10 48 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



To sum up, then : according to this analysis of the vegetation, the Clare 

 Island flora consists mainly of individuals of native origin, self-sown in ground 

 more or less disturbed by man ; and of introduced species dependent for their 

 continued existence on the continuance of man's operations. A few natives 

 still cling to aboriginal and undisturbed habitats, and a few aliens have 

 become established, independently of the continuance of man and his works. 



Imported, Weed-Seeds. 



To come now to the question as to what plants are at present being 

 introduced to the island by farming operations. Up till 1907 the seed used 

 on Clare Island for agricultural purposes was purchased locally : but since 

 that year seed of higher quality has been supplied through the Department 

 of Agriculture. In order to see what weeds were beifig brought into 

 the district along with seed, a number of samples of the seeds on sale at 

 Aehill Sound (where much of the Clare Island trading is done) were 

 obtained in the spring of 1910, by the kindness of Professor James "Wilson 

 and Mr. D. S. Simpson ; at the same time, for purpose of comparison, samples 

 of the seed supplied by the Department of Agriculture were obtained on the 

 island ; also a sample of the oats used for feeding horses and fowl. The only 

 other channel by which seeds are brought in any quantity into Clare Island 

 is in hay, which, on account of the lateness of the spring on the island, is 

 imported during the early months of the year from the adjoining mainland, 

 where it has been grown. After a boat-load of such hay, grown near Eoonah, 

 had been landed on the quay and removed in March, 1910, I swept up some 

 of the fine material left behind. All these samples were, as has been said, 

 examined and reported on at the Department's seed-testing station by the 

 kindness of Dr. G-. H. Pethybridge, excepting the sample of oats referred to, 

 which was examined by Miss Knowles. 



The Aehill Sound samples, which were obtained from two sources, were as 

 follows : — 



1 Bed Clover. 6 Swede. 



2 White Clover. 7 Turnip. 



3 Perennial Eye-grass. 8 Yellow Aberdeen Turnip. 



4 Italian Eye-grass. 9 Mangel. 



5 Swede. 10 Yellow Globe Mangel. 



In the lists of weed-seeds given below, the species which occur on Clare 

 Island are marked X or *, according as they are native there or of doubtful 

 standing (see p. 38). 



