime Vegetation. 



The maritime flora is poor in variety, as is usual in the west of Ireland, 

 and many species characteristic of the sands or rocks of the east coast are 

 missing. The only sand on the island is at the Harbour, at the east end of 

 the island, where shelter is greatest — a small curving sandy bay, with a little 

 blown sand behind it. The strand flora consists of Salso/a Kali 1 with some 

 Atriplex and Arenaria pcploides. 



Behind that, above storm-level, two associations occupy the ground : — 

 (1) An open Agropyron junceum* society with a slight admixture of 



• Salsola appears to be curiously irregular in its occurrence. I noted it there on my first visit in 

 1903. In 1909 no trace of the species was seen during the season ; in 1910 the Saltwort was 

 represented hy about 100 bushy plants, and formed a notable feature ; in 1911 the plant was much 

 less conspicuous, but dwarfed growth accompanying an exceptionally dry season was partly 

 accountable for this. 



