THE SUBDIVISION OF IRELAND Iv 



15. Queen's County. 



Central. Area 664 square miles. Inland. In the NW., the 

 broad heather-clad range of Slieve Bloom belongs chiefly to this 

 county, and shows a number of smooth summits of 1000 to 1733 

 feet. These uplands are a denuded anticlinal ridge, formed of Old 

 Eed and Silurian rocks. In the SE., Coal-measures prevail, forming 

 cultivated uplands and hills of 800 to 1100 feet. Elsewhere, the 

 broad limestone floor extends in its characteristic form, the surface 

 consisting of low fertile ridges and marshy bottoms, with great 

 bogs between. The Barrow flows along the eastern and northern 

 margins of the county, often amid extensive marshes, and has 

 its source on Slieve Bloom. The western half forms the chief 

 gathering grounds of the Nore ; the drainage of the whole county is 

 carried on by these two river. Lakes are almost nil. In the NE., 

 branches of the Grand Canal run west and south from Monasterevan. 

 A fine esker-ridge runs N. and S. through Maryborough, and yields a 

 rich gravel-flora. A typical Central Plain county, with 54 per cent. 

 of grass, 30 per cent, of crops, and nearly o per cent, of bog. 

 Exploration chiefly my own work, in various parts of the area. No 

 portion now remains altogether unexplored, but excepting the 

 neighbourhood of Maryborough there is no part that wiU not bear 

 further work. 



Flora 582 species, without any special features. Earest 

 plants : — 



jPicris hieracioides, 3. Campanula Trachelium, 4. Carex axillaris, 4. 



15. Galway SE. 



Western. Area about 738 square miles. Maritime to a small 

 extent, the western margin fronting the indented head of Galway 

 Bay for some miles. The eastern boundary is formed by the rivers 

 Suck and Shannon, and by the grand lake-like expansion which is 

 called Lough Derg. There is no other river of any consequence, but 

 several good-sized lakes lie in the centre and south. Near the 

 southern boundary rises Slieve Aughty (1074 feet) a broad group of 

 Old Eed and Silurian hills, boggy and bare. Everywhere else, the 



