10 22 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



and less turf-cutting, the Calluna formation is better developed. The land- 

 ward sides of the " Big Hill " give no indication of the interesting alpine 

 vegetation of the seaward face ; Calluna prevails up to the summit, and the 

 only mountain plant is Listera cordata (800 to 1.520 feet). Some of the Calluna 

 here is old and shaggy, and up to three feet in height. This being quite the 

 largest and oldest Calluna on the island, a stem of it was kindly examined for 

 me by Mr. A. D. Cotton. He found it to measure 1 - S x 1*15 em. at 4 inches 

 from the ground, and to show twenty annual rings of growth. This gives a less 

 age than one might have thought, to judge from the appearance of the plants. 

 The summit (1,520 feet) is a narrow ridge, on which Calluna, 3 to 9 

 inches high, is dominant : it is accompanied by — 



Polygala depressa. Luzula maxima. 



Potentilla Tormentilla. Scirpus caespitosus. 



Galium saxatile. Eriophorum angustifolium. 



Solidago Yirgaurea. E. vaginatum. 



Erica cinerea. Carex pilulifera. 



Tetralix. binervis. 



Yaccinium Myrtillus. Antboxantbum odoratum. 



Eumex Acetosa. Festuca ovina. 



Empetrum nigrum. Sphagnum spp. 



Juneus squarrosus. 



But close by are wetter patches, dominated by Sphagnum and ScirpuM 



caespitosus, and containing also — 



Potentilla Tormentilla. Euphrasia officinalis. 



Drosera rotundifolia. Empetrum nigrum. 



Calluna vulgaris (very starved). Narthecium ossifragum. 



Pinguicula vulgaris. Eriophorum angustifolium. 



There are also patches having, like the last, a smooth grassy appearance, 

 in which Calluna aud Eriophorum vaginatum share dominance; with much 

 Empetrum, Sphagnums, Eacomitrium lanuginosum and other mosses, and 

 some 



Potentilla Tormentilla. Luzula maxima. 



Drosera rotundifolia. Narthecium ossifragum. 



Pinguicula vulgaris. Eriophorum angustifohum. 



Orchis maculata. Cladonia sp. 



Extending thence westward, covering the long ridge of the hill and its 

 seaward slopes, a curious mixture of associations occurs. The general 

 appearance of the vegetation is grassy and rushy. Sometimes Calluna is 

 dominant, sometimes Eriphorum vaginatum, or Juneus squarrosus. Other 



