THE SUBDIVISION OF lEELAND Ixxix 



The following table shows the condition of the surface of the 

 forty Botanical Divisions as regards elevation above sea-level, 

 and as regards physical features and agricultural operations ; factors 

 which largely influence the distribution of plants, and their relative 

 abundance. 



This table brings out a number of facts which should be borne 

 in mind when the distribution of the Irish flora is being considered. 

 The low-lying nature of the Central Plain appears very clearly. 

 Thus, to take a view of the Central counties, Westmeath has 99 per 

 cent, of its surface below 500 feet elevation, Eoscommon, Longford, 

 East Mayo, and Meath, 97 per cent. each. In high land, on the 

 other hand, Wicklow and South Kerry stand pre-eminent, with 26 

 and 24 per cent., respectively, above the thousand-foot contour-line. 



As regards agriculture, a marked difference will be noticed 

 between the eastern and western counties. Dividing Ireland into 

 Eastern, Central, and Western districts, as in Map III., it will be 

 found that whereas an average Eastern division has 30 per cent, 

 under crops, this figure drops to 24 per cent, in the average Central 

 division, and in the West is only 16 per cent. Grass-land is 

 similarly least in the West, being 49 per cent, there, while it is 

 53 per cent, in the East, and 57 per cent, in the Centre. Turf -bog 

 is greatest in the Centre ; and it is in the West that waste land 

 attains its maximum. 



