civ INTEODUCTION 



Bibliography of Irish Topographical Botany. — Until the 

 publication of the second edition of " Cybele Hibernica" in 1898, 

 the bibliography of Irish botany was a much neglected field. In 

 consequence it was most difficult to determine what was known 

 regarding the botany of any district, or the distribution of any plant, 

 since no catalogue was available of papers published since the first 

 edition of " Cybele" in 1866. The 'List of Principal Papers, &c.,' in 

 the second edition is useful, but, as its title states, the more im- 

 portant papers only are included. For this reason, an attempt is 

 here made at a full bibliography of Irish topographical botany. The 

 historical and biographical, as well as the botanical, interest of a 

 complete list of the kind it is unnecessary to point out. The quali- 

 fication for the admission of a paper or note into the list is essentially 

 the connexion of a plant with a locality ; discussions as to the identity 

 of Irish plants have, in most cases, also been given a place ; but in 

 some instances the cataloguing of such papers would unnecessarily 

 encumber the list, as, for instance, the controversies in the "Phytolo- 

 gist" and elsewhere on the Eobertsonian Saxifrages, on Hymeno- 

 phyllum, and on Lastrea amula. Other omissions include general 

 works on British botany, such as those of Sowerby, Hooker, 

 Babington ; these are practically devoid of original records of Irish 

 plants, and in any case there is no danger of their being overlooked 

 by anyone desirous of making his survey of the literature of the 

 subject absolutely complete. Guide-books likewise are in many 

 cases omitted, as containing no original information. Eeviews and 

 extracts from papers are often excluded for the same reason. With 

 these exceptions, an attempt has been made to catalogue all books, 

 papers, and notes bearing on the distribution of plants in Ireland. 

 In bibliography it is well to err on the side of fulness, since a note 

 or record, apparently trivial, may supply a missing link or fill a gap 

 in some chain of argument or some plant's history. On this account 

 I have not hesitated to include many references which might be 

 thought trivial by those who have not experienced the difficulty of 

 exploring to their ultimate limit the nooks and crannies of botanical 

 records. So scattered are the references to Irish plants, that I 

 cannot doubt that certain papers and notes have escaped observation ; 

 and I shall deem it a favour if these omissions are pointed out. 



