viii PREFACE 



Being in its nature in great measure supplementary to" Cybele," 

 the convenience was clear of keeping this work in harmony with 

 the other, as regards arrangement and nomenclature. This prin- 

 ciple has been followed in several important points, and has,, 

 indeed, often been allowed to over-ride any personal ideas of the 

 compiler's on the subjects in question. Thus, the arrangement of 

 genera and species in the two books will be found to be practically 

 identical, with the exception that a few of the "excluded" plants of 

 " Cybele " are inserted, each in its systematic position, distinguished 

 by the usual marks. The omission of varieties and hybrids fur- 

 nishes another exception. In all but a few cases, our knowledge 

 of the distribution of these in Ireland is not yet sufficiently com- 

 plete to make a minute analysis of any service. " Cybele" supplies 

 most of the information which is available concerning them, and 

 what more has accumulated will be published separately. In the 

 matter of nomenclature, also, the convenience of uniformity in the 

 two books has been fully recognised, and, while the specific or 

 other value allowed to certain plants may be found to vary, the 

 names used are in all cases identical. 



The distribution recorded for many plants is still clearly incom- 

 plete, and on this account it may be thought that publication is 

 premature. To this I can only reply that I have conscientiously 

 endeavoured to gather together all available information, published 

 and unpublished; and, furthermore, that five summers of steady 

 field-work was the most that I could afford to devote to the sub- 

 ject. The chance of the remaining blanks in the distribution-lists 

 being filled up is much increased by their being herein pilloried 

 and exposed to public notice ; and, indeed, the definite task of 

 seeking out known desiderata may appeal to many to whom the 

 indefinite and laborious work of compiling long lists of species, on 

 the chance of some of the records proving of service, possessed but 

 little attraction. Thus, the very incompleteness of the work may 

 justify its publication. 



